WASHINGTON COUNTY
Page 777
WASHINGTON
COUNTY was formed July 26, 1788, by proclamation of Gov. ST. CLAIR,
being the
FIRST COUNTY formed within the limits of Ohio.
The
surface is generally hilly and broken, excepting the broad strips of
alluvial
land on the Ohio and Muskingum. In
the
middle and western part are extensive tracts of fertile land. The uplands near the large
streams are
commonly broken, but well adapted to pasturage.
The principal products are corn, wheat, oats, potatoes,
dairy produce,
fruit and wool.
In
its original boundaries were as follows:
“Beginning on the bank
of the Ohio
river, where the western boundary line of Pennsylvania crosses it, and
running
with that line to Lake Erie; thence along the southern shore of said
lake to
the mouth of Cuyahoga river; thence up the said river to the portage
between it
and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down that branch to
the
forks, at the crossing place above Fort Laurens; thence with a line to
be drawn
westerly to the portage on that branch of the Big Miami on which the
fort stood
that was taken by the French in 1752, until it meets the road from the
lower Shawnese town to
Sandusky; thence south to the Scioto
river, and thence with that river to the mouth, and thence up the Ohio
river to
the place of beginning.”
Area about 650 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 106,805; in pasture, 137,758; woodland, 81,026; lying waste, 10,562; produced in wheat, 322,846 bushels; rye, 3,415; buckwheat, 643; oats, 216,603; corn, 564,769; broom-corn, 8,475 lbs. brush; meadow hay, 19,776 tons; clover hay, 3,599; potatoes, 120,664 bushels; tobacco, 314,475 lbs.; butter, 681,224; cheese, 4,815; sorghum, 14,032 gallons; maple sugar, 1,043 lbs.; honey, 6,837; eggs, 916,793 dozen; grapes, 22,040 lbs.; wine, 882 gallons; sweet potatoes, 26,439 bushels; apples, 9,726; peaches, 3,946; pears, 926; wool, 445,771 lbs.; milch cows owned, 7,825. Ohio Mining Statistics, 1888: Coal, 2,432 tons, employing 15 miners. School census, 1888, 14,140; teachers, 394. Miles of railroad track, 88.
Townships And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
|
Townships And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
Adams |
791 |
1,856 |
|
Ludlow |
539 |
1,375 |
Aurelius |
886 |
999 |
|
Marietta |
2,689 |
8,830 |
Barlow |
880 |
1,200 |
|
Muskingum |
|
|
Belpre |
1,296 |
2,636 |
|
Newport |
1,678 |
2,548 |
Decatur |
439 |
1,504 |
|
Palmer |
|
591 |
Dunham |
|
900 |
|
Roxbury |
1,225 |
|
Fairfield |
|
731 |
|
Salem |
881 |
1,638 |
Fearing |
1,019 |
1,275 |
|
Union |
888 |
|
Grand View |
514 |
2,663 |
|
Warren |
931 |
1,903 |
Independence |
335 |
1,792 |
|
Waterford |
1,166 |
2,128 |
Jolly |
582 |
|
|
Watertown |
1,128 |
1,894 |
Lawrence |
571 |
2,335 |
|
Wesley |
991 |
1,482 |
Liberty |
515 |
1,614 |
|
|
|
|
Population of Washington in 1820 was 10,425; 1830, 11,731; 1840, 20,694; 1860, 36,268; 1880, 43,244; of whom 35,103 were born in Ohio; 1,549, Pennsylvania; 1,115, Virginia; 319, New York; 100, Indiana; 75, Kentucky; 2,002, German Empire; 515, Ireland; 216, England and Wales; 177, Scotland; 36, British America; 31, France; and 5, Norway and Sweden. Census, 1890, 42,380.
Page
778.
This county was the first settled in Ohio and under the auspices of the New England Ohio Company. Its earliest settlers were from New England, the descendants of whom constitute the largest part of its present population.
THE ERECTION OF FORT HAMAR.
In the autumn of 1785 a detachment of United States troops, under the command of Maj. John DOUGHTY, commenced the erection and the next year completed Fort Harmer, on the right bank of the Muskingum, at its junction with the Ohio. It was named in honor of Col. Josiah HARMAR, to whose regiment Maj. DOUGHTY was attached. It was the first military post erected by Americans within the limits of Ohio, excepting Fort Laurens, built in 1778, near the
FORT HARMAR.
present Bolivar, Tuscarawas county. The outlines of the fort formed a regular pentagon, embracing within the area about three-quarters of an acre. Its walls were formed of large horizontal timbers, and the bastions of large upright timbers, of about fourteen feet in height, fastened to each other by strips of timber tree-nailed into each picket. In its rear Maj. DOUGHTY laid out fine gardens. It continued to be occupied by United States troops until September, 1790, when they were ordered to Cincinnati. A company under Captain HASKELL continued to make the fort their head-quarters during the Indian war, sending out occasionally small detachments to assist the colonists at Marietta, Belpre and Waterford, in guarding their garrisons against the Indians. The barracks and houses not needed for the accommodation of the troops were occupied by the inhabitants living at Marietta, on the opposite side of the Muskingum.
In the autumn of 1787 the directors of the Ohio Company organized in New England, preparatory to a settlement. Upon the 23d of November they made arrangements for a party of 47 men to set forward under the superintendence of Gen. Rufus PUTNAM; and not long after, in the course of the winter, they started on their toilsome journey. Some of these, as well as most of those who followed them to the colony, had served in the war of the revolution, either as officers or soldiers, being men who had spent the prime of their lives in the struggle for liberty.
“During the winter of 1787-8 these men were pressing on over the Alleghanies by the old Indian path which had been opened into Braddock’s road, and which has since been followed by the national turnpike from Cumberland westward. Through the dreary winter days they trudged on, and by April were all
Page779
gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats had been built, and started for the Muskingum. On the seventh of April they landed at the spot chosen, and became the founders of Ohio, unless we regard as such the Moravian missionaries.
“As ST. CLAIR, who had been appointed governor the preceding October, had not yet arrived, it became necessary to erect a temporary government for their internal security; for which purpose a set of laws was passed, and published by being nailed to a tree in the village, and Return Jonathan MEIGS was appointed to administer them. It is a strong evidence of the good habits of the people of the colony that during three months but one difference occurred, and that was compromised. Indeed, a better set of men altogether could scarce have been selected for the purpose than PUTNAM’S little band. WASHINGTON might well say, ‘no colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which was first commenced at the Muskingum. Information, property and strength, will be its characteristics. I know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community.’
“On the second of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held on the banks of the Muskingum, for the purpose of naming the new-born city and its public squares. As the settlement had been merely ‘The Muskingum,’ the name Marietta was now formally given to it, in honor of Marie Antoinette.
“On the fourth of July an oration was delivered by James M. VARNUM, who, with S. H. PARSONS and John ARMSTRONG, had been appointed to the judicial bench of the territory, on the 16th of October, 1787. Five days later the governor arrived and the colony began to assume form. The ordinance of 1787 provided two district grades of government for the northwest territory, under the first of which the whole power was in the hands of the governor and three judges, and this form was at once organized upon the governor’s arrival. The first law, which was ‘for regulating and establishing the militia,’ was published upon the 25th of July; and the next day appeared the governor’s proclamation, erecting all the country that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto river into the county of Washington.
