Ohio History Journal

PROCEEDINGS                           375

 

Mr. Sherman, a musical program of three numbers was given by

Mr. Franklin Price, of Circleville. He sang "Until," by Sander-

son; "Lift Thine Eyes," by Logan; and "To Horse, to Horse,"

by Stephens.

Following the musical program, Mr. John F. Carlisle gave

the following address appropriate to the occasion, his subject

being "The Society--a Half Century of Progress."

 

There are doubtless persons in this audience who have gathered here

as to their father's house. They salute their Society on its Fiftieth Anni-

versary with the prayer and confident hope that the life which now com-

pletes its half century may be as immortal as the aspirations of its founders.

History furnishes countless examples in every age of heroic achieve-

ment and great enterprise, in war and peace, wisely conducted to successful

issue, but the successes and accomplishments which we today remember and

celebrate are those which resurrect, preserve and make understandable the

past, and interpret, compare and evaluate for those of the present and future.

There are many names that rise to the lips this day. They are not

here, but their descendants are. Those who knew them, or have heard their

story from others who knew them, are here. Our hearts are full of their

memories and their works. Nor are we unmindful of those of the present

who continue to strive so nobly to preserve the legacies bequeathed to us

and carry on as of old the aims and purposes of our beloved Society.

We meet to celebrate the birth

Of her whose hand redeems the earth.

Her age today--half-hundred years,

As measured by the rolling spheres,

As measured by her works sublime

She grandly runs abreast of time.

The purpose declared by the founders March thirteenth, 1885, remains

at the end of fifty years exactly the same without change as at the begin-

ning. Section three of the Articles of Incorporation of the Ohio State

Archaeological and Historical Society is as follows:

Said Society is formed for the purpose of promoting a knowledge

of Archaeology and History, especially of Ohio, by establishing and main-

taining a library of books, manuscripts, maps, charts, etc., properly per-

taining thereto; a museum of pre-historic relics and natural or other

curiosities or specimens of art or nature promotive of the objects of the

Association -- said library and museum to be open to the public on rea-

sonable terms -- and by courses of lectures and publications of books,

papers and documents touching the subjects so specified, with power to

receive and hold gifts and devices of real and personal estate for the

benefit of such Society, and generally to exercise all the powers legally

and properly pertaining thereto.

Let us record the names of the Charter Members, the twenty-eight,

that signed the Incorporation Articles fifty years ago:

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Allen G. Thurman                                     John E. Peaslee

Douglas Putnam                                       N. S. Townshend

John W. Andrews                                      D. H. Gard

S. S. Rickly                                                S. C. Derby

Hylas Sabine                                             James S. Robinson

E. B. Finley                                              Charles W. Bryant

Charles S. Wetmore                                  Albert A. Graham

William E. Moore                                     E. M. P. Brister

H. T. Chittenden                                      Beman Gates

H. A. Thompson                                      W. A. Schultz

W. P. Cutler                                             Alexis Cope

A. W. Jones                                              R. Brinkerhoff

John J. Janney                                           T. Ewing Miller

Israel W. Andrews                                     Henry B. Curtis

Not one of the Charter Members survive, the last to leave us being

the Honorable Daniel Hosmer Gard, he having passed away on the six-

teenth day of April 1925, ten years ago.

Grand the thought their purpose had;

Great its growth and progress spread;--

For man-made records give no age

That bears a brighter, purer page.

 

* * *

"It is with much pleasure," wrote Professor [Frederic Ward] Put-

nam of the famous Peabody Museum at Harvard, in reply to Professor

[George Frederick] Wright of Ohio State [University], "that I learn from

your letter that at last there is hope of some action being taken by the

Archaeological Society of Ohio to induce the State to provide for the pro-

tection of the more important of the ancient monuments within her borders,

works which all students of American archaeology know to be as important

to the history of America as the pyramids of the Nile valley are to that of

Egypt. . . . The State of Ohio has an important trust in her keeping,

and one which has been neglected too long."1

This letter was written from Cambridge to Columbus February 10,

1885, the year of the incorporation of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical

Society. Professor Putnam voiced a truth that had long been known to

students, and after opening his letter with the emphatic statement quoted

above, he went on to give some instances of famous mounds and earthworks,

suffering from the most deplorable neglect. Since the time that Professor

Putnam wrote, however, as all the members of the Society and others are

well aware, wonderful work has been done, first, in acquiring, second, in

preserving these unique relics of the past, and classifying and arranging

them. In the earliest days of Ohio's history, long before it acquired its

present formal boundaries, the State was the trapping and exploration

ground of French voyageurs and of the few hardy pioneers, often of Scotch-

Irish descent, who ventured directly across the Alleghanies. After the

dark days of the Revolution, and the eventful and stirring days of territorial

existence, in 1803, Ohio finally became a state.

