Ohio History Journal

DEDICATION OF THE OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM AND LIBRARY BUILDING.   MAY 30, 1914.   On the afternoon of Saturday, May 30th (Memorial Day), following the annual meeting of the Society, which was held in the morning, the Society celebrated the dedication of the new building, located on the campus, 0. S. U., corner High Street and 15th Ave.

First President of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. The building, facing the east, occupies a conspicuous posi- tion on the west side of High Street, immediately south of the (325)

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main and spacious entrance to the campus of the Ohio State

University. A structure, imposing and attractive in architec-

tural form, it is therefore the first of the many handsome build-

ings, that dot and adorn the college grounds, to greet the view,

not only of the visitors to the university but to all those who

pass by on the chief thoroughfare of the capital city. Certainly

the trustees of the Ohio State University were generous when

they donated this choice site to the official board of The Ohio

State Archaeological and Historical Society, for it is to be re-

membered that while the Society has a sympathetic and co-oper-

ative relation in its aims and work with the university, it

is entirely distinct therefrom in its organization and official

management.

The exercises were held in the rotunda of the building.

The day seemed to be propitious and the incidents conducive to

a very happy occasion. The rotunda was filled with the members

of the Society, invited guests and those interested in its work

and welfare.

First Vice President George F. Bareis called the meeting to

order, and after a few fitting remarks asked Rev. I. F. King,

many years one of the trustees of the Society, to pronounce the

invocation.  Mr. Bareis then presented Prof. G. Frederick

Wright, President of the Society, as the chairman of the meeting.

President Wright made the following address:

 

 

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT WRIGHT.

When the whites began to penetrate into the Mississippi Val-

ley, about the middle of the 16th century, Ohio was occupied by

contending tribes of Iroquois and Algonquin Indians. Not only

were these tribes continually at war with each other, but both

were engaged in driving back beyond the Ohio the tribes which

occupied the country south of that river. So successful were

these northern tribes in driving away from the hunting grounds

of Ohio their southern antagonists, that, according to General

William Henry Harrison, during the 18th century there was not

on the banks of the Ohio, a single wigwam or structure in the

nature of a permanent abode, "the curling smoke of whose chim-

neys would give the promise of comfort and refreshment to a

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.      327   weary traveler." Through the opposition of these tribes even Kentucky was without permanent occupation, but was kept merely as a common hunting ground. But, long before the encroachments of these warlike north- ern tribes, Southern and Central Ohio had been occupied by a race which had made far greater advances in civilization than any of the people occupying the territory of the United States at the time of the discovery of America by the whites. From the numerous monuments left by these extinct people they have been aptly called the Mound Builders. From the abundance of

their remains in Ohio, the work of exploring and interpreting these remains and of ascertain- ing their date and the stage of civilization to which they had attained, has naturally devolved upon the citizens of our State, and for this purpose largely the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society has been or- ganized; while the erection of this noble building is designed to bring within reach of all our cit- izens, and indeed of the world, the facts on which just infer- ences can be based. It is, there-

fore, to be expected that in connection with the dedication of this building there should be put before the public not only the aims of our Society, but to some extent the progress which we have made in solving the problems set before us. It will not, however, be necessary on this occasion to go far into details. For the main facts it is sufficient to refer to the twenty-three volumes of our Quarterly, edited by Mr. Ran- dall, and which have become a storehouse of information for all who care to become informed upon the subject. Nor would we ignore the work which others from outside the State have generously done in exploring Ohio earthworks and preserving

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328       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

their contents for public inspection. During the first half of the

₁₉th century it was left to citizens of Ohio alone to study and re-

port upon these interesting ancient remains. William Henry Har-

rison, Caleb Atwater, Colonel Charles Whittlesey and Squier

and Davis faithfully gave the world the superficial facts con-

cerning the original distribution and condition of the various

mounds and earthworks of the state. Squier and Davis also

carried on to a limited extent the exploration of individual

mounds. The results of their investigations were published in

1848, in the "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley,"

being the first volume of the Smithsonian Contributions to

Knowledge. This large quarto must ever remain our chief source

of information concerning the condition of our earthworks at

that period.

But later there came a sad lull of interest on the part of

our own citizens, and it fell to the lot of others from outside

the state to take up and carry on the work of investigation.

Owing to this lack of interest in our own state, and indeed in

the whole country, the large collection of relics which Squier and

Davis had obtained from the mounds in their original explora-

tions was carried away from our shores and lodged in an English

museum.   Mr. Blackmore, an ardent archaeological explorer

from Salisbury, England, saw the value of the collection made

by Squier and Davis, which lay neglected in the basement of

one of the public buildings at Washington, and purchased it and

took it to his native town and erected for it a suitable resting

place, where it is opened to the inspection of all interested

students of American archaeology. And there it is today, in-

viting all Americans who visit the mother country to turn aside

and revel for awhile in facts concerning the prehistoric civiliza-

tion of their own land. All praise be given to Mr. Blackmore.

But shame on the people of Ohio and the United States that

they did not appreciate their own archaeological treasures!

Then, while interest in these invaluable monuments still

flagged in our own State, others from outside the state began to

shame us for our indifference. On the founding of the Peabody

Institute of American Archaeology in connection with Harvard

University, and the appointment of Professor F. W. Putnam as

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.       329

 

Curator, a new era in the investigation of Ohio mounds began.

Exploration of individual mounds was undertaken with a care

that had not before been thought of. In the course of time

no less than $60,000.00 had been expended by the Peabody

Museum in the careful exploration of Ohio earthworks, and

nearly $10,000.00 in the purchase and preservation of the cele-

brated Serpent Mound of Adams county. Meanwhile agents of

the Smithsonian Institution of Washington were collecting speci-

mens obtained by various sporadic excavations in such earth-

works as seemed to give most promise of containing valuable

relics.

But it was in 1893 that one of the most fruitful raids

was carried on in Ohio from outside the state. In that year

the managers of the Colombian Exposition in Chicago appro-

priated several thousand dollars for the exploration of the

Hopewell group of mounds in the valley of Paint Creek, near

Chillicothe. The results of that exploration were astonishing.

On an altar in one of the mounds there were found a half

bushel of obsidian arrowheads and spearheads, the material of

which must have been brought from the Rocky Mountains. In

other portions of the group were found large numbers of copper

ornaments and implements from the Lake Superior region, also

large flakes and many ornaments of mica, which is found native

no nearer than the mountains of North Carolina. In another

part of the group there was found a cache of flint discs,

ready for reworking, sufficient in quantity to fill a four-horse

wagon. Among the ornaments were Swastika crosses, some of

them three inches in length, cut from mica and thin sheets of

hammered copper.   But all these treasures were taken to

Chicago, where they remain, but fortunately are open to in-

spection for any Ohio citizen who may visit the Field Museum

in that city. We should also add that the great quantity of

material obtained by Professor Putnam and his colaborers are

open to inspection to anyone who cares to visit the Peabody

Museum in Cambridge, Mass.

When our society began serious work in exploration of

the mounds in the last decade of the 19th century, the question

arose whether there was anything left for us to find in the

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330       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

mounds. It seemed to some that at least the cream had all

been taken off, and that little of value could accrue to our

efforts. Nevertheless the Legislature began to make appro-

priations for field work to be conducted by our curator. The

results are partially seen in the well-arranged cases in the ex-

hibition rooms of this building, which is now and is ever to

remain open to the inspection of the public. The results have

far exceeded the expectations of even the most sanguine. Our

excavations have been carried on so much more thoroughly than

previous excavations had been that they have already yielded

more valuable material than had been found by all the

earlier explorers.  In illustration we will refer only to the

discoveries in the Harness Mound (named after the owner),

in the Valley of the Scioto near Chillicothe. This mound had

been sporadically explored by Squier and Davis, Professor

Putnam  and Professor Moorehead. These parties had sunk

shafts from the top, and run tunnels from the sides and ends.

But the results had been disappointing. When, however, Pro-

fessor Mills excavated the whole mound from one end to the

other he was rewarded by a remarkable number of discoveries.

It appeared as the work progressed that the mound marked the

site of a great charnel house where there had at first been an

enclosure, elliptical in shape, marked by large posts sunk in the

ground to a depth of two or three feet. Casts of the post-

holes still remained, the posts having been burned when the

charnel house had been filled and made ready for the mound

to be heaped over all. In Professor Putnam's exploration only

twelve graves had been hit upon. Professor Moorehead was

more fortunate, having hit upon twenty-seven burials. But in

Professor Mills' complete excavation, he found one hundred

and thirty-three burials. This was accounted for by the fact

that the burials were arranged all around the ellipse, near the

edge, and so escaped the earlier random efforts to find them.

The Harness Mound has yielded the highest evidences of

culture that have been found in the Ohio mounds. The excava-

tions show that a considerable number of the burials were of

cremated remains, and that great respect was paid to the dead.

The graves were carefully prepared, and contained a large

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        331   number of ornaments and implements showing a wide range of commerce among the people. There were large, hammered copper plates and delicately formed copper earrings in abun- dance, the material of which must have come from the Lake Superior mines. There were also numerous implements of copper and pearls set in copper; while numerous ornaments delicately cut from sheets of mica that must have been ob- tained in the mountains of North Carolina. There were also many fragments of pottery, though without decoration. Bones with artistic forms engraved upon them were found, showing that the occupants were not devoid of the art of sculpture.

Their artistic skill was also shown in numerous pipes carved from limestone, and in gorgets made of diorite, a material so hard that great patience must have been exercised in making them. Flint arrow heads of exquisite pat- terns also abounded, while there were implements of obsidian which must have been brought from the Rocky Mountains, and drinking cups ten inches long made from shells which came from the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico.   Also remnants of coarse matting and of woven fab-

rics were encountered from time to time in the explorations and innumerable beads made from small ocean shells and from pearls were found. More than 3,000 of these shells were taken from one burial place, while in another a string of 2,100 pearl beads was found. But, most interesting of all, it appeared that the market for pearls exceeded the supply, hence resort was had to counterfeiting the genuine article. Beads were made of clay and covered with malleable mica so that they could with difficulty be distinguished from the real pearls. Thus, from this and other mounds explored by our society after the previous explorers had abandoned them, we have

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332       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

gathered a larger and more representative collection of relics

illustrating the civilization of the Mound Builders than can be

found in all other museums put together. This is the result

of our more thorough methods of exploration. All these facts

are admirably displayed in the various rooms of this build-

ing for the inspection of our citizens. But to get an adequate

impression of our field for archaeological exploration one must

visit the mounds and earthworks themselves.