“From that time forward, notwithstanding the doubt yet existing as to the Indians, all at Marietta went on prosperously and pleasantly. On the second of September, the first court was held, with becoming ceremonies,” which was the first civil court ever convened in the territory northwest of the Ohio.
“The
procession was formed at the Point (where most of the settlers
resided), in the
following order:—1st. The
high sheriff,
with his drawn sword; 2d, the citizens; 3d, the officers of the
garrison at
Fort Harmar; 4th, the
members of the bar; 5th, the
supreme judges; 6th, the governor and clergyman; 7th, the newly
appointed
judges of the court of common pleas, Generals Rufus PUTNAM and Benj.
TUPPER.
“They
marched up a path that had been cut and cleared through the forest to
Campus Martius Hall
(stockade), where the whole counter-marched,
and the judges (PUTNAM and TUPPER) took their seats.
The clergyman, Rev. Dr. CUTLER, then invoked
the divine blessing. The
sheriff, Col.
Ebenezer SPROAT (one of nature’s nobles), proclaimed with his
solemn ‘O yes,’
that a court is opened for the administration of even-handed justice to
the
poor and the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, without respect of
persons;
none to be punished without a trial by their peers, and then in
pursuance of
the laws and evidence in the case.
Although this scene was exhibited thus early in the
settlement of the
State, few ever equalled
it in the dignity and
exalted character of its principal participators.
Many of them belong to the history of our
country, in the darkest as well as most splendid periods of the
revolutionary
war. To witness
this spectacle, a large
body of Indians was collected, from the most powerful tribes then
occupying the
almost entire west. They
had assembled
for the purpose of making a treaty.
Whether any of them entered the hall of justice, or what
were their
impressions, we are not told.”
“The progress of the settlement [says a letter from the Muskingum] is sufficiently rapid for the first year. We are continually erecting houses, but arrivals are faster than we can possibly provide convenient covering. Our first ball was opened about the middle of December, at which were fifteen ladies, as well accomplished in the manners of polite circles as any I have ever seen in the old
Page 780
PLAN OF CAMPUS MARTIUS.
A Plan
of Campus
Martius
at the
City of
Marietta
Territory of
the
United States
N. W.
of the
River
Ohio.
Page 781
States. I mention this to show the progress of society in this new world; where, I believe, we shall vie with, if not excel, the old States, in every accomplishment necessary to render life agreeable and happy."
CAMPUS
MARTIUS.
Soon
after the landing, preparations were made to build the stockaded
fort, Campus Martius,
to which allusion has already been made; and although it was begun in
the
course of that year, it was not entirely completed with palisades and
outworks,
or bastions, until the winter of 1791.
The
walls formed a regular parallelogram, the sides of which were 180 feet
each. At each
corner was erected a
strong block-house, surmounted by a tower and sentry box. These houses were 20 feet
square below and 24
feet above, and projected 6 feet beyond the curtains, or main walls of
the
fort. The
intermediate curtains were
built up with dwelling-houses, made of wood, whip-sawed into timbers
four
inches thick, and of the requisite width and length.
These were laid up with similar to the
structure of log-houses, with the ends nicely dove-tailed or fitted
together so
as to make a neat finish. The
whole were
two stories high and covered with good shingle roofs.
Convenient chimneys were erected of bricks,
for cooking and warming the rooms.
A
number of the dwelling houses were built and owned by private
individuals, who
had families. In
the west and south
fronts were strong gateways; and over that, in the centre of the front
looking
to the Muskingum river,
was a belfry. The
chamber underneath was occupied by the
Hon. Winthrop SARGENT, as an office, he being secretary to the governor
of the
N. W. Territory, General ST. CLAIR, and performing the duties of
governor in this
absence. This room
projected over the
gateway, like a block-house, and was intended for the protection of the
gate
beneath in time of an assault.
At
the outer corner of each block-house was erected a bastion, standing on
four
stout timbers. The
floor of the bastion
was a little above the lower story of the block-house.
They were square, and built up with thick
planks to the height of a man’s head, so that when he looked
over he stepped on
a narrow platform, or “banquet,” running round the
sides of the bulwark. Port-holes
were made for musketry, as well as
for artillery, a single piece of which was mounted in the southwest and
northeast bastions. In
these the
sentries were regularly posted every night, as more convenient of
access than
the towers; a door leading into them from the upper story of the
block-houses. The
lower room of the
southwest block-house was occupied for a guard-house.
Running from corner to corner of the block-houses
was a row of palisades, sloping outwards, and resting on stout rails. Twenty feet in advance of
these was a row of
very strong and large pickets, set upright in the earth.
Gateways
through these admitted the inmates of the garrison.
A few feet beyond the outer palisades was
placed a row of abatis
made from the tops and branches
of trees, sharpened and pointing outwards, so that it would have been
very
difficult for an enemy to have penetrated even within their outworks. The dwelling houses
occupied a space from 15
to 30 feet each, and were sufficient for the accommodation of forty or
fifty
families, and did actually contain from 200 to 300 persons, men, women
and
children, during the Indian war.
Before
the Indians commenced hostilities, the block-houses were occupied as
follows:--the southwest one by the family of Gov. ST. CLAIR; the
northwest one
for public worship and holding of courts.
The southeast block-house was occupied by private
families; and the
northeast as an office for the accommodation of the directors of the
company. The area
within the walls was 144 feet square,
and afforded a fine parade-ground.
In
the centre was a well, 80 feet in depth, for the supply of water to the
inhabitants in case of a siege. A
large
sun-dial stood for many years in the square, placed on a handsome post,
and
gave note of the march of time. It
is
still preserved as a relic of the old garrison.
After
the war commenced, a regular military corps was organized, and a guard
constantly kept night and day. The
whole
establishment formed a very strong work, and reflected great credit on
the head
that planned it. It
was in a manner
impregnable to the attacks of Indians,
and none but a
regular army with cannon could have reduced it.
It is true, that the heights across the Muskingum
commanded and looked
down upon the defences
of the fort; but there was no
enemy in a condition to take possession of this advantage.
The
garrison stood on the verge of that beautiful plain on the east side of
and
overlooking the Muskingum on which are seated those celebrated remains
of
antiquity; and erected probably for a similar purpose, the defence
of the inhabitants. The
ground descends
into shallow ravines on the north and south sides; on the west is an
abrupt
descent to the river bottoms, or alluvions;
and the
east passed out on to the level plain.
On
this the ground was cleared of trees beyond the reach of rifle shots,
so as to
afford no shelter to a hidden foe.
Extensive fields of corn were growing in the midst of the
standing
girdled trees beyond. The
front wall of
the garrison was about 150 yards from the
Page 782.
Muskingum river. The appearance of the fort
from without was
grand and imposing; at a little distance resembling one of the military
palaces
or castles of the feudal ages. Between
the outer palisades and the river were laid out neat gardens for the
use of
Gov. ST. CLAIR and his secretary, with the officers of the company.
Opposite
the fort, on the shore of the river, was built a substantial timber
wharf, at
which was moored a fine cedar barge for twelve rowers, built by Capt.
