OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - HISTORY: Chapter 2 [HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY Chicago, 1884) 
***************************************************************************
OHGENWEB NOTICE:  All distribution rights to this electronic data are
reserved by the submitter.  Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted
material will require the permission of the copyright owner.  The submitter 
has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently 
for free access.
***************************************************************************
File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Kay L. Mason
keziah63@yahoo.com	
September 23, 2000
***************************************************************************

					Chapter II.
		     Progress of Events.-Grouping of Interesting Facts.

  				The First Settlement.
  The settlement of the Scioto Valley, or northwest of the Ohio River, was in 
1774. Then quite a number settled within the limits of what is now Ohio. There 
were small villages at Hocking Falls, at the mouth of the Muskingum, the Scioto, 
Miami, and along the north bank of the Ohio. The largest appeared to have been 
Hocking, and there was quite a town on the Mingo bottoms, opposite what is now 
Wheeling.
  In January, 1785, the commissioners to treat with the Indians in possession of 
the territory, Messrs. George Rogers, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee, were 
compelled to cease negotiations until the lands west of the Ohio River were 
dispossessed of the white settlers or pioneers. Ensign John Armstrong was sent 
by Colonel Harmer to drive those white invaders from the Indian soil. Some 
failed to leave. The Delawares and Wyandots were in possession. This was in 
March, 1785. It is very probable that these primitive settlements were formed by 
soldiers from Lord Dunmore's army, which, after a short campaign against the 
Indians in Ohio, was disbanded at the mouth of the Hocking River in the fall of 
1774. The fact of the disbandment of the army, about 1,200 men, at the time and 
place above named, has been accepted as conclusive, and as no facts to the 
contrary have ever been presented, nothing seems more plausible than that 
parties of these soldiers, on discovering the fertility of these valleys, 
tarried long enough to test their fruitfulness, and afterward sent for their 
families or friends.
  It is fully evident from the foregoing that the whites had fastened themselves 
upon the country as early as 1774, but there is no evidence at hand to prove 
that any fixed settlement was founded for the active development of the country 
until the close of the Revolutionary war, which proclaimed to the world a nation 
born and liberty triumphant. The country was then in an exhausted condition, and 
the people had little means, either for home comforts or to travel to unknown 
and far-off lands. However, the recuperation of the populations from the 
devastations of a seven years' war was remarkable for its rapidity, and the 
desire to explore the then great unknown West became a consuming one. A 
government of peace, however, had to be founded, laws made, and all the 
machinery of law, order and the inalienable right of a free people was to be 
inaugurated that would secure a continuation of that peace which had cost so 
much, and for a prosperity which was absolutely necessary to the welfare of an 
impoverished land. This was the labor of years, yet the year 1787 saw the 
fruition of the work, and a glorious structure was reared which has stood the 
test of time, the assaults of a foreign foe, and a civil strife unparalleled in 
the history of nations.
  Under the aegis of this law the pioneer left his Eastern home and planted the 
banner of civilization upon the boundary line of the great Northwest, and from 
there took up his line of march into the interior, blazing a pathway for others 
to follow, and, at times, leaving his body as a bloody offering upon the shrine 
of freedom, and the burning of his cabin a torch to light the footsteps of those 
who came after. All was not peace in the West when freedom sat enthroned on the 
Atlantic Coast. The Indians were not willing to give up their hunting grounds 
without a struggle, and bravely they repelled the palefaces. But destiny had 
decreed their doom, and the white man was master of the country.

				Governor Appointed.
  Under the Act of Congress of July 13, 1787, Arthur St. Clair was appointed 
Governor of the Northwest Territory; Sam'l H. Parsons, James M. Varnum and John 
Armstrong were appointed Judges; the latter not accepting, John Cleves Symmes 
was appointed in his place. Winthrop Sargent was appointed Secretary. The 
officers of the Territory started for their destination and arrived at Marietta 
on the 9th of July, 1788, excepting Judge Symmes, who joined them, however, soon 
after, and their commissions were published as well as the ordinance governing 
the Territory. The Governor called the attention of the judge to the 
organization of the militia, but they paid no attention to it, but got up a land 
law for dividing realestate, which was rejected for its crudities and the fact 
that non-resident land-holders would have been deprived of their land. On the 
26th of July, 1788, the county of Washington was organized by proclamation and 
the Governor appointed Rufus Putnam, Benj. Tupper and Winthrop Sargent, Justices 
of the Peace.
