Ohio History Journal

EDITORIALANA.

PURCHASE OF FORT ANCIENT. The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society is to be heartily congratulated over the final accomplishment of its efforts, ex- tending through many years, of securing entire possession of Fort

Ancient.  It has been a long and stubborn siege, with many vicissitudes and delays and dis couragements, but the last walls of the enclosure have finally been taken and the Society now "holds the fort." It is neces- sary to repeat some ancient his- tory in order to give a complete account of the purchasing nego- tiations. From the time of its first organization it has been the desire and the ambition of the Society to have the State become the possessor of this greatest, most complete and famous defensive work of the prehistoric  American   people. Prof. Warren    K. Moorehead was one of the first to recog- nize and publicly urge the pre- servation of this fort and its acquisition by the State.  His explorations in the years 1888- 1891 aided greatly in bringing about the desired result. After the legislature had been impor- tuned during several different sessions, it finally acquiesced in the solicitations of the Society and the first bill was passed April 28, 1890, by the Sixty- ninth General Assembly known

as Senate Bill No. 308, introduced by Senator Jesse N. Oren, "To provide for the preservation of Fort Ancient." This act appropriated the sum of $7,200, or so much thereof as might be necessary to pur- 489

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chase said property. The bill further provided for the appointment of a

committee of five, two by the President of the Senate, two by the

Speaker of the House, and one by the Attorney General, which com-

mittee was authorized to make the purchase which was to include all,

or the most important part of said works, not less than 180 acres in

the aggregate, at a price not exceeding forty dollars per acre. The

purchase was to be approved by the Governor and the Attorney General;

the title to the secured lands was to vest in the State of Ohio and the

deed thereof to be duly recorded and deposited with the Auditor of

State. Pursuant to this act, the committee of the legislature, accom-

panied by a committee appointed by the Society, and Mr. Graham, the

then Secretary of the Society, visited the property, and a purchase was

made from Messrs. Dunham and Couden, the deed of the grantors to

the State being properly accepted by the state authorities May 11, 1891.

Through this transaction, the State came into possession of the agreed

number of acres, viz., 180, at the stipulated price forty dollars per acre,

and it was supposed at the time that practically the entire fort had

been secured.  It was subsequently discovered that the State, either

through some error of the committee acting for the State, or of the

immediate parties between whom the transfer was perfected, had failed

to purchase the entire property of the Fort, but instead that the 180

acres of which the State became possessed embraced only the central

portion of the Fort and in addition thereto a strip of land outside the

walls, immediately east of the center of the fortifications, leaving un-

secured the south end of the Fort, or some two-thirds of what is

known as the Old Fort, and also leaving unpurchased the entire north

wall, including some twelve acres of land of the New Fort. These

escaping portions were known respectively as the Couden and Ridge

tracts.

During the adjourned session of the Sixty-ninth General As-

sembly, Senate Joint Resolution No. 93 was introduced and passed

April 24, 1891, by which "the care and control of Fort Ancient was

vested in the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Archaeological and Histori-

cal Society, who shall hold the lands and property thereon subject to

such use as the general assembly may by law direct." In anticipation

of such custodianship the Society at its annual meeting, February 19,

1891, appointed a supervisory committee consisting of Senator Jesse N.

Oren of Wilmington, Israel Harris of Waynesville and Israel Williams

of Hamilton; Colonel Thomas B. Van Home of Columbus was placed in

immediate charge of the Fort under the direction of the above com-

mittee.

The Society under appropriations made by the legislature at

various times, proceeded to clear and restore portions of the Fort

which had been placed under its care, and cultivate such land as was

tillable, both within and without the walls. On August 1, 1894, the

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Editorialana.                      491

 

Society employed Mr. Warren Cowen as the Custodian of the Fort

and that position he still retains, having proved a most efficient, able

and popular official for that place. In the summer of 1895 some $1,200

was expended in erecting a commodious house for the Custodian. In

the late fall of 1895, the Secretary (Randall) secured options upon

the unpurchased portions of the Fort, viz: $900 for the Ridge tract

of some twelve acres and $4,300 for the Couden tract, something over

107 acres. In its appropriation bill of April 16, 1896, the General As-

sembly granted the Society the sum of $5,200 for the purchase of these

two remaining strips. Upon the attempt by the Secretary, and a com-

mittee of the Society, to consummate the purchase from the owners

for the portions desired, it was found that the properties could not

be obtained at the prices previously named.  The heirs controlling

the Couden property asked $5,200 for the 107 acres, or thereabouts,

known as the Couden strip, while as to the section at the north end, con-

sisting of some twelve acres, and known as the Ridge property, it

had been purchased as was claimed by a corporation for the purpose of

erecting thereon a summer hotel, plans for which had been drawn, and

advertisement for the sale of lots adjacent to the proposed hotel having

been published in various papers. It was an amusing "pipe dream"