In view of her central location, and her importance as a battleground

1 "Importance of the Study of Archaeology in Ohio," in Ohio State Archaeo-

logical and Historical Society Quarterly (Columbus, Ohio, 1887-). I (1887), 55-56.

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of war and politics, it was only natural that certain citizens of Ohio should

feel very early the values of collecting and preserving the records of their

State. This commendable desire seems to have first found expression as

early as 1822. On February first of that year, the General Assembly passed

an act incorporating the Historical Society of Ohio. Unfortunately, this

early effort accomplished only the maintenance of a precarious existence

for a few years, and the publication of a volume on pioneer history by the

well known historian, S. P. Hildreth of Marietta, Ohio. After this the

Society faded completely away.

The next early effort was the formation, on February 11, 1831, of the

Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, at the Court House in Co-

lumbus. For a year or two this body published a Journal and Transactions,

but in 1848, changed its place of residence to Cincinnati.

In the meantime, five local societies had sprung up during the years

1838-1844. But the mud roads and difficulties of early travel hampered the

development of any central organization, yet the difficulties of travel did

not prevent one historian from spending the years 1840 to 1847 in journey-

ing over several states. "I was a conspicuous object," said Henry Howe

of these early days of his, "with my knapsack strapped to my horse, long

hair streaming from behind my cap, and a pair of scarlet leggings covering

my limbs from ankle to thigh." The readiness of people to help him on his

way was itself an evidence of increasing interest in things historical; and by

1887 the revived Society, so to speak, was able to list more than 150 private

collections of archaeological and historical relics in the State, as well as

nineteen flourishing local societies. But all this time, the need of a per-

manent central Society was strongly felt by devotees of history and

archaeology, and by patriotic citizens interested in their own State. Such

interest was finally shown by the issue from Mansfield on August 5, 1875,

of a call for a convention to form a new organization.

The invitation showed a keen appreciation of the situation, noting three

things, as follows: (1) that Ohio presented one of the richest archaeological

fields in the country, (2) that the State had no well recognized system of

research, (3) in other parts of the country, great expense and labor was

being devoted to investigations such as were needed in Ohio.

The Ohio Archaeological Convention was accordingly held in Mansfield

September 1, and 2, 1875. About fifty delegates registered. General Roeliff

Brinkerhoff of Mansfield read the address of welcome, stressing the sub-

ject very picturesquely when he said, "The pre-historic man knew a good

country just as well as we do, and hence "The made Ohio and the Ohio Val-

ley the home of teeming populations."  The Reverend Mr. S. D. Peet of

Ashtabula County followed with a technical talk on the tests for determin-

ing the origin of prehistoric races in America; and Isaac Smucker of

Licking County spoke interestingly on the mounds and earthworks of that

county.

On the second day they organized the State Archaeological Association

of Ohio.   General Brinkerhoff was chosen president, with eight vice-

presidents in different parts of the State, including Hon. John Sherman of

Mansfield, and N. S. Townshend of Columbus for secretary, M. Hensel

for treasurer and J. H., Klippart of Columbus for librarian; and among

the trustees were Dr. Edward Orton of Columbus, Joseph S. Cox of Cin-

cinnati, and C. C. Baldwin of Cleveland. The president in announcing the

adjournment, congratulated the organization upon the success of its initiatory

meeting and the flattering prospects for the future. The Association se-

cured from the Legislature an appropriation of $2,500 for an exhibit at the

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Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. But the new organization was feeble,

and was kept alive perhaps only through the initiative of Professor John T.

Short of the Ohio State University, who served as secretary of the Associa-

tion until his death on November 11, 1883. After this, the Association

became practically inoperative.