  Its boundary was defined as follows: "Beginning on the bank of the Ohio River 
where the western line of Pennsylvania crosses it, and running with that line to 
Lake Erie; thence along the southern shore of said lake to the north of Cuyahoga 
River; thence up 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 westwardly to the portage of 
that branch of the Big Miami upon which the fort stood that was taken and 
destroyed by the French in 1752, until it meets the road from the Lower 
Shawanese town to the Sandusky; thence south to the Scioto River, down that to 
its mouth, and thence up the Ohio River to the place of the beginning."
  He erected a Court of Probate, established a Court of Quarter Sessions, 
divided the militia into two classes, Seniors and Juniors, then added, Aug. 30, 
1788, three more Justices of the Peace in the persons of Archibald Cary, Isaac 
Pierce and Thomas Lord, and giving them power to hold the Court of Quarter 
Sessions. They were in fact Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. Return Jonathan 
Meigs was the clerk of this court.
  The Scioto Valley began to attract attention and Chillicothe was laid out, 
1796, by Nathaniel Massie, when the ground was covered by a dense forest; 
Portsmouth was located in 1805, by Henry Massie; Piketon in 1814 and Jackson 
Court-House in 1817. Pike County was first settled in 1796, and the old salt 
works in Jackson County were worked by the whites in 1798, while the Indians and 
French had used them as far back as 1750; a French map in 1755 gave the location 
of these works or springs.

				A Terrible Awakening.
  For a while after the close of the Revolutionary war peace and prosperity had 
been the lot of the white settlers, and they had been spreading their cabins 
into the interior, until at last they aroused the red man to a sense of his 
danger in being dispossessed of his hunting grounds. Then again the 
frontiersmen, those who in a measure made hunting their occupation, had the 
impression that an Indian, like a wild beast, was game, and he was generally 
killed on sight. The Indians were by no means backward in retaliation, and the 
scalp of a hunter was something they considered a legitimate trophy, and a great 
one if the hunter was a good fighter. Of course this state of affairs was bound 
to breed trouble, and when in addition to this the palefaces overran their lands 
or hunting grounds, they determined upon driving them out of the country. The 
result was a general rising, in which the shriek of their victims and the light 
of their burning cabins called upon the Government for immediate action.
  The Indians were urged on to their terrible work by British spies and agents, 
doing their utmost to precipitate an Indian war. The latter were supplied with 
arms, ammunition, blankets, etc., by these agents, and through their evil and 
persistent machinations at the last war. The settlers were soon surrounded by 
hostile Indians, and every pioneer carried his life in his hands-who stepped 
even beyond their threshold, in many cases. The first display of hostility by 
the Indians was upon the groups of Government surveyors, who were regarded by 
the Indians as their especial enemies. Their lining out or surveying the land 
was definite enough for the Indians to understand something of its nature, and 
that what they thus marked out was forever lost to them. Their hatred to these 
bands of surveyors resulted in sudden attacks, and many were killed. It soon 
became evident that the land could not be surveyed and brought into market until 
something more definite was determined upon. The Indians all seemed to be united 
in their determined opposition to the further encroachment of the whites, and to 
defend their hunting grounds from the invasion of the palefaces. Nothing was to 
be done but to chastise the Indians and bring them to terms of peace. This was 
not accomplished without a long and bitter struggle.

				The Indian War.
  Peace overtures having failed and the Indians aggressive to a murderous 
degree, General Harmer was directed to attack their towns. In September, 1790, 
with 1,330 men, he marched from Cincinnati through the wilderness to the Indian 
villages on the Miami, which he burned. On his homeward march he was attacked by 
a superior force of savages, and, after a desperate battle, was totally 
defeated. General Harmer was barely able to make good his retreat to Cincinnati. 
His expedition was a failure and gave the Indians renewed courage and hope.