The variety and extent of the Ohio mounds and earth-

works are noteworthy, especially when one takes into account

the rudeness of the implements with which their erection was

accomplished. In number the mounds amount to more than

ten thousand. But they are for the most part situated in the

southern portion of the State. In the words of Gerard Fowke,

our chosen historian of the Mound Builders, "There is scarcely

a point along the Scioto below Circleville, or in either Miami

in the lower half of its course, or in the valley of any tributary in

these streams, where one may not be within a few minutes' walk

of some permanent evidence of aboriginal habitation. The same

is true of the Cuyahoga and some other rivers belonging to the

Lake Erie basin. On the summits of steep hills; in bottom

lands subject to overflow; on every terrace bordering a stream;

on plateaus and uplands; wherever there is cultivable or nat-

urally drained land, a good point of observation, an ample supply

of water, a convenient topography for trails-the Mound

Builder has left his mark. ("Archaeological History of Ohio

p 299.")

The largest mound in the State is situated near Miamisburg,

in Montgomery county, on a conspicuous elevation overlooking

the valley of the Great Miami River. It is sixty-eight feet high,

with a circular base measuring 850 feet, thus including more

than an acre of surface, and containing not far from 1,500,000

cubic feet of material. As there are no signs of any excavation

near, this material, consisting of fine earth, must have been

scraped off from the surface for a great distance. Thus the

labor of constructing such an immense mound with the con-

veniences at hand must have been enormous, and have called

for an organization of some sort which commands our highest

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         333

 

respect. Altogether it embodies an ideal wrought out in con-

crete form that does immense credit to its builders. As it has

never been thoroughly explored we can only surmise the object

for which it was constructed. But in all probability it is reared

over the remains of some distinguished chieftain who had won

the love and respect of a large tribe of devoted followers. The

intensity of their devotion and the extent of their organization

may be inferred from an estimate of the time and labor re-

quired for the erection of the tumulus. As the earth was

evidently brought from some distance, and the toilers had

nothing better than stone implements with which to move it

and wicker baskets in which to carry it on their shoulders it is

a moderate estimate that five years' labor of one thousand men

would be required to rear the monument.

Of the historic fortifications of the State that known as

Fort Ancient is the most imposing. Fort Ancient is in Warren

county, on the Little Miami River, about ten miles east of

Lebanon. It is on a promontory 270 feet above the river bot-

toms, and commands a magnificent prospect of the fertile valley

below. Two ravines head near each other on the table-land

to the east of the river. Along the margin of the summit of

the jagged outline eroded by these streams earth has been piled

all around to strengthen the natural fortification. So irregular

is the line, that though enclosing but one hundred and fifty

acres, it measures nearly four miles in length (18,712 feet, not

counting any detached works). A moderate estimate of the

amount of material removed to constitute this earth wall is

9,000,000 cubic feet. Its construction would require the con-

tinuous labor of several hundred men, with primitive tools, as

much as ten years. In the words of Professor Orton, "We can-

not be mistaken in seeing in the work of Fort Ancient striking

evidence of an organized society, of intelligent leadership, in a

word, of a strong government. A vast deal of labor was done

and it was done methodically, systematically and with continuity.

Here again we must think of the conditions under which the

work was accomplished. *   *  *  Not only were the Mound

Builders without the aid of domestic animals of any sort, but

they were without the service, of metals. They had no tools of

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334       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. iron; all the picks, hoes and spades that they used were made from chipped flints, and mussel shells from the river must have done the duty of shovels and scrapers. In short, not only was the labor severe and vast, but was all done in the hardest way. *  * * Can we be wrong in further concluding that this work was done under a strong and efficient government? Men have always shown that they do not love hard work, and yet hard work was done persistently here. Are there not evidences on the

face of the facts that they were held to their tasks by some strong control?" But Fort Ancient is only one of many similar fortified hilltops scattered over the southern part of the State, and to some extent, though on a smaller scale, over the north- ern part. I need but mention Spruce Hill, in Ross county; Fort Hill in Highland county; Glenford  Fort   in  Perry county; Fort Miami in Ham- ilton county; Fortified Hill in Butler county; and Fortified Hill in Licking county, to heighten the impression made upon the casual observer of

the extent of the Mound Builders' work and organization in Ohio. Equally impressive, though fewer in number, are the sym- bolic mounds of Ohio. Most significant of these are the two Serpent Mounds, one in Adams, the other in Warren county. The Adams county Serpent was purchased, explored, and re- stored by Professor Putnam, aided by enterprising ladies of Boston, and later deeded, together with the farm containing it, to our society for preservation and perpetuation as a public park. This remarkable effigy, more than 1,300 feet in length, is stretched out on a rocky ridge bordered by cliffs about a hundred feet high, its head resting on the extreme end of the

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         335

 

promontory. From this point the folds of the monster wind

gently back toward the open country, ending in two or three

close circular coils. The mound consists of fine earth brought

from the near vicinity, and rises but a few feet above the

general surface. But viewed from the observation tower which

our society has erected for the convenience of visitors, the

winding form of the huge creature is extremely impressive.

Much additional interest and significance was added to this

symbolic work of the Mound Builders when another serpent,

of about the same length, was discovered on the Little Miami

River near Lebanon, in Warren county. This, too, was on

the bank of a stream, a tributary of the Little Miami, and was

stretched out with numerous coils into the open country beyond.

In both cases the effigies are near populous centers of the

Mound Builders, and are where large concourses of people

could be accommodated in full view of the object. This effigy

has not yet been procured by the State for preservation. But

its preservation is an object which our society should ever have

in view.

These two mounds can hardly have had any other signifi-

cance than as symbols of religious ideas current among the

people. Taken in connection with the symbolic significance of

the serpent the world over, they show either that there is a

connection between the serpent worshippers of Ohio and those

of the Old World, or that they represent the working of a

common religious instinct characteristic of the human race, and

distinguishing it from all the lower animals,-thus justifying

the definition of man as "a religious animal."

But the Mound Builders occupied the fair places of our

State at a comparative recent date. So far as the evidence

goes none of the relics of the Mound Builders need be more

than 1,000 years old. President Wm. Henry Harrison was the

first to make chronological calculations from the evidences of

successive growths of forest trees over the areas containing the

mounds and earthworks. From the variety of trees that existed

on their first discovery by whites, Harrison inferred the lapse

of a very great length of time since their occupation by the

Mound Builders. But in no case, probably, can any single tree

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336       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

found on the mounds be more than 400 or 500 years old. More-

over the state of preservation of such earthworks as Fort Ancient,

where eroding agencies have been ever active, clearly shows

that they could not have been in existence much more than a

thousand years, even if they could have preserved their present

condition as long as that.

Whatever be the date of the Mound Builders, however, their

career teaches us many important lessons. In every respect they

were worthy of being called "our brethren." The relics which

they have left impress us with the great natural powers with

which they were endowed. In estimating their work we must

remember that it was all accomplished with implements of

stone. They belonged essentially to the Stone Age, before iron

or bronze had found their way to the New World. But with

these primitive implements they accomplished wonders. They

cleared large areas of heavy forests and prepared the ground

for the cultivation of maize and other grains and vegetables

native to America. Agriculture was a necessity for the support

of the large population indicated by the size and extent of the

various mounds and earthworks. The commercial instincts of

the Mound Builders compared well with those of the nations

that dominate the trade of the world at the present time. With-

out any of the labor-saving inventions which are the common

property of the present industrial world, they yet compassed

a continent in which to extend their trade. They purchased

obsidian from Yellow Stone Park; dug copper from the ledges

of Northern Michigan; mined mica from the mountains of

North Carolina; gathered shells from the shores of the Gulf

of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean and excavated flint in

enormous quantities from Flint Ridge in Ohio and from quarries

in Southern Illinois and Indiana. They showed their reverence

for the dead and for the unseen powers which created and rule

the universe, by funeral mounds and symbolical monuments re-

quiring the oversight of extensive and powerful social and

religious organizations, and the prevalence of high spiritual

aspirations.

Everything which can shed light on the history and attain-

ments of these remarkable people who have left their impress

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         337

 

in so many village sites and fortified centers of our State is

highly prized by students of history, sociology, art and religion

the world over. It is with peculiar interest that representative

archaeologists and anthropologists from the O1d World ask the

guidance of our society to the most instructive places where

we have conducted excavations and preserved ancient monu-

ments, and come from these places to study the collections in

our growing museum. It cannot be long till our own citizens

shall equally prize these archaeological treasures of our Com-

monwealth and will organize excursions which shall systemat-

ically take them over the State, helping them and their members

to appreciate the rich archaeological treasures which are being

gathered in this building and which still remain in abundance

in our wide open fields. Our citizens may well be urged to

know their own possessions before going to the Old World to

get the smattering of knowledge which a hasty excursion at

great expense can give during a short vacation time.

But Ohio can lay credit to having evidence of man's exist-

ence here at a far more distant age than that of the Mound

Builders or their immediate progenitors. Indeed, some of the

most ancient relics of man anywhere in the world have been

found within the borders of our State. As far back as 1885

Dr. C. L. Metz, of Madisonville, near Cincinnati, while carrying

on excavations for the Peabody Museum of Cambridge, Mass.,

came across chipped flint implements of the most ancient type,

in undisturbed gravel of glacial age, in the valley of the Little

Miami River.    Still another implement of similar pattern

(palaeolithic) was found in the gravel of the same stream at

Loveland. Full description of these discoveries may be found

in the reports to the Peabody Museum, and the implements may

be seen duly catalogued in its collections.

In 1889, some time before he became the Curator and ex-

plorer of our society, but when his methodical and careful

methods of observation were well established and recognized,

Mr. W. C. Mills discovered a most beautiful implement of

palaeolithic type in the undisturbed glacial gravels of the Tus-

carawas River at New Comerstown. The account of this may

Vol. XXIII-- 22.

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338       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

be found duly inscribed in its proper place in the diary which

Professor Mills kept at that early date, and a detailed discus-

sion of the situation in which the implement was found was

made by myself and a committee of the Western Reserve His-

torical Society, and published in the Popular Science Monthly.

(See vol xliii pp. 29-39.) The evidence of the genuineness of

the discovery is as complete as it is possible to make any such

discovery depending on human testimony. An interesting point

respecting this New Comerstown implement is that it is in shape

a perfect replica of some which are found in the glacial gravels

of Amiens, France. At the same time it is also in point to

mention that the late Professor N. H. Winchell, who made a

specialty of determining the relative age of flint implements by

the thickness of the patina accumulated on the surface, pro-

nounces this equally old with those from the oldest specimens

from France. Moreover the implement is so like the pattern

of the French implement that it is a reasonable supposition that

American fashions at that time came from Paris as they do

at the present time. This implement, with one of my own

collection brought from France, are on exhibition in the

Museum of the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleve-

land.

Another discovery of an implement equally old was made

by Mr. Sam Houston, an experienced surveyor and collector of

Steubenville, Ohio. This implement, too, is clearly of an early

type, and was found in cross-bedded sand and gravel deposits

eight feet below the surface of the terrace, which is between

seventy and eighty feet above low water. This implement has

just been presented to our Society by the children of Mr. Hous-

ton and will be found properly displayed in one of our cases.