On the evening of February 12, 1885, a few gentlemen met at the

secretary of state's office in Columbus, to discuss the matter of a revival

of the Ohio Archaeological Association, whose operations had been sus-

pended since the death of its last secretary, Professor John T. Short. A

meeting was accordingly called and held in Ohio's State Library March

twelfth and thirteenth, on which days addresses were made by General

Roeliff Brinkerhoff of Mansfield, I. W. Andrews, and W. P. Cutler of

Marietta.

The Society was organized March 13, the trustees and officers elected,

and 200 applications for membership received.

The first officers were:

President, Allen G. Thurman ................................Columbus

First Vice-President, Henry B. Curtis ...................Mount Vernon

Second Vice-President, General Roeliff Brinkerhoff ............Mansfield

Secretary and Librarian, Albert A. Graham ................... Columbus

Treasurer, Henry T. Chittenden .............................Columbus

The first trustees were:

(for one year)                    (for two years)

A. W. Jones, Youngstown                         W. P. Cutler, Marietta

Hylas Sabine, Richwood                            T. Ewing Miller, Columbus

H. A. Thompson, Westerville                  W. E. Moore, Columbus

Israel W. Andrews, Marietta                     N. S. Townshend, Columbus

James S. Robinson, Kenton.                      H. T. Chittenden, Columbus.

(for three years)

Allen G. Thurman, Columbus

Douglas Putnam, Marietta

John W. Andrews, Columbus

Henry B. Curtis, Mount Vernon

Roeliff Brinkerhoff, Mansfield.

Much of the success of the new Society depended upon the public sup-

port and interest aroused ....

Two centennial celebrations in the late 'eighties must also have helped

to awaken an interest in Ohio's early days. In 1887 the Washington County

Pioneer Association invited the Society to hold its annual meeting in Steu-

benville. The Society did so and incidentally under its auspices it partici-

pated in a splendid way in the centennial anniversary of the Northwest

Territory settlement of Marietta. Speeches were delivered by F. C. Ses-

sions, president of our Society, and Judge Joseph Cox of Cincinnati, ex-

President Rutherford B. Hayes, Professor F. W. Putnam and the Hon.

George F. Hoar of Massachusetts to an audience which crowded the City

Hall of Marietta to its utmost capacity. Besides the citizens, delegates of

various State historical societies attended as well as representatives from

the American Historical Association.

On October sixteenth to nineteenth, 1890, the centennial of the settle-

ment of Gallipolis was commemorated with elaborate displays,, meetings in

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churches and the opera house, a grand parade and reception, and an interest-

ing display of relics.

On April 28, 1890, the Ohio Legislature passed a statute "To provide

for the Preservation of Fort Ancient." A sum of money was given and

later further appropriations were made, while the Society in two large

purchases was enabled to secure the necessary land overlooking the little

Miami River in the section. Fort Ancient in Warren County is one of

the most striking monuments of Ohio's prehistoric period, and Warren King

Moorehead, finding the fort in good condition, wrote, "One may see that

time, recognizing its importance and interest to archeologists, has dealt

gently with it."2 So well preserved were 18,712 feet of embankment that

less than 300 feet had weathered away.

In 1889 the Society was given quarters on the third floor of the State

House, through the courtesy of Adjutant General H. A. Axline. "Though

somewhat out of the way and not well lighted," wrote Secretary Graham,

"still it is all that can be had now." Cases were set up and colored charts

and paintings hung on the walls and the collection had already an important

beginning.

The Society had been holding regular meetings meanwhile, such as

those on February 23, 1887, when President Sessions spoke informatively

and entertainingly on the "History and Prospects of the Society," which

he said owed its actual birth to the impetus given to historical study by the

Centennial Exposition of 1876. At this time the Society had 290 members

and in June 1887, published its first QUARTERLY, the second following in

September 1887, and the third in December 1887. Mr. Sessions, as noted

was now president, General Brinkerhoff and William E. Moore the vice-

presidents, A. A. Graham, secretary, and S. S. Rickly, treasurer.