Jonathan
DEVOLL, for Gen. PUTNAM; a number of pirogues, and the light canoes of
the
country; and last, not least, “the May-Flower,”
or “Adventure Galley,”
in which the
first detachment of colonists were transported from the shores of the Yohiogany to the banks of the
Muskingum. In
these, especially the canoes, during the
war, most of the communications were carried on between the settlements
of the
company and the more remote towns above on the Ohio river.
Travelling
by land
was very hazardous to any but the rangers of spies.
There were no roads nor
bridges across the creeks, and for many years after the war had ceased
the travelling was
nearly all done by canoes on the rivers.
The
names of the first forty-eight settlers at MARIETTA are, General Rufus
PUTNAM,
superintendent of the colony; Colonels Ebenezer SPROAT, Return J.
MEIGS, and
Major Anselm TUPPER and John MATHEWS, surveyors; Major Haffield
WHITE, steward and quartermaster; Captains Jonathan DEVOL, Josiah
MUNRO, Daniel
DAVIS, Peregrine FOSTER, Jethro
PUTNAM, William GRAY
and Ezekiel COOPER; Jabez
BARLOW, Daniel BUSHNELL, Phineas
COBURN, Ebenezer CORY, Samuel CUSHING, Jervis
CUTLER, Israel DANTON, Jonas DAVIS, Allen DEVOL, Gilbert DEVOL, Jr.,
Isaac
DODGE, Oliver DODGE, Samuel FELSHAW, Hezekiah FLINT, Hezekiah FLINT,
Jr., John
GARDNER, Benjamin GRISWOLD, Elizur
KIRTLAND, Theophilus
LEARNED, Joseph LINCOLN, Simeon MARTIN, William
MASON, Henry MAXON, William MILLER, Edmund MOULTON, William MOULTON,
Amos
PORTER, Allen PUTNAM, Benjamin SHAW, Earl SPROAT, David WALLIS, Joseph
WELLS,
Josiah WHITE, Peletiah
WHITE, Josiah WHITRIDGE.
Other
settlers who came the
first season to Marietta, as far
as recollected, were as follows:
Of
the agents, were Winthrop SARGEANT,
secretary of the territory, Judges PARSONS and VARNUM of the settlers,
Capt.
DANA, Joseph BARKER, Col. BATTELLE, Major TYLER, Dr. TRUE, Capt. LUNT,
the
BRIDGES, Thomas CORY, Andrew M’CLURE, Thomas LORD, Wm.
GRIDLEY, MOODY, RUSSELS,
DEAVENS, OAKES, WRIGHT, CLOUGH, GREEN, SHIPMAN, DORRANCE, the MAXONS,
WELLS,
etc. The first boat
of families arrived
on the 19th of August, in the same season, consisting of Gen.
TUPPER’S, Col. Ichabod
NYE’S, Col. CUSHING’S, Major COBURN’S,
and Major
GOODALE’S.
In
the spring of 1789 settlements were pushed out to Belpre, Waterford,
and Duck
creek, where they began to clear and plant the land, build houses and
stockades. Among
the first settlers at
WATERFORD were Benjamin CONVERS, Gilbert DEVOL, sen.,
Phineas COBURN, Wm.
GRAY, Col. Robert OLIVER, Major Haffield
WHITE, Andrew STORY, Samuel CUSHING, John DODGE,
Allen and Gideon DEVOL, George, William, and David WILSON, Joshua
SPRAGUE, with
his sons William and Jonathan, Capt. D. DAVIS, Phineas
COBURN, Andrew WEBSTER, Eben
AYRES, Dr. FARLEY, David
BROWN, A. KELLY, James and Daniel CONVERS.
At
Belpre (the French for “beautiful meadow”) were
three stockades, the upper,
lower, and middle; the last of which was called
“farmer’s castle,” which stood
on the banks of the Ohio, nearly, if not quite, opposite the beautiful
island,
since known as “Blannerhasset’s,”
the scene of
“BURR’S conspiracy.”
Among the persons
at the upper were Capt. DANA, Capt. STONE, Col. BENT, Wm. BROWNING,
Judge
FOSTER, John ROWSE, Mr. KEPPEL, Israel
STONE. At
farmer’s castle were Col. CUSHING, Major
HASKEL, Aaron Waldo PUTNAM, Col. FISHER, Mr. SPARHAWK, and it is
believed
George and Israel PUTNAM, jr. At the lower were Major
GOODALE, Col. RICE,
Esq. PIERCE, Judge Israel LORING, Deacon MILES, Major BRADFORD, and Mr.
Goodenow. In the
summer of 1789 Col. Ichabod
NYE and some others built
a block-house at Newberry, below Belpre.
Mr. NYE sold his lot there to Aaron N. CLOUGH, who, with
Stephen
GUTHRIE, Jos. LEAVINS, Joel OAKES, Eleazer
CURTIS,
Mr. DENHAM, J. LITTLETON, and a Mr. BROWN, were
located at that place during the subsequent Indian war.
Every
exertion possible for men in these circumstances was made to secure
food and
prepare for future difficulties. Col.
OLIVER, Major Haffield
WHITE, and John DODGE, of the
Waterford settlement, began mills on Wolf creek, about three miles from
the
fort, and got them running; and these, the first mills in Ohio, were
never
destroyed during the subsequent Indian war, though the proprietors
removed
their families to the fort at Marietta.
Col. E. SPROAT and Enoch SHIPHARD began mills on Duck creek, three miles from Marietta,
from the completion of which
they were driven by the Indian war.
Thomas STANLEY began mills higher up, near the Duck Creek
settlement;
these were likewise unfinished. The
Ohio
Company built a large horse mill near Campus Martius,
and soon after, a floating mill.
Page 783
FARMER’S CASTLE (BELPRE),
1791.
Belpre, 12 miles below Marietta,
was the next place
settled after it. The
garrison was under
military discipline, and religious services and schools were at once
established. Over
two hundred men, women
and children lived in Farmer’s Castle and the Goodale
and Stone’s garrison, two smaller defences
on either
side of the castle
NYE’s Reminiscences.—During the Indian war, which soon succeeded the first settlements, the inhabitants suffered much for the necessaries of life. Although some of the settlers were killed, and others carried into captivity, yet the massacre at Big Bottom (see Morgan County) was the most alarming event. The escape of the settlers from greater suffering from this source was owing to the strong fortifications erected, and the admirable judgment and foresight they displayed in taking precautions against danger. Among the incidents connected with the troubles with the Indians, to which we have barely space to allude, was the
FORT FRYE, WATERFORD, 1792.
taking prisoner at Waterford of Daniel CONVERS (then a lad of 16, now (1846) of Zanesville), who was carried to Detroit; the murder of WARTH while at work near Fort Harmar; the taking prisoner of Major GOODALE, of Belpre, who was, it is supposed, murdered; the death of Capt. ROGERS, who was out with Mr. HENDERSON, as a spy, and was killed near the Muskingum, about a mile from Marietta; the death of a Mr. WATERMAN, near Waterford, and the narrow escape of Return
Page 784
J. Meigs, into Fort Harmar, by his fleetness of foot while pursued by the enemy. On the other hand retaliation was in a measure inflicted upon the Indians, and among those most active in this duty was Hamilton CARR, a man eminently distinguished as an Indian hunter and spy.