These four discoveries of relics of glacial man in Ohio are

of extreme interest and importance. They carry us back to a

period long before the oldest historical 'dates in the valleys of

the Nile and Euphrates. They tell us that man was here with

various now extinct animals like the mammoth, the musk ox,

and the megalonyx, whose bones have been found in the same

deposits. They reveal to our mental vision a state of conditions

such as now prevails in Greenland, and a race of hardy hunters

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.       339   who were following us in the retreating continental Ice Sheet in Ohio as the Eskimo are still doing in Alaska and Greenland. Thus geology and archaeology join hands in our state to shed light on the earliest conditions under which man struggled to maintain his existence in this world of thorns and thistles, of earthquakes and volcanoes, and of waxing and waning ice sheets. The contrast between those conditions and those in which we live is such as to make us pause and give thanks that our lines have fallen in such pleasant places and that we have so goodly an heritage. REMARKS OF SECRETARY RANDALL. Following President Wright's address, Mr. Randall, Secre- tary of the Society, spoke impromptu, giving, in brief, some of the main facts and incidents connected with the origin and

history of the Society. He related how in the early months of the year 1875, Isaac Smucker, Stephen D. Peet, Roeliff Brinkerhoff and perhaps one or two others, met at the home of General Brinkerhoff and organ- ized the Ohio Archaeological Asso- ciation. Professor John T. Short, of the Ohio State University, and author of "Prehistoric Man in America," was made Secretary of the Society. The origin of this organization arose from the impulse given to archaeological and historical study by

the then approaching American Centennial Exposition to be held at Philadelphia in the year 1876. It was proposed by the new Ohio Society that an exhibit of Ohio Archaeology be made at the coming exhibition. In the prosecution of this purpose appear the names of R. B. Hayes, then governor, Dr. N. S. Townshend, professor O. S. U., Gen. R. Brinkerhoff, M. C. Read, distin- guished writer on Archaeology, John H. Klippert, State Geolo- gist, C. C. Baldwin and Charles Whittlesey, respectively president and secretary of Western Reserve Historical Society. These

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340       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

gentlemen, prominent in the field of scholarship and the study of

the archaeology and history of Ohio, secured an appropriation

from the General Assembly of $2,500.00 for the purposes of an

Ohio exhibit at Philadelphia. Collections of an archaeological

and historical nature were solicited from all parts of the State

and the result, in the Centennial Exposition, was that, outside of

the National Smithsonian Institution, Ohio had the finest and

most interesting exhibit of prehistoric antiquities and historic

relics.

Following this brilliant start, the Ohio Archaeological Asso-

ciation struggled upon meagre means and almost purely voluntary

efforts of its members, there being no employed agent to properly

nurture its existence and growth. It feebly lived until the un-

timely death (November 11, 1883) of its Secretary and master

spirit, Professor Short. The society became inoperative. But

the purpose of its members sprang anew. Governor George

Hoadly, who took an active interest in all matters pertaining to

the archaeology and history of the state, upon his accession to

office, conferred with Mr. A. A. Graham, author of the History

of Richland county, who had been a participant in the affairs

of the Ohio Archaeological Association and who was an en-

thusiastic student of Ohio Antiquities. The revival of the old

society upon broadened lines was decided upon. A meeting for

this purpose was called to convene at the office of the Secretary

of State, on February 12, 1885. There were present at this

meeting, General James S. Robinson, of Kenton; Hon. Chauncey

N. Olds, of Columbus; Professor N. S. Townshend and Samuel

C. Derby, of Ohio State University; Messrs. J. J. Janney, C. J.

Wetmore and A. A. Graham, of Columbus. General Robinson

was made chairman and Mr. Graham secretary of the meeting.

The object of the gathering was stated to be to consider not

only the revival and reorganization of the former Archaeological

Society but in addition to develop and emphasize an historical

side, which would largely increase the value of the Society and

the scope of its labors.

As a result of this conference General Robinson, Professor

Townshend and Mr. Graham were appointed a committee to

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        341

 

draft and issue a call for a state convention of those interested

in the subject, to be held at Columbus, March 12, 1885.

In pursuance of these instructions the committee prepared

a circular which, at some length, stated the object of the pro-

posed society, viz., that of securing the membership and bring-

ing about the cooperation of students, scholars and others inter-

ested in the archaeology and history of our state, to explore

the earthworks of the prehistoric men, to collect relics and speci-

mens found therein, to gather implements of the Indian period,

secure and preserve manuscripts, pamphlets, papers, books,

paintings and all other historical material, provide rooms for

the proper preservation and arrangement of an archaeological

museum and an historical library. This circular was sent to

the leading newspapers of the state, which gave it due publicity,

to the principal educators and school teachers and to all persons

whom it was thought might be interested therein. The responses

were prompt and evinced a degree of interest in the movement

beyond the expectation of its promotors.

Pending the convention proposed, informal meetings of its

protagonists were held in Columbus to perfect arrangements.

At one of these Alexis Cope, John W. Andrews and A. A.

Graham were appointed a committee to draft a plan of perma-

nent organization. Richard S. Harrison, Henry T. Chittenden

and Robert E. Neil were made a committee on arrangements

and John J. Janney, Chas. J. Wetmore, Sr., and Samuel S.

Rickly were delegated to select temporary officers.

Pursuant to the "call" issued for this convention, about

sixty gentlemen, representing all parts of the state and all fields

of intellectual endeavor, met in the state library on the morning

of Thursday, March 12, 1885. The meeting was called to order

by Mr. Rickly, who nominated Allen G. Thurman as chairman,

who, on taking the chair, gave a general outline of the work

done by the former Archaeological Association, and briefly

sketched the work proposed for the new organization.  Mr.

Graham  was elected temporary secretary of the convention.

The committee on permanent organization reported articles of

incorporation, which, in substance, were: The name of the

organization should be the Ohio State Archaeological and His-

• 17
 

342      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

• 18
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         343

 

torical Society; its principal place of business should be at the

city of Columbus; that it was formed for the purpose of pro-

moting the knowledge of archaeology and history of Ohio, by

establishing and maintaining a museum and library, etc.; the

society should have no capital stock, and in no way be organized

for profit. The articles of incorporation were signed by the

charter members.

These articles of incorporation were duly filed with the

Secretary of State on March 13, 1885, which was the date of

the legal birth of the society.

The committee on organization reported a constitution and

by-laws for the society. At the meeting in the afternoon of

the same day the first board of trustees was elected.

In the evening of March 12th, the first public meeting of

the Society was held in the senate chamber of the capitol, which

was well filled with members of the legislature, prospective

members of the Society and the public which had been invited.

Hon. Allen G. Thurman presided. General R. Brinkerhoff

spoke on "The Old Ohio Archaeological Association;" Dr.

Israel W. Andrews on "The Beginning of the Colonial System

of the United States;" Prof. John B. Peaslee on "Ohio;" Hon.

William P. Cutler (grandson of Dr. Manasseh Cutler), on "The

Settlement of Ohio;" Hon. Henry B. Curtis on "The Influence

of the Character of the Pioneers upon the History of the State,"

and Dr. William E. Moore on "The Religious History of the

State."

On the following day, March 13, the Society met in the

state library, when the organization was completed by the elec-

tion of the officers. [A complete list of the officers and trustees

is given at the conclusion of the account of these proceedings.]

It was at that time purposed that a vice president be elected

from each of the twenty-one congressional districts of the state,

and in furtherance of that proposition vice presidents were

elected from a few of the districts. The plan of district vice

presidents obtained only a year or two, the plan being found

impracticable.

Between the dates of April 24, 1885, and February 18, 1886,

the Society held public meetings in Columbus, Hamilton and

• 19
 

344       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Mansfield, at which addresses were delivered by distinguished

scholars and speakers. On the latter date (February 18, 1886),

the Society held its second annual meeting.* This meeting was

held in the State library, Capitol building, Columbus. General

Brinkerhoff presided. An open meeting of the Society was held

in the evening in the senate chamber, when addresses were made

by the historian, Henry Howe, Prof. I. W. Andrews and other

distinguished speakers.

At the third annual meeting of the Society (February 23,

1887), it was resolved that the Society issue a publication in

pamphlet or magazine form, not less than once per quarter, and

this magazine, known as The Ohio State Archaeological and

Historical Quarterly, first made its appearance in the following

June (1887), under the direction of an editorial committee con-

sisting of Prof. George W. Knight, Burke A. Hinsdale, G.

Frederick Wright, William H. Venable and Israel W. Andrews.

This Quarterly, under the auspices stated, was published

until three volumes were completed, the last in 1891, when the

publication was discontinued for lack of funds and engross-

ment of the efforts of the Society in other directions. Its

publication was resumed in 1894, under the editorial direction

of Mr. E. O. Randall, at that time Associate Secretary, and who

became a member of the Society in 1885. The twenty-third

volume is now (May 30, 1914) in process of publication under

the same editorial direction.

The year 1888 was one of intense activity of the Society.

That year, under its direction, was held at Marietta the Cen-

tennial Celebration of the Northwest Territory, during the 5th

and 6th days of April.+ At this celebration, under the manage-

ment of the Society, some of the most distinguished statesmen

and scholars of the country participated, viz., Gen. R. B. Hayes;

Hon. George F. Hoar; Hon. George B. Loring; Gov. J. B. For-

aker; Ex-Gov. Joseph Cox; Hon. William M. Farrar; William

Henry Smith; J. Randolph Tucker, of Virginia; Hon. Samuel F.

 

*This meeting in the records of the annual publications of the

Society is mistakenly designated as the first annual meeting.

+Detailed account of the Marietta Centennial will be found in

volume 2 of the Society publications.

• 20
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         345

 

Hunt; Rev. Edward E. Hale; Dr. A. L. Chapin; Dr. Henry M.

Storrs; Hon. John W. Daniel, of Virginia.

In the fall of this year (1888) the Society, by invitation of

the State authorities, cooperated with a state committee ap-

pointed by the legislature, in a program of several days' duration,

commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the settlement

of the Northwest Territory. This celebration was held at Co-

lumbus, and at the same time and place the Grand Army of

the Republic held its National Encampment.

The fifth annual meeting consisted of two days' session,

held January 31 and February 1, 1889, the first day's meeting

being held in the senate chamber at Columbus, and the second

days's proceedings in Chillicothe, where a banquet was tendered

the members of the society by citizens of the first capital of

Ohio, and an historical address was delivered by Henry Howe.

In the winter of 1888 and 1889, through the courtesy of

Adjutant General H. A. Axline, the society was given space

for its museum and library in a room on the third floor, east

side, of the State House, where the books and relics were

arranged, as well as possible, in shelves and cases. Up to this

time the office of the Secretary, Mr. Graham, consisted merely

of desk room in one of the alcoves of the state library.