  From this time there were four years of uninterrupted war with the Indians, 
and sad indeed was the condition of the settlers. Wherever the settlements 
extended, the whole frontier was lighted by the flames of burning cabins and 
destruction of improvements. An attack was made on the settlement at Big Bottom, 
in Washington County, on the Muskingum River, Jan. 2, 1791, characterized by the 
usual horrible features of stealth and sudden surprise by the savages, of quick 
massacre and scalping of the victims, and of hasty retreat into the wilderness. 
In this attack twelve persons were killed and five carried into captivity.
  The surprise and slaughter of the troops under General St. Clair in their camp 
on the morning of Nov. 4, 1791, was a scene of appalling horror. Then came a 
rest. The Indians and their British allies were jubilant. A day of retribution, 
however, was in store for them. Refusing peace overtures, the Government 
determined to wage a vigorous and relentless war upon the savages until they 
would cry for peace, but no more overtures would be held out. If peace came it 
must come from the actions of the forest chiefs who had commenced hostilities.

					Wayne's Campaign.
  The next move was to call upon General Anthony Wayne to take full command of 
the troops and to wage active warfare against the Indians, giving them no rest 
and destroying as they had destroyed. "Mad Anthony" did not belie his reputation 
gained in the war of the Revolution. During the negotiation of the 
commissioners, which he felt would be a failure, he marched to the scene of war 
with a strong force ready for active operations as soon as negotiations should 
cease. In the fall of 1793 he marched into the Indian country and commenced 
fortifying, or finishing the work commenced by the unfortunate St. Clair. He 
built a fort at Greenville, Darke County, where St. Clair was surprised and 
defeated, and gave it the name of Fort Recovery, an appropriate name, as it was 
truly recovered. In the following summer, that of 1794, General Wayne organized 
his forces and marched to the junction of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers, and 
there built another fort and called it "Fort Defiance," and as an auxiliary line 
of defense he erected Fort Adams, at what is known as St. Mary's, in Auglaize 
County. By August his command, numbering 3,000 men, was ready for active duty, 
and he at once sought the enemy upon their own ground by marching down the 
Maumee River to the rapids, and to where there was a British military post. 
Here, at the foot of Maumee Rapids, he built Fort Miami, and, feeling himself 
strong enough for offensive action, he offered the enemy peace. This was 
defiantly refused, but time was asked. This Wayne refused and immediately 
marched to an open strip of ground, known by the name of "Fallen Timbers", at 
the head of the Maumee Rapids, not far from the site of the present Maumee City, 
and then attacked the Indians in force, the 10th of August, and overwhelmingly 
defeated them. General Wayne followed up his victory, by laying waste the 
country, destroying the Indian towns and crops, and, moving with celerity, 
prevented another organization of the Indian forces. From the battle-field of 
"Fallen Timbers" he marched to the site of the present city of Fort Wayne, Ind., 
and there erected another fort which he named "Fort Wayne," after himself, the 
name the town assumed when incorporated. Having garrisoned his forts he returned 
with his army to Greenville, or Fort Recovery, and there went into winter 
quarters. During his sojourn there General Wayne issued the following 
proclamation, which refers to this section as well as to other parts of the 
State:
  "To the Cherokees now settled on the head waters of the Scioto and to all 
other Indians in that quarter whom it may concern:
  "Whereas, I, Anthony Wayne, Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the 
Legion, and Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the United States of America for 
settling a permanent peace with all the late hostile tribes and nations 
northwest of the Ohio, have entered into preliminary articles with the Wyandots, 
Chippewas, Ottowas, Pottawatomies, Sankeys, Shawanese, Delawares and Miamis, for 
a cessation of hostilities, for the mutual exchange of prisoners, and for 
holding a general treaty for the establishing a permanent peace at this place on 
the 15th day of June next; and, Whereas, His Excellency, Governor William 
Blount, has concluded a treaty on the 7th and 8th days of November last, with 
Colonel John Watts, of Milltown, one of the lower Cherokee towns, and 
Scolacutta, or Hanging Maw and other chiefs of the Cherokee Nation, at which 
were present 400 Cherokee warriors and a number of citizens of the Southwestern 
Territory, I, the said General and Commander-in-Chief, do now send this 
authentic information to the Cherokees and other Indians residing on the waters 
of the Scioto, by Captain Reid, in order to warn all and every of the said 
Indians against committing any murder or theft or insult upon any of the 
inhabitants or soldiers of the United States, but to remain peaceable and quiet, 
and to bring in all such prisoners as they may have in their possession to this 
place at the time agreed upon, that is, the 15th day of June next, for holding 
the general treaty.