this hotel scheme-the hostelry was to be a spacious summer resort;

an artificial lake in the rear; bands were to play in the area in front

while the delighted guests were to promenade the prehistoric walls or

make merry in the ample fields within the enclosure. It was to be a

unique union of worldly pleasure and archaeological delight. The party

known as the Fort Ancient Hotel Company demanded three thousand

dollars for the property, carrying with it the prospective "privilege" of

completing the hotel, the cellar of which had been partly excavated.

The securing of the Ridge property on such a basis was, of course, out

of the question and negotiations proceeded no further. It was decided

however, in accordance with the opinion rendered by the Attorney Gen-

eral, that the State, through the Society, could under the provisions of

the appropriation, purchase the Couden tract, expending therefor the

total amount appropriated ($5,200) and leaving the Ridge tract still

unbought. This purchase was accordingly made, the abstract and deed

for the Couden tract being approved by the proper state authorities and

accepted December 5, 1896. This left unpurchased the Ridge tract in-

cluding the north wall. In addition to this, during negotiations made

for the purchase of the Couden tract, it was discovered that there were

some two or three acres of land belonging to Mr. Chester Poor, which

in a wedge shaped manner extended through the west walls into the

enclosure of the North Fort. It was generally designated as the Poor

wedge. Thus matters stood undisturbed several years, during which

negotiations were attempted at intervals for the purchase of the Poor

wedge, and for the Ridge strip, but without avail. Finally in the fall

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of 1907, an option was secured by the Secretary and the Fort Ancient

Committee of the Society, from the Ridge family for the purchase of

the Ridge tract, not only of the twelve acres including the north wall,

but some eight acres more, making about twenty in all, for the sum of

$1,800. In the meantime two building lots south of the North wall, and

immediately within the Fort inclosure, known respectively as the Ward

Hotel site and the Frauenknecht property had been sold by the Ridges.

It was understood that these two pieces of property could be purchased

for the sum of two hundred dollars apiece. The Seventy-Seventh Gen-

eral Assembly in its appropriation bill passed May 9, 1908, appropriated

the sum of $2,200 "for completion of purchase of Fort Ancient."

Thus provided with the funds, a deed to the State of the Ridge tract,

some twenty acres, for the sum of $1,800 was secured by the Society,

and accepted by the Attorney General and deposited with the Auditor

of State on June 3, 1908. Purchase of the lots within the walls of the

North Fort, known as the Ward Hotel site, for the sum of $300 was

completed and the deed received by the Auditor of State, July 30, 1908.

A similar purchase, also for the sum of $300, was made of the Frauen-

knecht lot, which deed was approved and accepted by the Auditor of State

August 5, 1908, making the total purchase of the original Ridge tract

$2,400. The two hundred dollars required in excess of the specific

appropriation, was provided from other funds at the disposal of the

Society. During the negotiations for the purchase of the Ridge tract,

the Poor wedge above mentioned, consisting of some three acres, was

also purchased for the sum of $250 out of funds legally at the disposal

of the Society, the deed being approved by the Attorney General of

State and acepted by the Auditor of State on January 23, 1908. The

total cost to the State, therefore, of Fort Ancient, not including various

incidental fees for abstracts, court records, etc., aggregates $15,050.

All of the deeds above mentioned make the State of Ohio, and not

the Society, the grantee. The total number of acres of land purchased

is about 310, nearly half of which is the area inside the walls. The

details of purchases previous to the last, by the Society and the various

improvements made on and in the Fort have all been carefully set

forth in the published proceedings of the annual meetings of the So-

ciety.

And so Fort Ancient is secured and preserved for all time to come

-the most valuable and interesting masterpiece of the Mound Builders,

representing in size, imposing grandeur, ingenuity in design and perfec-

tion of construction, the highest point attained in the earthwork struc-

tures of the mysterious lost race.

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