On the days of October 16, 17, 18 and 19, 1890, under

the auspices and management of the Society, there was held

at the city of Gallipolis a centennial anniversary celebration of

the French settlement of that town in the year 1790. The event,

most successfully carried out through the aid of the people of

Gallipolis, attracted attention of the press throughout the

country. Distinguished speakers were present from other states,

and historical addresses were delivered by James E. Campbell,

Governor of Ohio, Judge R. A. Safford, Gen. Charles H.

Grosvenor, Rev. Washington Gladden, Daniel J. Ryan, Rev.

J. M. Davis (President, Rio Grande College), Rev. H. A.

Thompson (President, Otterbein University), Col. R. D. Mar-

shall, Rev. David Moor (Editor, The Western Christian Advo-

cate), Rev. Dr. Lasher (Editor, Journal and Messenger), Rev.

Sylvester Scoville (President, Wooster College), Bishop Wat-

• 21
 

346      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. terson of the Roman Catholic Church, and others. A temporary museum was improvised, in which was exhibited a large collec- tion of historical relics.

At the seventh annual meeting of the Society, held February 18 and 19, 1891, in the state library, an ap- peal was made to the general assem- bly for financial aid to the Society, and an appropriation of two thou- sand dollars asked for its assistance. This was granted, and in addition provision was made whereby the Society came into possession, as cus- todian, of a portion of Fort Ancient, the first acquisition by the Society of any of the prehistoric mounds of the state. This legislature (the 69th, 1891), also adopted a joint resolution

effecting the semi-official state control of the Society. That reso- lution was as follows: "Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the Governor is hereby authorized to appoint as members of the board of trustees of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, six (6) persons to serve without compensation as follows: Two for the term of one year, two for the term of two years, and two for the term of three years, from the 9th day of February, 1891, and annually thereafter to appoint two persons on said board for the term of three years, but said appointments shall not bind the state to make annual appropriations for said society." (Adopted April 16, 1891.) This plan, whereby the Governor was to appoint a num- ber of the trustees, was intended to avoid the objection that the state in appropriating funds to the Society had no over- sight or control as to  its expenditures.  From this date the society elected fifteen trustees, five each year to serve for three years, respectively, while the Governor appointed six, two each year to serve three years respectively. Under this resolution Governor Campbell appointed to serve three years (until 1894) Charles P. Griffin, Andrew Robeson; for two years (until 1893)

• 22
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         347

 

Israel Williams and E. P. Lockwood; for one year (until 1892)

Matthew C. Read and William J. Gilmore.

This same legislature also passed a joint resolution as to

the custodianship of Fort Ancient, as follows:

 

"Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That

the care and control of Fort Ancient, shall be vested in the board of

trustees of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, who shall hold

the lands and property thereon subject to such use as the General

Assembly may by law direct." (Adopted April 24, 1891.)

 

On October 20th, 1892, a special meeting of the society was

held, as the result of an excursion for that purpose, at the Mc-

Coy House, Chicago, Ill. At this meeting Ex-President Ruther-

for B. Hayes was elected a trustee and president, to fill the

unexpired term of Mr. Francis C. Sessions, who died March

25th, 1892, and who was at the time of his death both trustee

and president.

There was no ninth (eighth according to old reckoning)

annual meeting of the society held in 1893, as there should

have been in February of that year, the purpose having been

to hold this annual meeting at Chicago, but when that was sub-

sequently attempted the question arose as to the legality of the

society holding such meeting without the state of Ohio, and

no meeting was held, the trustees holding over, pending the

election of the successors of those whose terms expired at this

meeting.

The society made an extensive exhibit of archaeological and

historical material at the Chicago Columbian Exposition, which

was one of the distinguishing features of the exposition, attract-

ing wide attention and eliciting complimentary articles in the

newspapers throughout the country. Daniel J. Ryan was pres-

ident of the Ohio Commission for the Exposition, and A. A.

Graham was supervisor of the Society's exhibit.

The trustees, however, held a meeting in the state library,

Columbus, April 23, 1893. At this meeting, on account of ill

health, Secretary Graham was granted indefinite leave of

absence, and Mr. E. O. Randall was chosen associate secretary.

The Governor (McKinley), made the usual appointment of two

• 23
 

348       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

trustees, viz., E. O. Randall* and Josiah Hartzell, to succeed the

retiring trustees, Messrs. Read and Lockwood. These gentle-

men were appointed to serve from February 19, 1893, to Febru-

ary 19, 1896. On February 28, 1894, Mr. Hartzell resigned and

Mr. A. H. Smythe was appointed by the Governor to fill out the

unexpired term.

At the tenth annual meeting of the society, held February

19, 1894, Mr. Randall was chosen temporary secretary and the

society accepted the possession of Serpent Mound, in Adams

county, it being presented through the instrumentality of Prof.

Frederick Putnam to the Society by the trustees of Harvard

University. At this meeting, also, Mr. Warren K. Moorehead,

who had been chosen by the Ohio State University to take

charge of their department of archaeology in Orton Hall, was

also made Curator of the Society's archaeological museum, and

director of its archaeological explorations.

Mr. A. A. Graham tendered his resignation as secretary of

the Society on November 10th, 1894, at which time Mr. Ran-

dall was elected secretary to succeed him; this office of secretary-

ship Mr. Randall has held to the present time.

In August, 1895, the society participated in the proceedings

of the Greenville Centennial Celebration, the one hundredth

anniversary of the signing of the Greenville Treaty.

On April 3, 1897, Mr. Warren K. Moorehead tendered

his resignation as Curator of the Society, which resignation

was accepted August 2₇th, and Mr. Clarence Loveberry, who

had been acting as assistant curator, was promoted to the

Curatorship.

On September 29, 1898, the Society participated in the Cen-

tennial Anniversary of the settlement of Gnadenhutten by John

Heckewelder and the Moravian Mission. This celebration was

inspired and directed by the Rev. William C. Rice.

On June 1, 1898, William   C. Mills was elected by the

executive committee as Curator, to serve until February 1, 1899,

 

* Mr. Randall was subsequently reappointed as trustee suc-

cessively by Governors Bushnell, Nash, Herrick, Harris, Harmon and

Cox, being an uninterrupted service from his first appointment to the

present time, a period of twenty-one years.

• 24
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.       349 at which time, at the annual meeting of the society, he was made Curator, which office he has continued to fill, with distinguished service, by successive elections, until the present time. In the summer of 1899, the American Society for the Ad- vancement of Science, held its national convention at Columbus, under the partial auspices of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, which made an excursion to Fort Ancient, with delegates of the Science association as its guests. In the summer of 1901 the Society, under provisions by the General Assembly, made an archaeological exhibit at the Pan American Exposition, held at Buffalo. The exhibit was under

the arrangement and direction of Curator Mills, and was one of the most attractive features of the expo- sition, bringing the Society into wide repute for its original research in Ohio archaeology, especially the fea- tures embracing the period and work of the Mound Builders. On June 19, 1902, Governor Nash, in accordance with authority granted him by Joint House Resolution No. 53, (75th General Assembly), ap- pointed the following commissioners to cooperate with the Ohio Society in the conducting of the Ohio Cen-

tennial celebration: J. Warren Keifer, Rush R. Sloane, James Barnett, David S. Gray, Charles M. Anderson, and Robert W. Manly.    Mr. Randall was chosen secretary of the Cen- tennial Commission. On May 20th and 21st, 1903, under the immediate direction of the Society, there was held at Chillicothe a centennial celebration of the admission of Ohio as a state. It was the most important and interesting historical event in the history of the state. The proceedings are set forth in detail in a separate volume, consisting of some 700 pages, edited by Sec- retary Randall. During the summer of 1903 the Society made an exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, under the supervision of Curator Mills.

• 25
 

350      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Preliminary to the centennial ceremonies to be held in 1903,

under the auspices of the Society, on November 29, 1902, at

Chillicothe, an interesting event occurred in the nature of the

unveiling of the tablet in the court house, the tablet being a bar

relief of Ohio's first Governor, Edwin Tiffin. The tablet was

presented for this purpose by Mr. William H. Hunter, one of

the trustees of the Society and thorough scholar and extensive

writer of early Ohio history. There were many distinguished

visitors present, the main address being delivered by Daniel J.

Ryan, other speakers being Robert W. Manly, Mayor W. D.

Yaple, Judge J. C. Douglas and William T. McClintock.

On September 30, 1905, the Society held public exercises at

the site of Big Bottom Park, on the Muskingum river; the loca-

tion of the historic pioneer stockade which the Indians burned in

1791, massacring nearly all the inmates. This sacred ground,

marked by a fine commemorative marble monument, was pre-

sented to the Society by Mr. Obediah Brokow. The celebration

of the acceptance by the Society was attended by several thou-

sand spectators. Addresses were made by C. L. Martzolff, Tod

B. Galloway, D. J. Ryan, R. Brinkerhoff, E. O. Randall and G.

F. Wright. James Ball Naylor read a poem written for the

occasion.

In the summer of 1907 the Society again exhibited a portion

of its museum at the Jamestown Exposition, which exhibit, like

its other archaeological exhibits, was a center of attraction,

especially among visitors from Ohio, and added much to the

fame of the Society because of its work along archaeological

lines. This exhibit was also under the excellent supervision of

Curator Mills.

For many years Col. Webb C. Hayes had in contemplation

the preservation of Spiegel Grove, splendid home of his dis-

tinguished father, as a memorial to one of Ohio's great presi-

dents. He wished that this might become the Mt. Vernon of

the Buckeye State, and finally selected our Society as the proper

agent for the carrying out of this loyal idea. After conferences

with the trustees and proper agreements as to plans therefor,

on March 31, 1909, Col. Hayes delivered to the Society his

• 26
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         351

• 27
 

352       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

deed for 10.77 acres, known as the "Harrison Trail," through

Spiegel Grove, Fremont.

On March 10th, 1910, Colonel Hayes presented to the

Society, through deed of that date, ten acres, more or less, being

the remaining portion of Spiegel Grove property, excepting some

five acres embracing the residence.

At the time of the delivery of the second deed, Colonel Hayes

also placed in escrow a third deed, to the Society, covering the

remaining five acres, including the homestead, the complete de-

livery of the latter deed being conditioned on certain homestead

reservations and upon the agreement that the Society, within a

certain specified time, would erect, on the ground to be trans-

ferred, a fireproof building for the permanent housing of the

library and historical documents of the late President R. B.

Hayes.

The conditions of these deeds have nearly been complied

with by the completion of a beautiful memorial library and

museum building, which was provided for by appropriation by

the General Assembly in the session of 1911.

The dedication of this building is but a few weeks off, and

at that time the history of the transfer of Spiegel Grove to our

Society and the erection of an appropriate museum and library

building will be related and proper credit given to the patriotic

generosity and filial devotion of Colonel Hayes.

