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Section 2. That the care and control of
the site of Fort Laurens,
located in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and
being the first fort established
west of the Ohio river, 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.
Section 3. That for the purpose of
carrying out the provisions
of this act, and defraying the expenses of
the committee, there is hereby
appropriated out of any moneys in the
state treasury, to the credit of
the general revenue fund and not
otherwise appropriated, a sum not to
exceed five thousand five hundred
dollars.
Passed April 27, 1915.
CAMPUS MARTIUS SECURED.
It was on April 7, 1788, that the
immortal forty-eight New Eng-
land pilgrims led by Rufus Putnam,
disembarked from the "Adventure
Galley," afterwards named and
better known as the "Mayflower," at the
mouth of the Muskingum, opposite Fort
Harmer, and laid out and in-
augurated the first settlement in the
newly created North West Terri-
tory. It was to be called Marietta, and
was the first official capital of
the trans-Allegheny empire. The first
clearing was at the "point," on
the east side of the Muskingum, and
there the first houses were erected.
As Mr. Summers states in his
"History of Marietta," there was need
of some protection against possible
attacks of the neighboring hostile
Indians. A fortification known as
"Campus Martius," field of Mars, was
erected for the defensive purpose.
"The location of Campus Martius is
best described by stating that it was
built upon the ground with 'Wash-
ington street as the southern boundary,
and Second street the eastern
boundary, and fronting the Muskingum
river.' The defense was three-
fourths of a mile from the 'point' and
connected with it by the narrow
path which had been cleared. Here was
built the stockade which was
for five years to be the dwelling place
and refuge of a large part of the
colony. The sides were formed by a
continuous line of dwelling houses
two stories in height. They were made of
timber four inches thick
sawed by hand, and fitted at the corners
in the same manner as those
of a log house. At the corners were
block-houses, a trifle higher than
the houses, and projected out six feet
beyond the sides of the stockades."
This Campus Martius was not only the
"fortification" of the new settle-
ment, but the official building of the
new western government. Besides
being the residence of many families
including the offices of the ter-
ritorial governor and commissioners.
Governor Arthur St. Clair and
his secretary, Winthrop Sargent, here
resided. The site of these build-