During the war a stockade was erected near the mouth of Olive Green creek, above Waterford, which became the frontier garrison, and had in it about seven or eight men and boys able to bear arms, called Fort Frye. Just before Wayne’s victory, Aug. 4, 1794, they lost one man, a Mr. Abel SHERMAN, who went into the woods incautiously, and was killed by the Indians. A tombstone with a scalped head rudely carved upon it marks the spot where he lies.
Among
the inmates of this garrison was Geo. EWING, Esq., father of the Hon.
Thos.
EWING. His fortune
and history were
similar to that of many of the revolutionary officers who emigrated to
the West
at that early day. He
inherited a
handsome patrimony and sold it, investing the proceeds in bonds and
mortgages,
and entered the continental army as a subaltern officer in 1775, he
being then
but little over twenty-one years of age.
He continued to serve with a few short intermissions,
during the
war. When the bonds
fell due, they were
paid in continental money, with, proving worthless, reduced him to
poverty. In 1785 he
migrated to the
West, and remained on the Virginia side of the Ohio until 1792, when he
crossed
over and settled at Olive Green.
From the communication of one of the early settlers at Olive Green we annex some facts respecting their privations and the discovery of a salt well.
The
inhabitants had among them but few of what we consider the necessaries
and
conveniences of life. Brittle
wares,
such as earthen and glass, were wholly unknown, and but little of the
manufactures of steel and iron, both of which were exceedingly dear. Iron and salt were
procured in exchange for
ginseng and peltry, and carried on pack horses from Ft. Cumberland or
Chambersburg. It
was no uncommon thing
for the garrison to be wholly without salt for months, subsisting upon
fresh
meat, milk and vegetables, and bread made of corn pounded in a
mortar—they did
not yet indulge in the luxury of the hand-mill.
There
had been an opinion, founded upon the information of the Indians, that
there
were salt springs in the neighborhood, but the spot was carefully
concealed. Shortly
after Wayne’s
victory, in 1794, and after the inhabitants had left the garrison and
gone to
their farms, a white man, who had been long a prisoner with the
Indians, was
released and returned to the settlements.
He stopped at Olive Green, and there gave an account of
the salt
springs, and directions for finding them.
A party was immediately formed (of whom George EWING, Jr.,
then a lad of
17, was one), who, after an absence of seven or eight days, returned,
to the
great joy of the inhabitants, with about a gallon of salt, which they
had made
in their camp kettle. This
was, as I
think, in August, 1795. A
supply, though
a very small one, was made there that season for the use of the
frontier
settlement.
Whether
this salt spring was earlier known to the whites I am unable to say. It may have been so to
spies and explorers,
and perhaps to the early missionaries; but this was the first discovery
which
was made available to the people.
Marietta in 1846.—Marietta, the county-seat, and the oldest town in Ohio, is on the left bank of the Muskingum, at its confluence with the Ohio, 104 miles southeast of Columbus. It is built principally upon a level plot of ground, in the midst of most beautiful scenery. Many of the dwellings are constructed with great neatness, and embellished with handsome door-yards and highly cultivated gardens. Its inhabitants are mostly of New England descent, and there are few places in our country that can compare with this in point of morality and intelligence—but few of its size with so many cultivated and literary men. Marietta contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Baptist, 1 Methodist, 1 German Methodist, 1 Universalist and 1 Catholic church; a male and female academy, in excellent repute; a college, 2 public libraries, 1 bank, 1 or 2 printing offices, a variety of mechanical and manufacturing establishments, about 20 mercantile stores, and in 1840 had a population of 1814. Ship-building, which was carried on very extensively at an early day, and then for a season abandoned, has again been commenced, and is now actively prosecuted. From the year 1800 to 1807 the
Page 785
business was very thriving. Com. Abm. WHIPPLE, a veteran of the revolution, conducted the one first built, the St. Clair, to the ocean.—Old Edition.
Drawn
by Henry Howe in
1846.
MARIETTA
COLLEGE
At
that time Marietta was made “a port of clearance,”
from which vessels could
receive regular papers for a foreign country.
“This circumstance was the cause of a curious
incident, which took place
in the year 1806 or 1807. A
ship, built
at Marietta, cleared from that port with a cargo of pork, flour, etc.,
for New
Orleans. From
thence she sailed to
England with a load of cotton, and being chartered to take a cargo to
St.
Petersburg, the Americans being at that time carriers for half the
world,
reached that port in safety. Her
papers
were examined by a naval officer, and dating from the port of Marietta,
Ohio,
she was seized upon the plea of their being a forgery, as no such port
was
known in the civilized world. With
considerable difficulty the captain procured a map of the United
States, and
pointing with his finger to the mouth of the Mississippi, traced the
course of
that stream to the mouth of the Ohio; from thence he led the astonished
and
admiring naval officer along the devious track of the latter river to
the port
of Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum, from whence he had taken
his
departure. This
explanation was entirely
satisfactory, and the American was dismissed with every token of regard
and
respect.
Drawn
by Henry Howe in
1846.
MARIETTA,
FROM THE WEST VIRGINIA
SHORE
Marietta College was chartered in 1835. It was mainly established with a view to meet demands in the West for competent teachers and ministers of the
Page 786
gospel. The institution ranks high among others of the kind, and its officers of instruction are such as to merit the confidence of the enlightened patrons of thorough education. A new college edifice has lately been reared, and from the indications given, the prospects of the institution for a generous patronage are highly auspicious. The catalogue for 1846-7 gives the whole number of students at 177, of whom 60 were undergraduates, and 117 in the preparatory academy. The officers are Henry SMITH, M. A., president; John KENDRICK, M. A., J. Ward ANDREWS, M. A., and Hiram BINGHAM, M. A., professors; Samuel MAXWELL, M. A., principal of the academy, and Geo. A. ROSSETER, M. A., tutor.—Old Edition.
The first president was Rev. Dr. Joel H. LINDSEY, from 1835 to 1846; then Rev. Dr. Henry SMITH, until 1855. He was succeeded by Rev. Dr. J. W. ANDREWS, who held the office until 1885, when Hon. John EATON succeeded him.
From its beginning the college has been doing a beneficent work. The following copy of a letter from the late Rev. Dr. ANDREWS, ex-president, the Henry HOWE is in point:
MARIETTA COLLEGE, O., June 4, 1887.
Dear Sir:
At the
request of President EATON, the following names of some of the more
eminent of
the graduates of Marietta College are sent to you.
As your request had reference to what the
college has accomplished, the list includes a few who are not now
living.
JOSEPH PERKINS, Esq.,
late of Cleveland, an eminent citizen and
philanthropist as well as a man of business. He was one whom all men
delighted to
honor. REV. JOSEPH F.
TUTTLE, D. D., LL. D., President of Wabash College, and Trustee of Lane
Theological Seminary.
Professor
EBENEZER B. ANDREWS, LL. D., for many years Professor of Geology in the
college, and afterwards one of the State Geological Corps.
Rev. GEORGE M. MAXWELL,
D. D., since 1865 a Trustee of the College,
and for many years President of the Trustees of Lane Seminary.
Professor
GEORGE R. ROSSETER, LL. D., from 1868 till his death in 1882 Professor
of
Mathematics in the college. Gen.
WILLARD
WARNER, LL. D., a distinguished officer in the Union army, a former
Senator of
the United States from Alabama, and an eminent and successful
manufacturer. Rev.