July 17, 1912, the executive committee, having previously

been authorized so to do, accepted the property known as Logan

Elm Park, from the Pickaway Historical Association. The

donation of this park to the Society was made possible by the

active efforts of Mrs. Dr: Howard Jones and the liberality of

Miss Elizabeth Ruggles, who donated the funds with which

the Pickaway County Historical Society obtained the title which

it transferred to our Society.

On October 2nd, 1912, the State Society dedicated the

Logan Elm, carrying out a program that was most unique and

interesting. It happened to be at the time of the meeting at

Columbus of the National Association of American Indians,

many of whom were the guests of the State Society and who pro-

ceeded to Logan Elm Park and participates in the exercises.

• 28
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        353

 

Addresses were made by Mrs. Howard Jones, Frank Tallmadge,

G. Frederick Wright, Chase Stewart, Curator Mills, Secretary

Randall and by Charles E. Dagenett of the Peoria tribe of Indians

and Fred E. Parker of one of the Iroquois tribes. Several

Indians representing the Sioux, Chippewa, Winnebago, Seneca,

Mingo, Osage, Cherokee, Cheyenne, and other tribes were present,

and all spoke with much feeling and praise concerning the great

Mingo chief Logan, whose speech was supposed to have been

delivered-at least read by Captain Gibson to Dunsmore's army-

on the very spot where the present speakers were holding the

dedicatory exercises. Miss Calvert of the Sioux tribe, South

Dakota, read Logan's speech.

Such, in brief, is a running chronicle of the more important

events in the history of the Society to the present time. All

these incidents mentioned have been fully related in the annual

or special publications of the Society. That this history, alluded

to in so desultory a way, represents the expenditure of great

labor and patience on the part of the officers goes without say-

ing. Like all achievements of human effort, the growth of

this Society from its beginning to its splendid accomplishment

to-day is the story of patience and struggle. At times we have

met with obstacles and opposition from without, chiefly from

the fact that the popular idea had prevailed in some quarters

that the purpose and workings of this Society were sentimental

and ideal rather than practical and utilitarian-in short, that

it is a luxury for the enjoyment of faddists, archaeological

cranks and historical enthusiasts. The greatest work which our

Society has accomplished, to my mind, has been the education

in archaeology and history it has brought about in the State of

Ohio; that such an institution not only has a purpose but that

that purpose has been worth while and is one of the most im-

portant features of public education, namely, the inculcation in

the youth of a knowledge of the past, a study of history. To

know archaeology and history is to know the human race, and

to know the human race is no small acquisition. The Society

has had its critics, indeed its enemies, but that was to be expected.

It is the lot of every successful effort.

Vol. XXIII -23.

• 29
 

354      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. The chief aims of the Society have been: the research in archaeological lines, particularly concerning that mysterious people known as the "Mound Builders," in the relics of whom this state is richer than any other state in the Union; to preserve these relics and learn as much as possible about the people who created them; to gather, preserve and make public the historical data of the state. We have not succeeded, possibly, as have the societies of some other states in the gathering of original material, for two reasons.   Such material had been greatly scattered or destroyed before our Society came into existence, and one other society, that of Wisconsin, was in the field be- fore us and for years literally scoured the state for manuscripts

and documents relating to our early history. And until the acquisition of this building we have had no facilities for the preservation or handling of such material. Our library, however, has grown with leaps and bounds, until now it contains some five thou- sand volumes, representing the pub- lications of nearly all the historical societies of the country, and with the acquisition of the Hayes library at Fremont - the most complete pri- vate collection of Americana in the country-our Society in this respect, namely, historical bibliography, will be second to none.

We have, however, performed a great and lasting work in disseminating the material that we have collected and preserved, in popular publications which, through the liberal provisions of the General Assembly, have been widely placed with the libraries, newspapers and parties especially interested in such work. I have received many testimonials, among them those from the professors of American history both at Harvard and Yale, saying that no state society has done so much to disseminate, among the schools and students, the history of its state, as has our Society. We feel, therefore, that we have, in no small measure, "made good" in our efforts, and that the state has

• 30
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         355

 

been thoroughly justified in giving us the financial aid which

it has done. The Society is certainly upon a most substantial

basis for it now possesses or has the control and custodianship

of property aggregating nearly half a million dollars in value.

It would be quite impossible, owing to lack of time, for

me to give due credit to the many gentlemen for whose assist-

ance we are indebted. First of all, great credit should be given

to the building committee, and particularly to its chairman, Mr.

Lewis P. Schaus, than whom it would be difficult to find a man

better qualified for that position, as he has had much experience

in the erection of public buildings. He has devoted a large part

of his time for the past two years to the Society, without any re-

ward save that of the interest he has taken in the work, being

in hearty sympathy with its purpose and accomplishments. The

other members of the committee have rallied to the support of the

chairman with unusual harmony and enthusiasm. Nor should

we omit to mention the services of our treasurer, Mr. Edwin

F. Wood, whose responsibility has been to oversee the financial

accountings and make the proper adjustments between the state

and the Society.

The architect, Joseph N. Bradford, professor in the architec-

tural department of the University, has acquitted himself with

distinct honor. It was a fortunate stroke for the Society when

it secured his services. His labors speak for themselves in

the efficient and successful manner in which he carried out the

general ideas and suggestions of the building committee.

Moreover we have been exceedingly fortunate in finding

friends when and where most needed.

Almost from the beginning of my secretaryship, in addi-

tion to my yearly duty of presenting to the finance committees

of the legislature the needs of our Society, my efforts were

directed toward securing an appropriation for this building.

Time and again I appeared before the finance committees of

the Legislature and plead, with all the persuasion within me,

that the state give us a local habitation and a home. Bills were

introduced either separately or in conjunction with the general

appropriations, having a building in view. But all in vain.

Finally the psychological moment came, when the Finance Com-

• 31
 

356      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. mittee of the House of the 79th General Assembly, of which committee Mr. Harry L. Goodbread was chairman, gave us fa- vorable hearing, and the item of fifty thousand dollars each year for the years 1911 and 1912 was inserted in the general appro- priation bill. Governor Judson Harmon, who was one of our interested and appreciative members, gave the project his ap- proval - without which the passage of the item would have been in vain- and the finance committee of the Senate, of which Mr.

William N. Shaffer was chairman, fell into line. In this connection, however, we are deeply indebted to the efforts in our behalf of Sen- ator Thomas A. Dean, mem- ber of the Senate Finance Committee. The result of these  fortuitous  circum- stances was the securing not only the funds for this build- ing, but the memorial one for Spiegel Grove. The present building, in which these ex- ercises are now held, is the crowning climax of twenty years of undiscouraged and unremitting  effort.  Cer- tainly we are to be congrat- ulated in our final triumph.

Those of you who have visited St. Paul's Cathedral in London, will recall that there is no statue or tablet to the mem- ory of its great architect, Sir Christopher Wren, but in the base- ment, in an almost obscure corner, set in the stone floor, is a small bronze plate, upon which is engraved the name of the architect, beneath which are the words "Si monumentum quaeris, circumspice," which translated reads "If you ask for my monu- ment, look about you." And so I would say, ladies and gentle- men, as to the present officers of the Archaeological and His- torical Society, if you ask for their monument, look about you.

• 32
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.       357

 

 

REPORT OF LEWIS F. SCHAUS,

Chairman Building Committee.

Mr. President, and Members of the Society: In June, 1912,

the contract for the erection of this beautiful building was let,

at which time the plans and specifications prepared for its

erection were placed in the hands of your building committee

with instructions to carry out the designs to a successful com-

pletion. How well this duty has been performed, the building

speaks for itself. The work was carried on as rapidly as pos-

sible. There were some unavoidable delays for Want of necessary

material, but the building was finally completed almost on time,

as required by the terms of the contract. The building was ac-

cepted from the contractors and settlement made on January

9th, 1914. A detailed account of the various transactions re-

quired in the construction of this building will be given by Prof.

Mills, Secretary of the Building Committee.

This magnificent building is to be devoted to the material

interests of the people of this enlightened, cultured and highly

favored state. The generations yet to come will gaze with pride

upon this noble pile, and under its shelter, prosecute the work

appropriate to its several apartments. The enterprise, liberality

and wisdom of the men of today will not be forgotten. Future

generations will pay due homage to your memory for this inval-

uable inheritance, and it will stand as a glorious monument of

the estimate put by you upon the value of education, in promoting

a knowledge of Archaeology and History in this fair State, and

may the Great Architect of the Universe shape their minds to a

still higher appreciation of your valuable services.

And now, Mr. President, as Chairman of the Building Com-

mittee, I take great pleasure in returning to you the plans and

specifications intrusted to our hands at the beginning of this

undertaking, and formally turn over this beautiful building, com-

plete in all its parts, to your care and keeping.

• 33
 

358      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.     REPORT OF WILLIAM C. MILLS, Secretary Building Committee. I trust as Secretary of the Building Committee of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society that a brief history of the building, including its cost as it now stands, will be of interest at this time. The appropriation of $100,000 for this building was made by the 79th General Assembly, 1911. It was presented to the assembly through the Auditor of State's office and acted upon

favorably and recommended for passage by the finance committee of the house of which Hon. Harry L. Goodbread of Wyandot County was the chairman and by the same com- mittee of the senate of which Hon. William N. Shaffer of Paulding County was chairman. The appropriation passed with- out a dissenting voice. The   succeeding  Legislature granted an additional $10,000 for building equipment. It was definitely understood that the trustees of the Univer-

sity would supply the site for the building, and in accordance with this understanding the present site was suggested by the University authorities and accepted by the trustees of the Society. The trustees of the University courteously extended the ser- vices of the University architect, Prof. J. N. Bradford, which were accepted. Prof. Bradford and his associates worked dili- gently during the summer and autumn of 1911 to perfect a building to care for our present wants and capable of the proper expansion necessary for a growing museum and library. The problem was a very difficult one as the Curator was to furnish the necessary data, secured by the inspection and study of similar buildings, and the architect to build a classic edifice to occupy certain space.

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        359

 

The building committee, consisting of Mr. L. P. Schaus,

chairman, Geo. F. Bareis, E. O. Randall, D. J. Ryan, E. F. Wood,

G. F. Wright and W. C. Mills, Secretary, will long remember

the three advertised lettings, with its many meetings and dis-

cussions lasting through the entire winter and spring of 1912, and

finally, on June 8, 1912, the contract for the building proper was

awarded to the Dawson Construction Company of Pittsburg

and the heating, plumbing and electric wiring to the Wm. H.

Conklin Company of Columbus, both bids coming within the

estimate made by the architect.

The architect's plans, as finally approved by the trustees of

the Society, called for a building 200 feet by 57 feet. It is so

constructed that when required additions may be made so as to

construct a rectangle with a court in the center. Our present

structure therefore occupies practically one-fourth of the space

allotted for a contemplated larger building.

At 7:15 a. m. on the morning of June 25, 1912, the Curator,

on behalf of the building committee, removed from the north-

east corner of the site of the building, the first shovel of earth

for the erection of an educational institution for all the people

of the great state of Ohio.