The Sixth Annual Meeting February 18-19, 1891, in Columbus, must

have been a stimulating event. Among others present were the peripatetic

historian, Henry Howe, Dr. Edward Orton, Claude Meeker (private sec-

retary to Governor James E. Campbell), and Dr. William Oxley Thomp-

son. It was at the banquet in February, moreover, that General Brinkerhoff

delivered his toast to the "Seven Sons" of Ohio. He had not prepared a

speech and when called upon he hit upon the happy idea of commemorating

Ohio's distinguished sons by a group of statuary at the Chicago Fair,

which idea was later executed and now stands in the State House grounds

under the caption "These Are My Jewels."

The government of the Society was changed but once in all the fifty

years. In the beginning it was vested in a Board of fifteen trustees all of

whom were elected by the Society, divided into three classes, five to be

elected each year and serve for three years. Up to April 16, 1891, our

Society was a private corporation not for profit. By the year 1891 Ohio

recognized the great part in the life of the State the Society was playing

and the feeling had become general that the State should not only take a

part in the government of but also it should give material help and support

to the aims and purposes of the Society. Thereupon the General Assembly

of Ohio adopted the following enactment:

The governor is hereby authorized and directed to appoint as mem-

bers 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 ninth day of February, 1891, and

2 Warren King Moorehead, "A Description of Fort Ancient," ibid., IV (1895),

862.

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380     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

annually thereafter to appoint two persons as said board for the term of

three years.³

In addition to the fifteen trustees the governor of Ohio and the State

director of education serve ex-officio.

The constitution of the Society was amended accordingly, and since

1891 nine of our trustees are elected by the membership and six are ap-

pointed by the governor of Ohio. It is not saying too much to record that

our Society is a real public institution in more than one sense.

On March twenty-fifth of the next year, 1892, President Sessions

passed away, and his passing was made the subject of an eloquent memorial

address by Dr. Washington Gladden. "All things pure and honorable . . .

have lost a strong helper,"⁴ said the noted minister in concluding his

address. On January 17, 1893, Dr. Gladden was called upon to preach the

funeral service of our third president, Rutherford B. Hayes, a former Chief

Executive of the United States. Referring to the popular qualities of

William Pitt of England, Dr. Gladden said, "Our own great Commoner

has won the title by the same qualities. He, too, was essentially and pre-

eminently a man of the people."⁵

The Society, which these men had created and given their best efforts,

continued to progress.  In the Tenth Annual Report, Treasurer S. S.

Rickly showed that the organization was getting along without debt on

a modest budget of $4,082. In 1893 the Society under the supervision of

Secretary Graham had an extensive exhibit at the Columbian Exposition

at Chicago. Hon. Daniel J. Ryan of the Society was Ohio's State Com-

missioner in charge of the exhibit, the Legislature having appropriated

$3,000 for the purpose. As public confidence in the work grew, relics

began to flow to our doors. In August of 1894 the well known oil painting

by the artist Phil Clover depicting the landing of pioneers at Marietta,

came to us on its return from the Columbian Exposition....

At a banquet held in February 1895 during the Tenth Annual Meet-

ing of the Society, President William H. Scott of the Ohio State Univer-

sity told the story of two scholarly but rather lonesome old gentlemen.

Mr. R. K. Ology and Mr. H. I. Story, who one day wandered into the

State Capitol asking for lodging. A small space was reluctantly given

them, said Dr. Scott, but the two strangers soon found themselves once

more shelterless. Strolling along High Street, they saw two new build-

ings going up on the University campus, and concluded that one of these,

the new Museum of Geology, was now to be their lodging. And thus did

the Society find a haven in Orton Hall.

At this stage of its growth, the Society's collection catalogued and

rearranged after it had been brought from the Chicago Fair back home,

consisted of 7,560 specimens filling eight large combination wall cases, and

was largely the result of such liberal private givers as Harness Renick of

Circleville and others who gave their entire collections to the central organi-

zation. Professor Warren K. Moorehead, then our curator, in his first re-

port, said that he had numerous samples of pottery for exchange provided

those offered were good, worthy specimens. He had cleaned and relabeled all

specimens, he reported, which, with recent gifts, now amounted to 10,000.

He had also made an extensive trip about Ohio and located 3,000 mounds,

and expected to find from 3,000 to 4,000 more the next year.

3 Ohio Laws (Columbus, Ohio), LXXXVIII (1891), 932.

4 Washington Gladden, "Francis Charles Sessions," in Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society Quarterly, IV (1895), 310.