ALOAN H. WASHBURN, D. D., a distinguished clergyman of Cleveland, who
lost his
life at the Ashtabula disaster.
Hon. OSEPH G. WILSON, LL. D., one of the Supreme Judges of
Oregon, and
member-elect of Congress at the time of his death in 1873. Hon.
WILLIAM IRWIN, LL. D.,
late Governor of California.
Professor GEORGE H. HOWISON, LL. D., Professor of
Metaphysics in the
University of California. Hon.
MARTIN D.
FOLLETT, one of the Supreme Judges of Ohio, and a Trustee of Marietta
College
since 1871.
Hon. ALFRED T. GOSHORN,
LL. D., Director-General of the National
Centennial Exposition of 1866, and Trustee of the College. Hon. JOHN F. FOLLETT, LL.
D., a lawyer of Cincinnati,
and late Member of Congress. Rev. JOHN H. SHEDD, D. D., missionary to
Persia. Gen.
BENJAMIN D. FEARING, a distinguished
officer in the Union army. Professor DAVID E. BEACH, D. D., Professor
Moral and Intellectual
Philosophy at Marietta.
Professor
JOHN N. LYLE, Ph. D., Professor of Mathematics in Westminster College,
Mo. Gen. RUFUS R.
DAWES, an eminent officer in
the army, late Member of Congress, and Trustee of the College since
1871. Professor WILLIAM G.
GALLANTINE, D. D., Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature,
Oberlin
Theological Seminary.
Doctor
LEONARD WALDO, Astronomer at the Yale Observatory.
Professor
OSCAR H. MITCHELL, Ph. D., Professor of Mathematics at Marietta.
Yours
truly,
J. W. ANDREWS
HENRY HOWE, Esq.
MARIETTA, county-seat of Washington, is on the Ohio river, at the mouth of the Muskingum river, about ninety miles southeast of Columbus, 206 miles east of Cincinnati, at the termini of the C. W. & B., C. & M. and M. C. & N. Railroads. It is the seat of Marietta College.
County Officers, 1888: Auditor, David H. MERILL; Clerk, Wesley G. BARTHALOW; Commissioners, J. Warren THORNILY, Thomas FLEMING, Mason GORBY; Coroner, John J. NEUER; Infirmary Directors, William T. HARNESS, James F. BRIGGS; Robert T. MILLER, Jr.; Probate Judge, William H. LEEPER; Prosecuting Attorney, John W. McCORMICK; Recorder, John W. STEELE; Sheriff, Arthur B. LITTLE; Surveyor, William ELDRIDGE; Treasurer, Thomas J. CONNOR. City
Page 787
Officers, 1888: Sidney RIDGWAY, Mayor; George WEISER, Clerk; Charles CONNOR, Treasurer; Jacob H. DYE, Marshal; John M. HOOK, Street Commissioner. Newspapers: Register, Republican, E. R. ALDERMAN & Sons, editors and publishers; Leader, Republican, T. F. DAVIS, editor and publisher; Times, Democratic, Samuel McMILLEN, editor and publisher; Yankee Trader, A. L. RIDER, editor and publisher; Marietta College Olio, Societies of Marietta College, publishers. Churches: 1 Protestant Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 2 Congregational, 2 Methodist Episcopal, 2 Evangelist, 1 Baptist, 1 Catholic, 1 United Brethren, and 1 Unitarian. Banks: Dime Savings Society, Jewett PALMER, president, C. H. NEWTON, treasurer; First National, Beman GATES, president, E. M. BOOTH, cashier.
Manufactures and Employees.—Marietta Register, printing, etc., 15; Jacob BRAND & Co., oak harness leather, 6; A. T. NYE & Son, stoves, etc., 41; Phœnix Milling Co., flour and feed, 17; Marietta Chair Co., chairs, 465; SMITH & FOREMAN, doors, sash, etc., 6; Marietta Chair Co., chair material, 36; STRAUSS, ELSTON & Co., flour, etc., 6.—State Report, 1888.
Population in 1880, 5,444. School census, 1888, 1,725; Charles K. WELLS, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments, $488,500. Value of annual product, $657,500.—Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887. Census, 1890, 10,050. This census includes the population of Harmar, which was annexed to Marietta in June of 1890, and then had 1,777 people.
Marietta has to-day much the appearance of an old-time New England town. The residences are largely single dwellings on streets very broad and well shaded with elms and maples, while the grounds, public and private, are well kept. Gardens abound with fruits and flowers, and everything about the place illustrates thrift, comfort and intelligence. It is, we think, the best shaded town in the State. The view on an adjoining page well represents its position. It was taken from the high hill in Harmar on the west bank of the Muskingum, and is looking across the stream east and showing the Ohio in the distance. The Muskingum here is not far from two hundred yards wide. It falls into the Ohio by a dam of about eleven feet, and two bridges cross it, the lower a railroad bridge. The river joining this county is dotted with a line of nine small but beautiful and fertile islands, some of these of sufficient size for fine farms and gardens. One, and very beautiful it is, is just above the city, and twelve miles below is the historic Blennerhassett just below Parkersburg. The beauty of the river scenery with its embosoming islands, whose dense foliage often in the June freshets hangs over laving in the passing waters, was a pleasing sight to the early settlers, unlike anything within their previous experience.
The business part of Marietta is along the Muskingum, or below the upper bridge to its junction with the Ohio, which from an early day has been called “the Point,” where the first houses were erected. Campus Martius was three quarters of a mile inland from the Point up the Muskingum. It was originally connected with the Point by a narrow winding path through the forest, with substantial bridges crossing the rivulet that still intersect the lower part of the city. The ancient works, of which a picture is shown, are on the second plateau from the Muskingum. They are above the back of the dwellings, which last are largely on the gently sloping ground between the two levels. The general business of the city is in supplying the wants of a rich agricultural region of diversified productions. A marked feature around the place are the noble orchards that greet the eye on the hillsides and rolling grounds.
THE ANCIENT WORKS.
The ancient works at Marietta, which, although not more remarkable than others in the State, and not as extensive as some, are more generally known from having been so frequently described and alluded to by travellers. The description which follows is from Harris’s Tour, and the engraved plan from the Arch-
Page 788
æologia Americana of Caleb ATWATER. They have been largely obliterated, but still enough remains to interest the visitor:
“The situation of these works is on an elevated plain, above the present bank of the Muskingum, on the east side, and about half a mile from its junction with the Ohio. They consist of walls and mounds of earth, in direct lines, and in square and circular forms.
“The largest square fort, by some called the town, contains forty acres, encompassed by a wall of earth from six to ten feet high, and from twenty-five to thirty-six feet in breadth at the base. On each side are three openings, at equal distances, resembling twelve gateways. The entrances at the middle are the largest, particularly on the side next to the Muskingum. From this outlet is a covert way, formed of two parallel walls of earth, 231 feet distant from each other,
ANCIENT
WORKS, MARIETTA.
measuring from centre to centre. The walls at the most elevated part, on the inside, are twenty-one feet in height, and forty-two in breadth at the base; but on the outside average only five feet in height. This forms a passage of about 360 feet in length, leading by a gradual descent to the low grounds, where, at the time of its construction, it probably reached the river. Its walls commence at sixty feet from the ramparts of the fort, and increase in elevation as the way descends towards the river; and the bottom is crowned in the centre, in the manner of a well-founded turnpike road.