On the afternoon of Sept. 12th, 1912, the corner-stone was

laid with simple and appropriate exercises. The final comple-

tion of the building was made Dec. 12th, 1913, something like

six weeks after the expiration of the time limit. This slight

delay was caused by the serious flood of March 25, 1913, and

the architect gladly granted the builder the extension of time

because of this unforeseen disaster.

No one was seriously hurt during the year and a half of

construction, although the material, by the nature of its bulk

and weight, had to be handled by machinery.

The building is purely classic in structure, both interior and

exterior. First of all it has the quality of permanence without

and within, the structure being in restrained beauty and dignity

in the design, the material and the decorative treatment. It

is most appropriate for its uses and a real inspiration to those who

know the building and to those who avail themselves of the op-

portunities it affords.

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360       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

The architect, as per instructions of the building committee,

eliminated every possibility of fire, as no wood is employed in its

construction, excepting the stair rail; the windows and doors

are made of steel; the exterior is made of Bedford limestone;

the front entrance doors are constructed of bronze made after

a special design of the architect; the rotunda is constructed

throughout in Caen stone and the stairways leading to the ex-

hibition rooms on the second floor are of Tennessee marble;

the south end of the building is devoted to the library of the

Society, where provision has been made for the necessary ex-

tension, as required by the growing library. The library fur-

niture is made of steel and grained mahogany. Adjoining the

library are the offices of the Curator and Trustees' room, all of

which are equipped with steel furniture, grained mahogany, fur-

nished by the Sage Cabinet Company of Marietta, Ohio.

The building is also furnished with four large vaults, fitted

with combination locks, one connected with each of the exhibition

rooms and one connected with the office of the Curator. The

vaults will be used for the preservation of manuscripts, papers

and other valuable objects.

The exhibition room at the north end of the building will

be used for the historical collections of the Society and the entire

second floor will contain the archaeological collections of the

Society. The cases in the rooms above are made of mahogany

by the Columbus Show Case Company. The electric light fix-

tures are made of bronze, are of special design for the building

and were furnished by the Post-Glover Electric Company of Cin-

cinnati. The elevator is the latest improved electric elevator

and was furnished by the Otis Elevator Company, Chicago. The

vacuum cleaning system was furnished and installed by the Mc-

Keever Electric Company of this city.

This building contains in round numbers 600,000 cubic feet

and the cost per cubic foot for the building alone, was 16 1/5

cents; including the furniture, elevator, vacuum cleaner, as you

see it today, 18 8/15 cents per cubic foot. A few comparisons

of the cost of the various buildings of like character in this

country will be of interest. The Wisconsin Historical Society

building cost for construction alone 20 cents per cubic foot, in-

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        361

 

cluding furnishing and equipment 29 cents per cubic foot. Mil-

waukee Public Museum 21 cents per cubic foot for construction

alone. Chicago Public Library 43 cents per cubic foot complete.

State Library of Richmond, Va., 23 cents per cubic foot for con-

struction. The Boston Public Library cost 70 cents per cubic

foot, but, as you perhaps know, this building is very handsomely

furnished and decorated. These figures as to construction are

most interesting and instructive; they exhibit the fact that this

beautiful museum and library building of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society has been constructed and

equipped at a minimum cost to the state of Ohio. Certainly the

people have received their money's worth and now, Mr. Chair-

man, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to say on behalf of the

faithful chairman of the building committee, Mr. Lewis P.

Schaus, as well as the committee itself, that they have attempted

to erect this building with the same care as to expense and

quality that they would have exercised in building for them-

selves and it is confidently believed that the trust committed to

them has been administered upon a prudent and businesslike

basis.                  *     *   *

Following the reports of the building committee, ex-Gov-

ernor Campbell, representing Governor James M. Cox, who,

much to his expressed regret, was unable to be present, received

the building in behalf of the state. In his remarks, which were

most happy, Governor Campbell spoke of the work of the Society

through the many years of its history, the indefatigable efforts of

its officers, his own personal interest in its progress, and the

gratification he took as the first governor to appoint trustees,

and now, as one of its trustees himself, in behalf of the absent

governor, to receive it from the building committee and turn it

over to the officers of the Society.

In behalf of the Society and its officers, Vice President Daniel

J. Ryan accepted the building. He spoke with much appreciation

of the value of such an institution to the state, its educational

and intellectual efforts, emphasizing the fact that in these modern

days, when materialism so monopolizes all social and mental ef-

fort, there is greater need of organizations like this one, to foster

and perpetuate the historical and scientific lines of study.

• 37
 

362        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.     ADDRESS OF ISAAC J. COX. [The subject of Prof. Cox's address was "Ohio and Western Sectionalism." Prof. Cox is professor of American History in the University of Cincinnati.  He is president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Society and was formerly president of the Ohio Valley Historical Society.] It is a truism to state that natural forces determine the es- sential facts of history, but at the same time, we may assert that men of vision show the way in which these forces are to ex- press themselves. In this brief attempt, therefore, to give a per-

spective to some features of Ohio his- tory, I shall naturally emphasize a few of those that have contributed to its growth and around them group those forces that make for local and regional development and in the end for national strength. The sectional forces that were to rule in this region, and which were ultimately to merge it with the Union, have their origin in the most remote phases of history. Long be- fore the coming of the white man, the aborigines pursued lines of in- ternal communication that suggest

the commercial routes of a later day. Even before the aborigines, the buffalo, and before him prehistoric animals that have long since disappeared, suggested lines of travel and congregation that are familiar to us. The chief physiographic features of a pre- historic age and of our own day are based on the fact that to the eastward of this region rose the mountain barrier of the Alle- ghanies; that past its western borders flowed the mighty torrent of the Mississippi; to the north lay the largest group of fresh water lakes on the surface of the globe; while its southern shores were washed by the waters of the Mexican Gulf. Through its interior, dividing it into two equal sections, wound the beautiful Ohio, the destined course of western empire. These were the es-

• 38
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        363   sential factors that determined the ultimate development of a western sectionalism which would either weld distant areas into a more perfect Union; or, if perverted, cause them to separate into warring fragments. Whether in the Union or out of it, the trans- Alleghany section must exert an influence second to no other. That this section has been ultimately devoted to nationalism, was largely determined by the position of the Ohio Valley and the fact

that its northern portion was the first important offspring of the American Union. Passing over those influences contributed by the beasts of the wilderness and by primeval man-influences which in themselves are of singular importance and well worth the study of this and similar organizations, we come to the advent of civilization and propose to show how the men of the western waters first de- veloped a stalwart sectionalism, which in turn became an im- portant element in our national existence. We may term this

• 39
 

364       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

the period of approach, and it is fittingly ushered in by the ro-

mantic figure of the French explorer, Robert Cavalier de La-

Salle. The incidents of his presence in the upper portion of the

Ohio Valley and within the present limits of our state, are not

sufficiently well known to require more than the most brief gen-

eralization, but taken in connection with his whole career, we

may suggest that to the pioneer Frenchman there appeared in

this trans-Alleghany region, a triple vision that the succeeding

centuries have abundantly confirmed. In the first place, LaSalle

had a vision of the commercial possibilities of this section. The

fur trade that led so many pioneer Frenchmen into the wilds of

the vast interior or to the frozen regions of the North, pre-

sented its attraction to this intrepid Frenchman. He relied upon

this single form of natural wealth to achieve his far-reaching

plans of national aggrandizement. It proved inadequate as an

expression of the boundless resources of this region, yet the fur

trade that he and his contemporaries initiated served to support

a pioneer existence in which Frenchman, Briton and American

played their parts, and developed lines of expansion that ter-

minated only with the frozen Arctic and the far Pacific. Now

teeming multitudes, alien to the great explorer, gain from our

natural wealth a richness of life of which he was only dimly

aware.

A second vision that was granted to LaSalle was that through

this system of interior waterways, he might open up a way of

approach to Mexico. It was this prospect that led the Grand

Monarque to give him permission to penetrate the vast interior of

North America. It is true that in his later efforts, LaSalle em-

phasized the routes through Illinois rather than those to the

Eastward, but his brief tarrying on the upper courses of the

Ohio, while contemplating a chance of approach to the Spanish

dominions, for all time to come linked this immediate region with

the lure of the far Southwest. Following him as the pioneer

adventurer, came a host of others whose later visions were tan-

talized by the inexhaustible wealth of the Mexican mines. More

than a century later the western boatmen of this section formed

recruiting force for the filibustering expeditions with which Burr

and his contemporaries vainly attempted to reach the same goal

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.       365

 

that beckoned the indomitable Frenchman. Incidentally we may

say it was no policy of watchful waiting or benevolent assimila-

tion that attracted these worthies.

A third vision that stirred the ambitious Frenchman was the

hope that the river along which he was passing, leading into still

other and mightier streams, in due time might find its way into

the distant Vermilion Sea. Thus it appeared to him that he

was on a commercial highway to the Pacific and to the far East,

a possible route that had attracted explorers since the days of

Columbus. Again LaSalle was a prophet far in advance of his

time, for it is only in our own day, with means and with measures

that he could not have dreamed of, that we are about to open

this highway between the cloven continents. Through a system of

improvements that give us access to the Gulf and the Caribbean;

through this wonderful channel that actually bridges a continent,

we now behold a chain of communication from the foothills of

the Alleghanies to the uttermost parts of the former Spanish

Main and to the distant Indies themselves. Yet in the proud

day of achievement, let us not forget that upon some portion of

this very soil, LaSalle first conceived this wonderful triple vis-

ion which has materialized into the political unity of the inte-

rior of the American continent, the commercial unity of both

Americas and the essential solidarity of all nations bordering on

the Pacific.

With the vision of marvelous growth came the portent of

mighty conflict. English explorers were approaching this western

region even in the time of LaSalle, but some forty years passed

ere their early representatives began to affect their governmental

policy. The figure that can best be compared with LaSalle is the

Virginia executive, Alexander Spottswood. With his interest

early aroused in this western country he was led to predict that

it would become the scene of conflict between the French and

English of North America, a full half century before this ac-

tually broke out. He led in a notable attempt to explore this

western country, and although he reached only the crest of the

Blue Ridge, he imagined that through the haze of that summer

day in 1716, he beheld the distant waters of Lake Erie. While his

exaggerated report represents a vision of faith rather than of

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366      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

reality, we may well believe that had he been given an insight

into the future comparable to the reality of his supposed vision,

he would have been doubly insistent on securing this mighty em-

pire that had beckoned him westward. As a result of his sur-

vey, we know that he emphasized the importance of aggressive

action in seizing this territory ere the enemies of England should

occupy it and roll the tide of war through the mountain passes

and over the colonies to the Eastward. He would divide French

settlements to the North and to the South by a series of pro-

jected English posts leading to the waters of Lake Erie and even

into the wilds beyond. But like the great LaSalle, his prophecy

and his importunity alike remained unheeded until threatening

peril a half century later aroused the English to a sense if immi-

nent danger.