  "If, after this friendly warning and invitation, any more murders, or 
robberies, or injury shall be committed by the aforesaid Indians residing on the 
waters of the Scioto, the said General does hereby declare that he without 
distinction, as it will not be in his power to distinguish the innocent from the 
guilty. He, therefore, advises all peaceable Indians to withdraw themselves from 
the bad Indians, and leave them to the fate that immediately awaits them.
  "Given at the headquarters of the Legion, at Greenville, this 2d day of March, 
1795.
						"Anthony Wayne"

					A Treaty.
  The Indians accepted this warning and a treaty of peace was concluded with 
them Aug. 3, 1795, the preliminaries being partly agreed upon in the previous 
June. Twelve tribes signed the treaty of peace in Greenville, and by this treaty 
the Indians ceded to the United States Government the present territory of Ohio, 
Indiana, and Michigan, except the Upper Peninsula, besides some sixteen separate 
tracts of lands including forts. This covered about 25,000 square miles of 
territory, and the tribes signing this treaty were the Pottawatomies, Delawares, 
Wyandots, Shawanese, Chippewas, Sankeys, Ottawas, Kaskaskias, Miamis, Senecas 
and Kickapoos. General Wayne addressed the Indians in well-worked sentences, 
which met their understanding, and the treaty of Greenville was an established 
fact, and the pioneer could now live in his rude cabin in peace, with a bright 
future before him.
  In connection with this treaty can be mentioned the special treaty with Great 
Britain, which was one of the results of the subjugation and the Indian treaty 
above. Under the provision of this special treaty the British Government 
evacuated all its Western military posts, and no foreign potentate or power was 
now upon the soil of the United States or her territory. The era of a new 
prosperity was dawning on the great West.

					Indian Annuities.
  The United States was bound by that treaty to pay the following tribes, 
annually,forever, the following sums: To the Delawares, $1,000; Wyandots, 
$1,000; Shawanese, $1,000; Miamies, $1,000; Ottawas, $1,000; Chippewas, $1,000; 
Putawatimies, $1,000; Kickapoos, $500; Weas, $500; Eel Rivers, $500; 
Piankeshaws, $500; Kaskaskias, $500; total, $9,500. The above named were so 
spelled at the time of this treaty. By the treaty of Fort Industry, July 4, 
1805, the Wyandots, Munsee, Delaware and Shawanese tribes were to be paid $1,000 
annually, forever, by the United States. The treaty of Detroit, Nov. 17, 
1807, the Ottawas and Chippewas were to receive $800 annually, forever, and the 
Wyandots and Putawatimies $400 annually, forever. In 1809 another treaty was 
effected with five tribes at Fort Wayne, and the following annuities were to be 
paid annually forever: Delawares, $500; Miamies, $700; Eel Rivers, $350; 
Putawatamies, $500; and the Weas, $100. The latter also got $300 annually at the 
treaty of Vincennes, while the Kickapoos were granted $500 something over a 
month later.
  The treaty of Fort Meigs, Sept. 29, 1817, the tribes below were allowed the 
following annuities, annually, forever: Wyandots, $4,000; Shawanese, $2,000; 
Senecas, $500; Putawatamies, for fifteen years, $1,300; Chippewas, fifteen 
years, $1,000; and the Ottawas, $1,000 for the same length of time.
  The several treaties concluded at St. Mary's in Ohio, in the fall of 1818, the 
tribes below named received permanent annuities: The Wyandots, $500; the Senecas 
and Shawanese, of Lewistown, $1,000; the Senecas, of Upper Sandusky, $500; 
Ottawas, $1,500; Delawares, $4,000; Miamies, $15,000; Putawatomies, $2,5000, and 
the Weas, $1,850. The United States was also to give to blacksmith and armories, 
iron, steel and tool, not less than $5,000 annually, and the Wyandots and 
Miamies were each to have a saw and grist mill erected for their use by the 
Government. There was a total of 2,407 Indians within the limits of Ohio in the 
year 1819.