“Within the walls of the fort, at the northwest corner, is an oblong elevated square, 188 feet long, 132 broad, and 9 feet high; level on the summit, and nearly perpendicular at the sides. At the centre of each of the sides the earth is projected, forming gradual ascents to the top, equally regular, and about six feet in width. Near the south wall is another elevated square, 150 feet by 120, and eight feet high, similar to the other, excepting that instead of an ascent to go up
Page 789
Top
Picture
SITE OF MARIETTA AND HARMAR, 1788.
Bottom
Picture
SITE OF MAREIETTA AND HARMAR, 1888.
Page 790
COMMODORE ABRAHAM WHIPPLE.
Page 791
on the side next the wall, there is a hollow way ten feet wide, leading twenty feet towards the centre, and then rising with a gradual slope to the top. At the southeast corner is a third elevated square, 108 by 54 feet, with ascents at the ends, but not so high nor perfect as the two others. A little to the southwest of the centre of the fort is a circular mound, about thirty feet in diameter and five feet high, near which are four small excavations at equal distances, and opposite each other. At the southwest corner of the fort is a semi-circular parapet, crowned with a mound, which guards the opening in the wall. Towards the southeast is a smaller fort, containing twenty acres, with a gateway in the centre of each side and at each corner. These gateways are defended by circular mounds.
“On the outside of the smaller fort is a mound [shown in the engraving] in form of a sugar-loaf, of a magnitude and height which strike the beholder with
Drawn
by Henry Howe in 1846.
THE MOUND AT MARIETTA.
astonishment. Its base is a regular circle, 115 feet in diameter; its perpendicular altitude is thirty feet. It is surrounded by a ditch four feet deep and fifteen feet wide, and defended by a parapet four feet high, through which is a gateway towards the fort twenty feet in width.”
THE MOUND CEMETERY.
The early settlers at Marietta established a graveyard around their now famed mound; also another at Harmar. It is one of the most interesting spots of the kind in the country. Here lie the remains of many of the eminent characters who laid the foundations of the commonwealth. In 1846, when I first saw it, there were comparatively few memorials; now it is thickly studded with them.
On Thursday, May 12, 1886, I copied those here printed. The most imposing monument is that of Rufus PUTNAM. It is a noble structure of Quincy granite, of massive simplicity, and worthy of the character whose memory it commemorates:
GEN.
RUFUS PUTNAM, a revolutionary officer, and the leader of the colony
which made
the first settlement in the Territory of the Northwest at Marietta. April 7, 1788. Born
April 9, 1738. Died May 24, 1824.
Here lies the
body of his Excellency RETURN |
For many years his time and talents
were devoted to
the service of his country. He
successfully filled the distinguished places of Judge of the Territory
northwest of the Ohio, Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio,
Senator
in the Congress of the United States, Governor of the State of Ohio,
and
Postmaster-General of the United States.
To the honored and revered memory
of an
Page 792
ardent patriot, a practical statesman, an
enlightened scholar, a dutiful son, an indulgent father, an
affectionate husband, this monument is erected by his mourning widow,
Sophia MEIGS. ______________ In
memory of Rev. DANIEL STORY, died
at Marietta,
Dec. 30, 1804, aged 49 years.
A native of Boston, Mass., graduated at Dartmouth
College. He was the
first minister of Christ who came to labor in the vast field known as
the Northwest Territory, excepting the Moravian missionaries. Came to Marietta in 1789,
as a religious teacher under an arrangement with the Ohio Company. Accepted a call from the
Congregational church, and was ordained as their first pastor at
Hamilton, Mass., Aug. 15, 1798. Erected
by a relative of Dr. STORY in Mass., 1878. _______________
The following is on a large fine-grained sandstone
slab mounted horizontally on six pillars: In
memory of Capt. NATHANIEL SALTON- STALL. Born in New London, Conn., A.
D. 1727; died A. D. 1807.
Was first commandant Fort Trumbull.
During the Revolution he commanded the Warren
frigate and ship Putnam, but was not commodore of the fleet burned at
Penobscot. Also, Lucretia LATTIMORE, wife of the
above. Born 1737;
died 1824. And two
children, Polly and John. __________________
This was a tall marble monument with the insignia, a
broken sword, left in full relief.
The inscription is upon its spiral and shaft: “In
honor of Col.
JESSE HILDEBRAND, of the
77th Regt.
O. V.
I.
Born at Cold Springs, Indian
Reservation , on
the Alle- ghany
river, May 29,
1800.
Died
in the service
at
Alton, Ill., April
18, 1863. A kind husband
and father, a
patriot and soldier.
His
life
was given that our nation
might
live.
‘Lord,
thy will be done,’ his dying
words.” ______________________ |
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF COMMODORE
ABRAHAM WHIPPLE whose naval skill and courage will ever
remain THE
PRIDE AND BOAST OF HIS COUNTRY To hurl
defiance at proud Britain.
Gallantly Born,
Sept. 26, A. D. 1733.
Died,
May 27, A. D. 1819. Aged 85 years. Erected by
Nathan Ward, 1859. |
This
is the second stone erected to Commodore WHIPPLE.
The inscription is copied from that on the
first stone. The
author is unknown; but
it is an illustration of the grandiloquent in grave-yard literature
common
seventy years ago.
HILDEBRAND was a man of local note, at one time county sheriff and also an extensive mail contractor. He was in person large and imposing and fond of military matters; before the war he was General of Ohio militia, but he had but little more following than his staff, with whom he was wont to turn out and gallop through the streets of Marietta, a gay cortege to touch the imagination of the young.
His brigade was surprised at Shiloh, receiving the first shock, but he gathered its fragments and fought heroically all day. “I never saw such coolness as he then evinced,” says our informant, an officer under him. “At one time he was in our advance, sitting quietly on his horse, looking calmly around in full view of the enemy, with the bullets flying and the shells screeching around him. I was then sent with a message to him. I expected to get killed, but got back unharmed. He seemed to care nothing for his peril.” General SHERMAN said he was “the bravest man he ever knew.”
Two months after his decease, June 10, 1863, John BROUGH delivered his great speech at Marietta, opening the noted VALLANDIGHAM campaign. His very beginning paragraph was this beautiful tribute to the memory of HILDEBRAND:
________________
*Dr.
FARQUHAR’s
square-rigged vessel; greater wonder in that age, than the Great
Eastern in
ours.
Page 793
“Alas,”
said he, “in all this
vast crowd I miss the familiar
face and the cordial grasp of the hand that would have delighted me
much to
meet. He was the
loved companion of my
boyhood; the political and personal friend of my manhood; one whose
soul was
full of honor and integrity; an original and life-long Democrat and
supporter
of JACKSON, when it
was thought almost a
crime to be one—a Democrat without guile; and yet when the
crisis of his
country came he did not stop to consider party lines—he did
not stop to falter
as to his duty, but went forth at the head of his regiment to the field
of
battle, only to meet disease and death in the camp and be brought back
beneath
the pall and laid amid the graves of his fathers . . . One who knew him
well
and loved him dearly desires here alike to drop a tear and an evergreen
upon
his grave.”