The prospect of international conflict grew with each decade

of the eighteenth century. Gradually the French approached the

upper portion of the Ohio Valley. As a sort of final effort in

their insidious advance, occurred the expedition of Celeron de

Bienville, who in 1748 attempted to mark Bourbon dominion in

this region by placing leaden plates at the mouths of certain

rivers. This inconclusive method of planting lead promised to

be succeeded by other chances when, two years later, Christopher

Gist crossed the Alleghanies, prospecting for that "good level

land" that has tempted the English-speaking people to the utter-

most parts of the earth. The work of Gist and of Boone, fit

representatives of a long line of hunters, surveyors, prospectors

and settlers, promised a conflict not merely with the French

but also with the Indians, who claimed this western territory by

immemorial right. The details of this long-drawn out and ever-

doubtful struggle, form a page without rival in the history of

human expansion. Here Gaul and Briton contended for over-

lapping claims. Here civilization and savagery carried on their

never-ending conflict that leads to only one result. And in the

midst of this warfare of primeval and international forces a new

nation likewise came into being to receive its baptism on Ohio

soil in the following imperishable words: "Love of liberty and

attachment to the real interests and just rights of America out-

weigh every other consideration, we resolve that we will exert

• 42
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        367   every power that is within us for the defense of American liberty and for the support of her just rights and privileges; not in any precipitate, riotous, or tumultuous manner but when regularly called for by the unanimous voice of our countrymen." In this prophetic manner was national liberty and union prefigured on the soil of our state November 5, 1774, by western pioneers, called out by a British governor in pursuit of the savage. From the midst of this frontier conflict there emerged the hope of na-

tionality; in the later expression of a multitude of such resolu- tions, nationality itself. Of the great figures who played their titanic parts in this double contest with natives and with national rivals, we can only make the barest mention, but in passing we must briefly note one who occupies an unapproachable position in our national his- tory, but who incidentally drew from this western country many of the qualities that rendered him first in the hearts of his coun- trymen and foremost among the men of modern times. George

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368       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

Washington, the young surveyor, was an early western prospec-

tor, a diplomatic messenger between the contending factions of

England and of France, a frontier commander in the most cruel

days of the struggle for the upper Ohio Valley, and a shrewd

speculator in western lands both before and after the contest with

the mother country. A man of vision, who saw in this western

country one of the strongest ties to bind together the original

states that formed the American Union, he felt that the essential

problem of the West was one of communication. Once this were

solved, the central government need fear neither the natural dis-

ruptive spirit of the pioneer nor the temptations of British or

Spanish hirelings. In his closing days he exerted the power re-

posed in him by the new nation to defend the outlying com-

munities that it had created. Thus in his public career of nearly

half a century, he contributed to every significant movement

that affected this western land and in the end saw its destiny

safely united to the nation which was at once its creator and its

beneficiary.

It was not to be expected that the idea of separation cher-

ished by the physical features of the country, the pioneer spirit

of its earlier inhabitants, and the vicious intrigues of British and

Spanish agents, would easily disappear. When LaSalle and

Spottswood marked this region as the scene of conflict for su-

premacy between their respective nations, they stirred up forces

that would long survive them. Even when the population of the

Ohio valley was politically united with that of the states of the

eastward, with many ties of kindred origin to make this union

permanent, these personal and physical forces still tended to

sectionalism and even to a movement for independence. The

worst of these forces center around the career of General James

Wilkinson. Willing to employ the commercial opportunities of

the region to his advantage, he turned the commendable demand

of the western people for an outlet to the Gulf into a means for

commercial bargaining with the Spaniard. His visit to New

Orleans in 1787 ushers in the most corrupt intrigue in our po-

litical annals. Fortunately in that same year there was inaugu-

rated a national movement that was destined not only to coun-

teract his intrigues but to prevent their more far-reaching effects.

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         369

 

The Congress under the Confederation-the same body that had

proposed to limit the sale of western lands and close the Mis-

sissippi for a period of years-more than atoned for its remis-

ness in these respects by the famous Ordinance creating the

territory northwest of the Ohio. This wise measure of state

policy has proved to be the best gift which the East ever be-

stowed on the West, and our own state of Ohio, the first fruit of

this policy, has been the one to profit most by it. Through its

provisions the new territory was to secure freedom in religion,

freedom and encouragement in education, freedom in the dis-

tribution of property, and last and by no means the least, freedom

from the worst effects of the institution of slavery.

The best results of this policy were not immediately ap-

parent. Under national auspices new western communities were

founded, whose outlying settlements must be protected from the

murderous savage. After mortifying failures, Washington, the

firm and far-sighted friend of the West, selected his former sub-

ordinate Wayne to accomplish this necessary task. It is inter-

esting to note that in the campaign of 1793-94, the campaign

which redeemed the greater part of Ohio from the Indian peril,

Wayne, the representative of stalwart nationalism, and Wilkin-

son, the agent of perfidious intrigue, were closely but not in-

timately associated. Wilkinson hampered Wayne in his funda-

mental purpose, and by so doing, misled rather than represented

the Kentucky contingent. Fortunately he was unable to over-

throw the other's plans and ultimately the victory at Fallen

Timbers gave a new impulse to nationalism in the West, and

partially broke the Spanish spell over the wavering Wilkinson.

When another phase of sectionalism showed itself in the

famous Kentucky resolution of 1798-99, it awoke an answering

response north of the Ohio River. Here the forces of Federal-

ism and those of particularism were engaged in a contest over

the division of the territory and the admission of a portion into

the Union as a state. Fortunately this new sectional develop-

ment was merged into a national movement by the election of

Jefferson in 1800. This peaceful democratic revolution was

shortly followed by the admission of Ohio as the seventeenth state

Vol. XXIII- 24.

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370       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

of the American Union. Thus, in the course of two decades, the

national movement which was ushered in by the cession of

western territory to the general government, developed to full

fruition in the admission of the first of the states from the

ceded territory. Ohio, as the child of the national government,

never forgot its filial devotion to its creator.

It was hardly likely that the states of this western region,

though adopted or created by the national government, should

immediately abandon all strictly sectional feeling. Their leaders

emphasized this when they forced the War of 1812 upon the hes-

itant Madison. Ohio, like its sister state of Kentucky, opposed

the national policy represented by the Second United States bank,

and quoted from the Kentucky and other similar resolutions to

justify its attitude. Our state likewise asserted a particularistic

policy to justify its claims to the Toledo district, even though

this policy brought into question the Ordinance of 1788, under

which it was created. But at length those measures for which

it had most strenuously fought, either alone or in company with

its sister states, became cardinal principles of national policy.

On the other side of the picture it is comforting to note that

Ohio and her sister states of the Northwest played a conspicuous

part in combatting some of the expressions of western section-

alism during the early 19th century. It assisted to arouse public

opinion and force the problem of the open Mississippi upon Jef-

ferson's administration. This led to the acquisition of ouisiana,

the most significant national event after the Declaration of In-

dependence and the adoption of the Constitution. In company

with Kentucky, but even more instrumental than that state, Ohio

gave the deathblow to the Burr conspiracy, whatever that move-

ment represented. Burr himself is reported to have said that he

felt confident of all the western people except those of Ohio.

He told Tupper, of Marietta, "You should make yourself of con-

sequence." Her sons abundantly followed this injunction. Side

by side Kentusky and Ohio fought the British in the War of

1812, with Perry's victory and the Thames river to mark their

final success in expelling the invader, if not in pushing their

conquests into Canada. In this same struggle the last significant

Indian confederacy under Tecumseh was dissolved and the Indian

peril removed from the Northwest. In these events Kentucky

• 46
 

Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.        371   played the part of elder sister, for which it was to receive its reward a half-century later. During this warfare, two conspicuous figures received the stamp of Ohio. William Henry Harrison, a representative of Virginia, who settled between the Miamis, did yeoman service against the savages that threatened Indiana and Illinois, while Lewis Cass took up the task of the nerveless Hull and was the

most tireless opponent of British intrigue in the Northwest. It was fitting that these two men should later play a conspicuous national part, the one as a brief occupant of the presidential chair and the other as a prominent candidate for the same po- sition. Through the irony of fate, the Virginian, Harrison, rep- resented the nationalistic tendencies of a later generation while the New Englander, Cass, was an active supporter of the latter particularistic doctrine of popular sovereignty. Thus far we have considered the part played by Ohio in

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372       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

early western sectionalism. Time fails, although the day and

occasion demand some attention to that bitter discussion which

emphasized a later sectional movement in our country. In the

beginning the line of sectionalism followed the course of the

Alleghany mountains, and a possible cleavage threatened to divide

the country into an East and a West. This was suggested by La-

Salle and repeated by a later Frenchman, Laussat, on the eve

of the Louisiana transfer. Many intervening measures of popular

policy emphasized this tendency, but all real danger of such a

sectionalism disappeared with the overthrow of Burr's abortive

attempt. The more threatening slavery discussion produced a

sectionalism, from which emerged a North and South. Many of

the events in Ohio's history suggest a wavering upon this ques-

tion. During the critical days of the Nullification Controversy,

William Henry Harrison, Junior, voiced the Union sentiment

which the older generation of his section cherished as well as his

own, in these stirring phrases: "Born and raised a freeman,

and my ancestors having contributed freely, and risked much to

gain, maintain, and support our happy government, I feel an

indignation I cannot express against those who are for raising the

standard of Nullification, which I consider a decent term for re-

bellion and treason." Then in characteristic Ohio fashion he

commends himself to the President as commander of a regiment

of volunteers, and promises within a month after marching to

"ride through the streets of Charleston."

Less than a decade later Ohio is interested in the projected

construction of railroads to the seaboard. One of the favorite

proposals was to connect Cincinnati with Charleston. Robert

Y. Hayne was the president of the company that urged the proj-

ect and one wonders how history might have been changed had

it been realized at that time rather than in our own day. In-

fluences were then at work to break this desired connection with

the Southeast. The names of Levi Coffin, Harriet Beecher

Stowe, Thomas Morris, Joshua Giddings and Salmon P. Chase,

to mention no others, indicate a personal influence that in time

turned Ohio into an anti-slavery state. When as a result of their

efforts the slavery question became a national issue, and when in

eleven of the commonwealths the die was cast in favor of seces-

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         373

 

sion, it was the positive attitude of Ohio that largely restrained

western Virginia and Kentucky from taking the same step. In

this way did our state repay the debt incurred by her during the

long period of struggle against the Indians and British.

In this mournful sectional conflict we must pass over the

long list of names that constitute Ohio's honorable muster-roll.

Suffice it to indicate in the career of two of the names of this

period and the contrasting influences that affected her people.