				Progress of the New Northwest.
  The era of peace dawned upon as energetic a people as ever pioneered a path of 
civilization in the wilderness, and not only were those who had lived, fought 
and defended their homes against the ruthless savages ready to strike giant 
blows for renewed life, but thousands of others, brave and hardy men, came West, 
the advanced guard, to blaze the way for men of less nerve to follow, when 
civilization and Christianity had established a permanent foothold in the Great 
Northwest. The Ohio River was ladened with flat-boats and pirogues, bearing 
living freight and household goods. The years 1796 to 1800 showed thousands of 
people seeking homes in the new country. They came from all the Atlantic States. 
This immigration was encouraged by Congress, which offered special inducements 
to the soldiers of the Revolutionary and Indian wars, and they came in large 
numbers, the river towns from Marietta to Cincinnati becoming places of 
rendezvous.

 				The First Territorial Legislature
Began its session at Cincinnati on Monday, Sept., 16, 1799. The Legislative 
Council consisted of Jacob Burnet, of Cincinnati; Henry Vanderburg, of 
Vincennes; David Vance, of Vanceville, Jefferson County, and Robert Oliver, of 
Marietta. Henry Vanderburg was elected President of the Council or Legislature; 
Wm. C. Schenk, Secretary; George Howard, Door-Keeper, and Abraham Cary, 
Sergeant-at Arms. The first House of Representatives under the Territorial 
Government consisted of Wm. Goforth, Wm. McMillan, John Smith, John Ludlow, 
Robert Benham, Aaron Caldwell 
and Isaac Martin from Hamilton County; Ross County, Thos. Worthington, Sam'l 
Finley, Elias Langham and Edwin Tiffin; Wayne County, now State of Michigan and 
a portion of then Ohio and Indiana as now known, came Solomon Sibley, Chas. F. 
Chobert, de Jon Caine and Jacob Visger; Adams County, Joseph Darlington and 
Nathaniel Massie; Knox County, now Indiana and Illinois, Shadrack Bond; 
Jefferson County, Ohio, James Pritchard, and Washington County, Ohio, Return J. 
Meigs.
  They elected Edwin Tiffin, Speaker; Jno. Riley, Clerk; Joshua Rowland, Door-
Keeper, and Abraham Cary, Sergeant-at-Arms. Mr. Cary serving in that capacity in 
both Houses of the Legislature.
  This was the first Legislature elected by the people for the then Northwestern 
Territory, now embracing the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and 
Michigan. Governor St. Clair delivered his first message Sept. 25, 1799. Sept. 
30 the first public printer appointed north of the Ohio received office; it was 
Joseph Carpenter. Winthrop Sargent having been appointed Governor of the 
Mississippi Territory resigned his office of Secretary, and Chas. Willing Bird 
was appointed in his place. Following Mr. Bird Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed 
and held until Oct. 3, when both Houses having met to elect a territorial 
Representative, or Delegate, to Congress, he was chosen. Harrison received 
eleven votes to Arthur St. Clair, a son of Governor St. Clair, ten votes. A 
short time after Francis Dunlevy became Secretary of the territory, which office 
was vacated by the election of Harrison to Congress.
  In the session of the Territorial Legislature in 1800, Wm. H. Harrison, then 
delegate in Congress, was appointed first Governor of Indiana Territory and 
Return J. Meigs, of Marietta, one of its first Judges. It is stated that the 
most efficient member of the first Legislature was Jacob Burnet. He wrote the 
reply to Governor St. Clair's first session, wrote the address to the President 
of the United States, and drafted some or most of the laws passed. Governor St. 