The cemetery at Harmar was the first established and is the oldest in the Northwest Territory. It is in a secluded spot of about four acres at the base of a rugged hill. It is still in use and among the monuments is a handsome granite shaft to the memory of Gen. B. D. Fearing, of the Union army in the civil war.
Dr. SAMUEL P.
HILDRETH. Born in Meth- “Blessed are
the dead who die in
the The above is
the inscription for the venerable historian. ___________
Sacred to
the memory of
DUDLEY WOOD-
“Man’s chief end is to glorify
God and ____________ Major ANSELM
TUPPER. Early
in life he _______________ Gen. BENJAMIN
TUPPER, born at Sharon, __________________ In memory of
LYDIA McKAWEN, wife
of
Reader repent, thy follies fly. ____________ In memory of
RUTH CLARK, who was born Behold me now
though soon forgot ____________ In memory of
DUDLEY TYLER, who died How strange O
God that rules on high
______________
My soul
through my Redeemer’s love ______________ In memory of
JOHN GREEN. Born in
Lan- A soldier from
his youth. First in the
cause |
HISTORIC MISCELLANY.
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE ORDINANCE OF 1787.
In 1776 Congress made an appropriation of lands to the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army; in 1780 the act was extended.
Page 794
By the terms of these appropriations those who had fought or would fight for independence were to receive tracts of land according to their rank; to a major-general 1100 acres; a brigadier-general 850; a colonel 500, and so on to private soldiers and non-commissioned officers who were to receive 100 acres each.
At the time these appropriations were made the United States did not own an acre of land, and the fulfilment of the obligations incurred was dependent upon the individual States ceding their rights in western lands to the general government in case of conquest. Some of the States, notably Maryland, claimed that these lands belonged to the States in common. Congress never set up this claim, but recognized the title of individual States to the territory fixed by their charters. In 1782 a committee of Congress in its territorial claims against the king of England said:
“Under his authority the limits of these States while in the character of colonies were established; to these limits the United States considered as independent sovereignties have succeeded. Whatever territorial rights, therefore, belonged to them before the Revolution were necessarily devolved upon them at the era of independence.”
The United States, however, eventually gained control of the western lands by cessions from the States, some with and some without reservations. These cessions were made to the general government that new States might be created out of the western territory, and to enable the general government to pay the debts incurred by the Revolutionary war by selling the lands to settlers.
The theory of making government lands a source of revenue was a new departure, and beginning in 1780 the methods to be adopted in disposing of these lands for several years largely occupied the attention of Congress. Col. GRAYSON, in a letter dated April 27, 1785, says: “I have been busily engaged in assisting about passing an ordinance for the disposal of the western territory. I think there has been as much said and written about it as would fill forty volumes, and yet we seem far from a conclusion, so difficult is it to form any system which will suit our complex government, and when the interests of the component parts are supposed to be so different.”
The principal points in controversy were the New England plan of settlement by government survey into townships, as opposed to the Virginia plan of “indiscriminate locations,” and as to the sale of lands in large or small tracts. The prohibition of slavery was also one of the questions involved. Gen. WASHINGTON favored the New England plan, and the sale of lands in large tracts; his letters expressing his views on these points had a strong influence toward their final adoption.
In September, and again in October, of 1783, different committees had made reports recommending the formation of the western territory into States, but no action was taken by Congress until 1784, when, on March 1st, a committee, of which Mr. JEFFERSON was chairman, reported a temporary plan of government for the western territory; it had a clause prohibiting slavery after 1800, but this clause was stricken out, various amendments added, and on April 23d it became an ordinance of Congress. It remained inoperative until repealed by the ordinance of 1787.
On May 10, 1786, September 19, 1786, and April 26, 1787, three separate ordinances for the government of the western territory were reported to Congress. On May 10, 1787, a fourth had reached its third reading, when further action was suspended by a proposition from Gen. S. H. PARSONS, of Middletown, Conn., as representative of the Ohio Company, to purchase a large tract of land in the Ohio country. The Ohio Company was the outgrowth of an endeavor on the part of Revolutionary officers to secure the bounty lands due them for service in the war. On June 16, 1783, two hundred and eighty-eight officers, of whom all except fifty were from New England, had petitioned that their bounty lands be set off in “that tract of country bounded on the north on Lake Erie, east on
Page 795
DR. CUTLER’S CHURCH AND
PARSONAGE AT
IPSWICH HAMLET, 1787.
The place from which the First
Company started for the Ohio, December 3, 1787.
Page 796
Pennsylvania, southwest and south on the river Ohio, west on a line beginning at that part of the Ohio which lies twenty-four miles west of the mouth of the river Scioto, thence running north on a meridian line till it intersects the river Miami which flows into Lake Erie, thence down the middle of that river to the lake.”
Gen. Rufus PUTNAM had forwarded this petition to Gen. WASHINGTON; accompanying it was a letter requesting that it be laid before Congress, stating that it was the intention of the petitioners to become settlers, and speaking of townships six miles square with reservations for religious and educational purposes.
WASHINGTON transmitted the petition and General PUTNAM’S letter to Congress, together with a communication from himself in which he directed attention to the benefits to the whole country that would result from the settlement proposed, and the obligations to the officers and soldiers of the army.
Congress failed to take any action, and no further effort was made to secure their bounty lands until January, 1786, when Generals Rufus PUTNAM and Ben-
OHIO
COMPANY’S OFFICE, BUILT IN 1788.
This
is yet standing near the Muskingum, about
three-fourths of a mile from its mouth.
jamin Tupper issued a call to the Revolutionary officers (who in 1783 had petitioned Congress) to send delegates to a meeting to be held in March. Eleven delegates met at the “Bunch of Grapes” tavern in Boston, Mass., and on March 3, 1786, organized the Ohio Company of Associates. General PUTNAM was made president, and Winthrop SARGENT, clerk. The object of the meeting was to raise a fund in Continental certificates for the sole purpose of buying lands and making a settlement in the western territory.
In March, 1787, three directors were appointed: Generals Samuel H. PARSONS and Rufus PUTNAM, and Dr. Manasseh CUTLER. Major Winthrop SARGENT was made secretary, and at a meeting held the following August Gen. James M. VARNUM, of Rhode Island, was made a director and Richard PLATT, of New York, elected treasurer.
General PARSONS, as agent for the Ohio Company, failed to accomplish any satisfactory results, and he returned to Middletown. Dr. CUTLER was then appointed agent, and on July 5, 1787, arrived in New York, Congress then being in session in that city. The following day he delivered to Congress his petition for purchasing lands for the Ohio Company, and proposed terms and conditions of purchase.
A new committee, consisting of Messrs. CARRINGTON, LEE, DANE, McKEAN, and SMITH, on July 10, submitted to Dr. CUTLER, with leave to make remarks and pro-
Page 797
pose amendments, a copy of an ordinance which had been prepared for the government of the Northwest Territory. As the purchase of lands for the Ohio Company was dependent upon the form of government of the territory in which those lands lay, Dr. CUTLER was deeply interested in this ordinance and proposed several amendments, which with but one exception (on taxation) were subsequently adopted as proposed. In the “North American Review” Mr. W. F. POOLE, who has given an extended study to the subject, says: “The ordinance of 1787 and the Ohio purchase were parts of one and the same transaction. The purchase would not have been made without the ordinance and the ordinance could not have been enacted except as an essential condition of the purchase.”