At the outbreak of this struggle, William Tecumseh Sherman was

the popular president of the institution which has since become

the University of Louisiana. Pressed to espouse the side of

secession, he refused to lift his hand against the Union. Later

uttering his opinion that 200,000 men were necessary to hold the

Mississippi Valley, he was regarded as a fit subject for a mad-

house. But Ohio herself furnished more than half as many

again before the men of the western waters accomplished the

task of reopening the Mississippi and of sweeping around the

Alleghanies, through Georgia, to the seaboard.

Contrast with his position this expression from a speech

of Clement L. Vallandigham: "The war of the Union is in your

hands, a most bloody and costly failure." It was indeed most

bloody, for it was sanctified with the best blood of the nation,

North and South. It was most costly; after a lapse of a half

century we are still paying for it. But was it a failure? Let

Santiago and Vera Cruz, distant Manila and Pekin reassure the

halting few that survive the mighty test. Ohio thus nobly re-

fused to put its stamp of approval on Vallandigham's dictum.

In this hurried sketch of an earlier sectional movement that

influenced the later life of our State, one may discern the mighty

impulses that have quickened the life of commonwealth, section,

and nation. The interplay of these forces afford the most sig-

nificant problems of our national government. To ascertain how

they act and with what ultimate result, is a task that engages

the best efforts of historical training. That these efforts may be

aided and rendered effective, is the aim of The Ohio Archaeo-

logical and Historical Society, and of every similar organization

of our land. In its museums, its libraries, its manuscript col-

lections are to be found materials for exploiting the workings

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374      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   of these forces. The efforts of those in charge are directed to the best utilization of this material and they should be sustained and supported in their endeavors to make it still more useful. With this in mind, may we not anticipate a development in which this Society as a parent organization shall create others, repre- senting each county of our State, all engaged in collecting the vast resources of historical scholarship and in rendering them available to specialists? These in turn must by their labors show the general public the importance of our local and sectional his- tory, and the necessity for preserving its data. In this way we may render still further honor to those who have made the his- tory of our state famous and incite others to make its present and future development equally significant and equally valuable in the life of our common country. *  *  * *   * Following the address of Prof. Cox, addresses of greeting and congratulation to the Society were made by Mrs. Ella May Smith, of Columbus, representing the New England Historic Genealogical Society, located at Boston, Mass; Mr. Charles F. Brush, of Cleveland, Ohio, representing the American Philo- sophical Society, of Philadelphia, Pa.

In the absence of Dr. W. O. Thompson, president of the Ohio State University, who was unable to be present, Julius F. Stone, member of the board of trustees of the versity, spoke in behalf of the latter institution. He dwelt upon the fact that, although the Society now com- ing into possession of this building was entirely independent in its or- ganization and work, yet there was a mutual interest between it and the University. The trustees of the Uni- versity had been very glad to grant to the Society ground upon which its

building might be erected.  Indeed, they had accorded it the choicest site upon the entire campus, and in this policy they had

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         375

not been mistaken, as the building, owing to its architectural

beauty, was a desirable addition to the University surroundings.

The relations of the two institutions have always been har-

monious, and he knew would be still more so under the more

advantageous conditions now granted the Society. It would af-

ford rare opportunity to the students and instructors of the Uni-

versity to avail themselves of the uses of the museum and library

of the Society.

 

 

 

 

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.

(1885 to 1914.)

Presidents:

Allen G. Thurman, 1885 to 1887.

Francis C. Sessions, 1887 to 1892.   (Died March 25,

1892.)

Rutherford B. Hayes, 1892 to 1893.   (Died Jan. 17,

1893.)

Roeliff Brinkerhoff, 1893 to 1908.

G. Frederick Wright, 1908; still serving.

First Vice Presidents:

Henry B. Curtis, 1885. (Died Nov. 5, 1885.)

Francis C. Sessions, 1886 to 1887.

Roeliff Brinkerhoff, 1887 to 1891; 1892 to 1893.

William E. Moore, 1891 to 1892; 1894 to 1899. (Died

June 5, 1899.)

George B. Wright, 1899 to 1903. (Died Sept. 11, 1903.)

George F. Bareis, 1899; still serving.

Second Vice Presidents: *

Roeliff Brinkerhoff, 1885 to 1887; 1891 to 1892.

William E. Moore, 1887 to 1891; 1892 to 1894.

Elroy M. Avery, 1894.

George F. Bareis, 1900 to 1904.

G. Frederick Wright, 1904 to 1908.

Daniel J. Ryan, 1908; still serving.

 

* From 1894 to 1900, inclusive, no second vice president was elected.

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376       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

Secretaries:

Albert A. Graham, 1885 to 1894.

Emilius 0. Randall, 1894; still serving.

Associate Secretary:

Emilius 0. Randall, 1893.

Treasurers:

Henry T. Chittenden, 1885 to 1887.

Samuel S. Rickly, 1887 to 1905. (Died November 22,

1905.)

Edwin F. Wood, 1906; still serving.

Assistant Treasurer:

Edwin F. Wood, 1894 to 1906.

Curators:

Warren K. Moorehead, 1894 to 1897.

Clarence Loveberry, 1897 to 1898.

William C. Mills, 1898; still serving.

TRUSTEES.

Elected by the Society.

(1885 to 1914)

Allen G. Thurman, 1885 to 1888.

Douglas Putnam, 1885 to 1888.

John W. Andrews, 1885 to 1888.

Henry B. Curtis, 1885. (Died November 5, 1885.)

Roeliff Brinkerhoff, 1885 to 1891; 1892 to 1911. (Died June 4,

1911.)

William P. Cutler, 1885 to 1890.

T. Ewing Miller, 1885 to 1886. (Resigned.)

William E. Moore, 1885 to 1899. (Died June 5, 1899.)

Norton S. Townshend, 1885 to 1895. (Died July 14, 1895.)

Henry T. Chittenden, 1885 to 1887.

Asahel W. Jones, 1885 to 1889.

Hylas Sabine, 1885 to 1889.

Henry A. Thompson, 1885 to 1913.

Israel W. Andrews, 1885 to 1888. (Died May 5, 1888.)

James S. Robinson, 1885 to 1889.

Francis C. Sessions, 1886 to 1892. (Died March 25, 1892.)

Charles J. Wetmore, 1886 to 1887.

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         377

 

Ephriam C. Dawes, 1887 to 1895. (Died April 23, 1895.)

Charles C. Baldwin, 1887 to 1890.

John G. Doren, 1888 to 1891.

Samuel C. Derby, 1888 to 1891.

Rutherford B. Hayes, 1888 to 1891; 1892 to I893. (Died Jan-

uary 17, 1893.)

Daniel J. Ryan, 1889; still serving; term expires 1916.

David K. Watson, 1889 to 1892.

Charles Townsend, 1889 to 1892.

Martin D. Follett, 1889 to 1907.

Israel Harris, 1890 to 1894.

G. Frederick Wright, 1890; still serving; term expires 1917.

Calvin S. Brice, 1891 to 1897.

Robert W. Steele, 1891. (Died September 24, 1891.)

Alfred R. McIntire, 1891 to 1894; 1897 to 1903. (Died Sep-

tember 21, 1903.)

George F. Bareis, 1891; still serving; term expires 1915.

Reuben E. Hills, 1892 to 1901; 1904 to 1911.

Charles Parrott, 1892 to 1904.

John'Sherman, 1894 to 1900. (Died October 22, 1900.)

Samuel S. Rickly, 1894 to 1905. (Died November 22, 1905.)

Elroy M. Avery, 1894 to 1903.

Benjamin W. Arnett, 1894 to 1906.

John P. Peaslee, 1896 to 1899.

Arthur H. Smythe, 1896 to 1899.

Robert Clarke, 1899. (Died August 26, 1899.)

James H. Anderson, 1899 to 1908.

James Kilbourne, 1900 to 1908.

Samuel F. Hunt, 1900 to 1902.

William H. Hunter, 1901 to 1906. (Died June 20, 1906.)

John P. MacLean, 1901 to 1904. (Died June 20, 1906.)

Clement L. Martzolff, 1902 to 1911.

J. Warren Keifer, 1903 to 1912.

Rush R. Sloane, 1903 to 1908. (Died December 24, 1908.)

Edwin F. Wood, 1905; still serving; term expires 1915.

Isaac F. King, 1906 to 1909.

John H. Beal, 1906 to 1910.

Abraham J. Baughman, 1907 to 1913.

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378        Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

Albert Douglas, 1908 to 1911; 1913 to 1914. (Resigned.)

William H. Rice, 1908 to 191O.

Caleb H. Gallup, 1909; still serving; term expires 1915.

Walter C. Metz, 1909 to 1912.

Lewis P. Schaus, 191O; still serving; term expires 1916.

Henri E. Buck, 191O to 1914.

William 0. Thompson, 191O; still serving; term expires 1917.

Francis W. Treadway, 1911; still serving; term expires 1915.

Webb C. Hayes, 1911; still serving; term expires 1917.

William C. Mills, 1911 to 1913.

NOTE-At the annual meeting held July 26, 1912, an amendment to

the constitution of the Society was adopted, to the effect that, beginning

with the year 1912, and each year thereafter, the Society should elect

but three trustees instead of five, as had obtained previously, thus

making the board of trustees fifteen, nine elected by the Society and six

appointed by the Governor.

TRUSTEES.

Appointed by the Governors.*

(1891 to 1914.)

Andrew C. Robeson, 1891 to 1900.

Charles P. Griffin, 1891 to 1902. (Died December 18, 1902.)

E. A. Lockwood, 1891 to 1893.

Mathew C. Read, 1891 to 1893.

William J. Gilmore, 1891 to 1896. (Died August 9, 1896.)

Israel Williams, 1891 to 1901. (Died September 9, 19O1.)

Emilius 0. Randall, 1893; still serving; term expires 1917.

Josiah Hartzell, 1893 to 1894. (Resigned.)

Arthur H. Smythe, 1894 to 1896.

Alexander Boxwell, 1896 to 1899.

George B. Wright, 1897 to 1903. (Died September 11, 1903.)

Benjamin F. Prince, 1899; still serving; term expires 1917.

Nathaniel B. C. Love, 1900 to 1912.

Reuben E. Hills, 1901 to 1904.

Martin R. Andrews, 1903 to 1913. (Died April 20, 1913.)

 

*These appointments by the governor were made in accordance

with a joint resolution passed by the Sixty-ninth Ohio General Assembly,

April 16, 1891.

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Dedicatory Exercises May 30, 1914.         379   John W. Harper, 1903; still serving; term expires 1915. M. A. Greenough, 1904 to 1907. Myron T. Herrick, 1907; still serving; term expires 1916. John W. Yeagley, 1912; still serving; term expires 1915. James E. Campbell, 1913; still serving; term expires 1916. On May 31, 1911, at the annual meeting of the Society the constitution of the Society was amended, so as to provide that the Governor of the State shall be ex-officio a member of the board of trustees. Governors Judson Harmon and James M. Cox, therefore, have been such members of the board.

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