Clair ruled as a military martinet and prorogued the Legislature in true British 
style. After the first session of the Territorial Legislature the seat of 
Government was removed to Chillicothe where it remained during the existence 
of Ohio as a Territory. At this last place the State Constitution was framed and 
Chillicothe remained the capital until 1810, when it was removed by the 
"Sweepers," as the party was called who succeeded in getting it removed to 
Zanesville. This section of the country gained in population, and not long after 
Ohio became a State, and at the first State session, Scioto County was formed, 
May 1, 1803, Pike County not being formed until February, 1815, and Jackson 
County in March, 1816.

				Location of Bounty Lands.
  The location of the lands appropriate for satisfying military land bounty 
warrants in the district appropriated for that purpose, granted for service in 
the Revolutionary war, commenced March 13, 1800; and the location of lands 
granted to the Canadian and Nova Scotia refugees commenced Feb. 13, 1802. Those 
lands east of the Scioto, south of the military bounty lands, and west of the 
fifteenth range of townships were first brought into market and offered for sale 
by the United States on the first Monday of May, 1801. The western lands ceded 
by Virginia to the General Government had, upon recommendation of Congress, been 
ceded upon certain conditions; one of the conditions was, that in case 
the lands south of the Ohio should be insufficient for their legal bounties to 
their troops, the deficiency should be made up from lands north of the Ohio, 
between the rivers Scioto and Little Miami.
  The opening of the sale of these lands was to start a regular pilgrimage from 
the East to the West. Not all came to settle at once, but on prospecting tours 
for observation in view of a future residence. It was not the soldiers alone who 
had bounty-land warrants, for services in the cause of their country, but all 
classes came West to view the grand domain, which at this day has become a 
mighty empire, peopled with an energetic and enterprising population. The 
surbyes of these lands had been going on for several years, and had been 
interrupted by an Indian war and other causes, and when the survey was at 
last completed and the land offered for sale in May, 1801, as above stated, 
there was no lack of purchasers, and location by warrants. The settlement of the 
country was indeed rapid, when the population of that day is considered. As 
before remarked, all classes of citizens came West to find homes and peace in 
this fruitful region, and the Ohio and its tributaries were soon peopled with an 
industrious race, and towns and villages sprang up, while the farmers themselves 
formed settlements, locating their lands within neighborly distances of each 
other. Schools and churches, those sure harbingers of a moral and contented 
people, alive alike to the present and the future, reared their humble roofs, 
and when the dawn of prosperity began to show itself in field and farmhouse, the 
school-houses and churches of logs began to disappear and the frame church 
painted white appeared, and the same arrangements for the advance of the pupils 
in the Atlantic States were found in the West. Education and Christianity went 
hand in hand, and the people of the West were in nowise behind those of  the 
East in advancing the work of civilization and enjoying its fruits, albeit their 
struggles and their trial would cause at times some discouraging thoughts.
  The next county established in the State after that of Washington on July 27, 
1788, Marietta being the county seat, was Hamilton, erected Jan. 2, 1790. Its 
bounds included the country between the Miamis, extending northward from the 
Ohio River to a line drawn due east from the standing stone forks of the Great 
Miami. The name of the settlement opposite the Licking was, at this time, called 
Cincinnati. Aug. 15, 1796, Wayne County was established, including all the 
Northwestern part of Ohio, a large tract in Northeastern Indiana and the whole 
territory of Michigan. Detroit was the seat of justice. July 10, 1797, Adams 
County was erected, comprehending a large tract lying on the west side of the 
Scioto and extending northward to Wayne. Other counties were afterward formed 
out of those already established, and before the end of the year 1798 the 
Northwest Territory contained a population of 5,000 free males inhabitants of 
full age and eight organized counties.
  Ross County was organized Aug. 20, 1798; Trumbull, July 10, 1800; Clermont, 
Dec. 9, 1800; Fairfield, the same date, which made twelve counties organized up 
to the first of the present area of five States, extending from the Pennsylvania 
line to the Mississippi River, and from the Ohio River to the northern 
territorial line. This of course was largely outside the domain of our State, 
but the organizations of all these counties were formed either at Marietta or 
Chillicothe. Up to 1803 and including that year, which was the date of Ohio's 
admittance into the Union as a State, these nine counties were organized within 
its limits.

				Formation State Constitution.