On July 13, 1787, the ordinance was enacted with but one dissenting vote. No act of an American Congress has received greater praise than this. In his “History of the Constitution” Mr. BANCROFT says: “An interlude in Congress was shaping the character and destiny of the United States of America. Sublime and humane and eventful in the history of mankind as was the result, it will not take many words to tell how it was brought about. For a time wisdom and peace and justice dwelt among men, and the great ordinance which could alone give continuance to the Union came in serenity and stillness. Every man that had a share in it seemed to be moved by an invisible hand to do just what was wanted of him; all that was wrongfully undertaken fell by the wayside; whatever was needed for the happy completion of the mighty work arrived opportunely, and just at the right moment moved into its place.”
In 1830 Daniel WEBSTER said of this great “Ordinance of Freedom:”
“We are accustomed to praise the law-givers of antiquity; we help to perpetuate the fame of Solon and Lycurgus; but I doubt whether one single law of any law-giver, ancient or modern, has produced effects of more distinct, marked and lasting character than the ordinance of 1787. We see its consequences at this moment, and we shall never cease to see them, perhaps, while the Ohio shall flow.”
Having succeeded by rare diplomacy in uniting the different interests involved so as to secure the enactment of an ordinance, with provisions for education, religion and prohibition of slavery, Dr. CUTLER made a contract for the sale of 1,500,000 acres of land to the Ohio Company. This was signed by Samuel OSGOOD and Arthur LEE of the Board of Treasury for the Ohio Company. The price was $1 per acre, payable in “specie, loan office certificates reduced to specie, or certificates of the liquidated debt of the United States.” An allowance not exceeding one-third of a dollar per acre was to be made for bad lands. Section sixteen was to be reserved for schools; twenty-nine for the support of religion; eight, eleven and twenty-six to be disposed of by Congress; and two townships for a university.
HOW THE FIRST
SETTLERS CAME TO OHIO.
By Hon. Henry C.
Noble, Columbus, O.
At a meeting of the directors of the Ohio Company at Bracket’s tavern, in Boston, November 23, 1787, it was ordered: That four surveyors be employed under the direction of the superintendent hereinafter named; that twenty-two men shall attend the surveyors; that there be added to this number twenty men, including six boat-builders, four house carpenters, one blacksmith and nine common workmen, in all forty-eight men; that the boat-builders shall proceed on Monday next, and the surveyors rendezvous at Hartford, on the first of January next, on their way to the Muskingum; that the boat-builders and men with the surveyors be proprietors in the company; that their tools and one hoe and one axe to each man and thirty pounds weight of baggage shall be carried in the company’s wagons, and that the subsistence of the men on their journey be furnished by the company. After other details this order directs that “each man shall furnish himself with a good small arm, bayonet, six flints, a powder-horn and
Page 798
pouch, priming wire and brush, half a pound of powder, one pound of balls and one pound of buckshot,” and “shall be subject to the orders of the superintendent and those he may appoint, as aforesaid, in any kind of business they shall be employed in, as well boat-building and surveying, as for building houses, erecting defences, clearing land and planting or otherwise, for promoting the settlement.” “They shall also be subject to military command during the time of their employment.” We call attention to the military precision of this order, and its fulfilment to the letter in the number of men who went and the duties they performed.
Gen. Rufus PUTNAM was appointed superintendent, and Col. Ebenezer SPROAT, from Rhode Island, Anslem TUPPER and John MATHEWS, from Massachusetts, and Col. R. J. MEIGS, of Connecticut, were appointed surveyors.
THE FIRST COMPANY.
“In
exact compliance with this order a company of twenty-two men, including
Jonathan DEVOLL, a master-shipbuilder, and his assistants, assembled at
the
house of Dr. Manassah
CUTLER, in Ipswich, Mass., on
December 3, 1787. About
the dawn of day
they paraded in front of the house, and, after a short address from
him, three
volleys were fired, and the party went forward, cheered heartily by the
bystanders. Dr.
CUTLER accompanied them
to Danvers, where he placed them under command of Major Haffield
WHITE and Capt. Ezra PUTNAM. He
had
prepared a large and well-built wagon for their use, covered with black
canvas,
which was driven by William GRAY, on which Dr. CUTLER had painted with
his own
hand, in large, white letters, “FOR THE OHIO
COUNTRY.” After
a tedious journey on foot of nearly
eight weeks, they arrived at Sumrill’s
ferry, on the Youghiogheny
river (now West Newton, Westmoreland county,
Pa.), January 23, 1788, where they were to build the
boats to float down the rivers to the Muskingum.
THE SECOND COMPANY.
The
other party of twenty-six, including Gen. PUTNAM and the four surveyors
and
their assistants, with equal punctuality left Hartford, Connecticut, on
January
1, 1788, under the command of Col. Ebenezer SPROAT.
Gen. PUTNAM had business in the city of New
York, and did not join the division until it reached Swatara
creek, just below Harrisburg. When
Gen.
PUTNAM overtook his division they could cross the creek only with
difficulty,
on account of the ice. That
night snow
fell to a considerable depth, which, with that already on the ground,
blocked
up the roads so that with their utmost exertions they could get the
wagons no
further than Cooper’s tavern, at the foot of the Tuscarora
mountains, where they arrived on January 29, four weeks after leaving
Hartford,
a journey which could now be made in probably twenty hours.
They
had now reached the great mountain ranges over which all the early
emigrants
came in wagons, or on horseback, whose journeys were the theme of
fireside
talks among them fifty years ago, and over which the Cumberland or
National
road was built, to facilitate communication between the growing West
and
seashore.
This
company of pioneers ascertained that no one had crossed the mountains
since the
last fall of snow. They
therefore
abandoned their wagons, built four stout sledges to carry their baggage
and
tools, and harnessed their horses in single file.
The men went before on foot to break the
road, and after two weeks of arduous travel they also reached Sumrill’s ferry on
February 14, 1788.
BOAT-BUILDING.
When
they arrived they found that, on account of the severity of the weather
and the
deep snow, little progress had been made toward building the boats. Gen. PUTNAM, who had been
brought up to
mechanical pursuits, and as an engineer had caused many forts and works
to be
built during the revolutionary war, infused new spirit into the
enterprise. The
boat-builders and men
already on the ground, recruited by the large party just arrived, went
heartily
to work under this supervision. The
work
now progressed rapidly under the immediate direction of Jonathan
DEVOLL, the
ship-builder. The
largest boat, which the
ship-builders called “Adventure Galley,” was
afterward named the “Mayflower” in
honor of the famous vessel that bore the Puritan emigrants into
Plymouth bay—an
earlier but hardly a more momentous migration than the one about to
embark on
the Western waters. This
boat was
forty-five feet long and twelve wide, with curved bows, strongly
timbered and
covered with a deck roof high enough for a man to walk upright under
the
beams. The sides
were thick enough to
resist the bullets of any wandering party of Indians who might attack
it, as
they attacked and captured several boats later in the season. As the
“Galley” could not carry the
forty-eight men, horses, wagons, baggage, tools and provisions to keep
them
until their crops were grown, they constructed a large flat-boat and
several
canoes. This
flotilla was ready on April
1, and after it was loaded it left Sumrill’s
ferry
for the Muskingum on the afternoon of April 2, 1788.
The
expedition after a few stoppages by