Thaddeus Baker Hurd (October 23, 1903 – March 12, 1989) was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

who is known for his interest and extensive research in the history of the city of Clyde,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. Hurd had several jobs in the field of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

until his retirement in 1967. He was the founder of the Clyde Heritage League, a historical society. His work was contributed to several

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s and

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

Background

Hurd was born on October 23, 1903, in

Clyde, Ohio Clyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, located southeast of Fremont. The population was 6,294 at the time of the 2020 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA. The town is known for ...

. He was the son of Herman and Jennie Hurd. Herman was a local

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

and was a good friend of

Sherwood Anderson Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and ...

, who is well known especially in Clyde for his novel ''

Winesburg, Ohio ''Winesburg, Ohio'' (full title: ''Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life'') is a 1919 short story cycle by the American author Sherwood Anderson. The work is structured around the life of protagonist George Willard, from t ...

''. Hurd graduated from Clyde High School in 1920, and attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in Oberlin for two years after graduation. In 1922, he returned to Clyde and taught in a public school for one year. In 1923, Hurd moved to

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

for a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, and later a

Master of Architecture The Master of Architecture (M.Arch. or MArch) is a graduate professional degree in architecture qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that result in receiving a license. Ove ...

, from the

Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) is the school of architecture at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It offers 20 undergraduate and graduate degrees in five departments: architecture, art, urban planning, real estate, ...

. From 1930 to 1933, Hurd was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of architecture at Cornell.

Architectural career

Before attending

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

at Cornell, Hurd moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, to work at an architecture firm for one year. After achieving his

degree, Hurd obtained several

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

architectural jobs, which mostly took place in

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, until 1944. He then moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, for a career at the Great Lakes Steel Corporation, a major

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

producer at the time. In 1949, Hurd returned to Ohio to join the Toledo architectural firm Britsch and Munger. He worked at this firm until 1955, when he worked as a

self-employed Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return ...

architect until he

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

in 1967.

Historical research

Hurd moved back to Clyde during his retirement, and had a large interest in the history of the city. Earlier, in 1957, Hurd was a prominent figure in the reestablishment of the Sandusky County Historical Society. In 1975, he established the Clyde Heritage League, a historical society and the parent organization of several museums in Clyde. He was also a member of several other historical societies in the Clyde area and across the state of Ohio. Hurd is best known in the city for his collection and preservation of information and

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

data as well as thousands of historic pictures, documents, and other items.City of Clyd
"Resolution 2015-34"
''Renaming Cherry Street Park'', July 21st, 2015 Collections of his research are kept in several local museums and libraries. A great portion of his research focused on notable residents of Clyde, mainly

, the author of the 1919

short story cycle A short story cycle (sometimes referred to as a story sequence or composite novel) is a collection of short stories in which the narratives are specifically composed and arranged with the goal of creating an enhanced or different experience when re ...

'', which was based on Clyde, and on

James B. McPherson James Birdseye McPherson (/məkˈfərsən/) (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McPherson was on the general staff of Henr ...

, a career

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer who served as a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Anderson maintained a somewhat negative reputation in Clyde in the 20th century because his realistic novel ''Winesburg, Ohio'' was seen by many as a ridicule to the city, and residents felt that some characters and situations in the novel reflected their personal lives. Hurd is noted for helping to change their perspective of Anderson and his work in the town through his research.

Memorials

On July 21, 2015, Cherry Street Park in Clyde was officially renamed to Thaddeus Hurd Park when resolution 2015-34 was passed by Clyde City Council. Scott Black, the Mayor of Clyde, said that "it might take a while for older residents to adapt to the name change, but it will eventually catch on." On December 21, 2021, Clyde City Council officially rescinded Resolution 2015-34 with the passage of Resolution 2021-62 by a unanimous vote 5-0, allowing the park to revert to its original Cherry Street Park name.City of Clyd
Resolution 2021-62
to rescind Resolution 2015-34

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurd, Thaddeus Baker 1903 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Architects from Toledo, Ohio Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni Historians from Ohio Oberlin College alumni People from Clyde, Ohio