On the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed an act authorizing the call of a 
convention to form a State Constitution. This convention assembled at 
Chillicothe Nov. 1, and on the 29th of the same month a constitution of State 
government was ratified and signed by the members of the convention. It was 
never referred to the people for their approbation, but became one of the States 
of the Federal Union. But besides framing a constitution the convention had 
another duty to perform. The act of Congress providing for the admission of the 
new State into the Union offered certain propositions to this people. These 
were, first, that section 16 in each township, or where that section had been 
disposed of other contiguous and equivalent lands, should be granted to the 
inhabitants for the use of schools; second, that thirty-eight sections of land 
where salt springs had been found, of which one township was situated on the 
Scioto, one section on the Muskingum and one section in the United States 
military tract, should be granted to the State, never to be sold or leased for a 
longer time then ten years; and, third, that one-twentieth of the proceeds of 
public lands sold within the State should be applied to the construction of 
roads from the Atlantic to and through the same. These propositions were offered 
on the condition that the convention should provide by ordinance that all lands 
sold by the United States after June 30, 1802, should be exempt from taxation by 
the State for five years after sale.
  The first General Assembly under the State Constitution met at Chillicothe, 
March 1, 1803. The Legislature enacted such laws as were deemed necessary for 
the new order of things and created eight new counties, namely: Gallia, Scioto, 
Franklin, Columbiana, Butler, Warren, Green and Montgomery. The first State 
officers elected by the assembly were as follows" Michael Baldwin, Speaker of 
the House of Representatives; Nathaniel Massie, Speaker of the Senate; William 
Creighton, Jr., Secretary of State; Colonel Thomas Gibson, Auditor; William 
McFarland, Treasurer; Return J. Meigs, Jr., Samuel Huntington and William 
Sprigg, Judges of the Supreme Court; Francis Dunlevy, Wyllys Silliman and Calvin 
Pease, Judges of the District Court; United States Senators, Thomas Worthington 
and John Smith. 
  The first Governor elected by the people was Edward Tiffin, and the first 
Member of Congress elected was Jeremiah Morrow. The first United States District 
Judge was Charles Willing Bird. Besides the above counties organized in 1803, 
Muskingum and Highland counties were organized in 1804, and quite a number of 
others in 1805, 1806 and 1807. This showed the rapid settlement of the country, 
for without people counties were unnecessary. Besides the influx of population, 
other increases of no less consideration were that of stock and fowls. Hogs 
multiplied rapidly and the domestic fowl was assuming a large share of the 
farmer's attention. Winters were short, and, little feed being necessary, cattle 
also began to be numerous, and the country to assume the comforts of life at the 
end of the first decade.
  The year 1810 was not important except for the commencement of the movements 
for an Indian War. The celebrated Tecumseh had been conspicuously active in his 
efforts to unite the native tribes against the whites, and to arrest the further 
extension of the white settlement. His actions and those of his brother, the 
Prophet, soon made it evident that the West was about to suffer the calamities 
of another Indian war, and it was resolved to anticipate their movements. In 
1811 General Harrison, the Governor of the Indiana Territory, marched against 
the town of the Prophet, on the Wabash, and in the ensuing action, the battle of 
Tippecanoe, in what is now Cass County, Ind., the Indians were totally defeated. 
This year (1811) was also made important to Western history by the voyage from 
Pittsburg to New Orleans of the first steamboat even launched upon the Western 
waters.
  In 1816 the seat of the State Government was removed from Chillicothe to 
Columbus, the proprietors of that town, pursuant to an agreement entered into, 
having erected in good faith a State-house and other public buildings for the 
accommodation of the Legislature and officers of the State.
  From this time on, until the dark days of the civil war fell like a blight 
upon the land, the State grew and prospered. In the mouth of February, 1825, an 
act was passed "To provide for the internal improvement of the State by 
navigable canals." This gave confidence to the people and work for those who 
depended upon their daily labor for a living. The system of canals thus 
inaugurated was about completed in the year 1840, and these works doubtless 
added thousands to the population of the State which would not otherwise have 
found their homes here. Next came the railroad fever, and that raged for a 
quarter of a century, until the State became a net-work of iron roads, which 
are, in the near future, likely to traverse every county within its border.