5 Washington Gladden, "Rutherford Birchard Hayes," ibid., IV (1895), 389.

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In December, 1896, Professor Moorehead reported that about 22,000

specimens had been added to the existing collection, that he had delivered

fifteen lectures in Ohio cities, that he had been given editorial space in

100 newspapers, and that the State's archaeological map now showed 6,000

separate locations of prehistoric villages, mounds and forts. But adequate

space was needed for the Society's growing library, which was still in

boxes in the basement of the State House.

A word should be said about the publications of the Society. Eight

numbers of the QUARTERLY were issued, and thereafter for a time, material

was allowed to accumulate till enough was on hand to form a volume. Such

volumes were issued irregularly, so that only five appeared in the first ten

years of the Society's existence. Then in 1895, Professor Warren K.

Moorehead, of the Society, who had for two years previousy been editor

of the Archaeologist, a small magazine edited in Indiana, proposed that this

magazine   become the official organ of the Society. The suggestion was

adopted, the Society agreeing to pay Moorehead $25.00 monthly for twenty

pages in each issue. This plan was followed for nine issues, the Archaeolo-

gist being then edited in Columbus, until it was sold to Popular Science

News, which for the rest of the year, that is, till the expiration of the

agreement, was the Society's official organ. But shortly after this we went

back to the original plan of issuing a quarterly magazine to be bound in

regular annual volumes, and this plan was followed down to last year, when

the practice of binding the quarterlies into volumes was discontinued. ...

A few centennial celebrations marked the early years of the Society's

then "new home." Such was that at Greenville, August 3, 1895. "It is a

rich inheritance," said the future President, William McKinley, who ad-

dressed the gathering, "to any community to have in its keeping historic

ground."⁶ The Hon. Samuel F. Hunt also spoke entertainingly on the

"Treaty of Greenville," along with W. J. Gilmore and others. On August

24-26 of 1897 came the "Centennial of Jefferson County," at Steubenville.

This festive occasion also in honor of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stan-

ton, a native son, aroused great interest in Ohio history.

On April third of 1897, Professor Warren K. Moorehead resigned as

curator and was succeeded by Mr. Clarence Loveberry. On his retirement

Professor Moorehead went to Arizona to build up his health, where he

made studies in local archaeology. Loveberry did some interesting and use-

ful field work in the summer of 1897, classifying 3,292 earth or stone

remains according to kind, visiting the Snake Den group in Ashville, the

"Carriage Factory Mound" in Chillicothe, and other spots, at one place

being obliged to promise to turn over to a certain farmer all the gold and

silver found in a mound on his premises. At the Annual Meeting on Feb-

ruary 24, 1898, Professor Moorehead vigorously protested at the "poaching

upon our preserves" done by other out-State societies, especially in Adams,

Pickaway, and Fairfield Counties. This out-State poaching was one reason

among others for the formation and perpetuation of our Society and the

reason is as good today as then.

In 1898 the family of Rutherford B. Hayes made a proposition to the

Society concerning the acquiring of Spiegel Grove, the estate of the late

President, a beautiful old house set in charming grounds in Fremont, Ohio.

But the Society did not feel it could then take the responsibility, although

at the Annual Meeting of May 1, 1899, President Brinkerhoff had urged

6 William McKinley, "Address Delivered at Greenville, Ohio, August 3, 1895,"

ibid., VII (1899), 217.

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the Society to accept the offer. The matter of Spiegel Grove was left

open for a later time.

At the same meeting William C. Mills, then curator, reported on the

19,000 specimens in the Museum, including rare finds of copper workman-

ship from Fort Ancient, there being only one other of similar value, located

in the Museum of Madison, Wisconsin. Also at this meeting memorial

services were held for Professor Edward Orton who had regularly par-

ticipated in the Society's meetings and activities, and written articles for

the QUARTERLY for many years.

On October 8, 1900, the great archaeological monument known as Ser-

pent Mound was deeded over to the Society by the generosity of the Pea-

body Museum at Harvard, on condition that the Society take care of it.

A legislative appropriation in March made such care possible. . . . Highly

interesting too, from the historical outlook, was the centennial held on

September 29, 1898, at Gnadenhutten, in which the Society participated ex-

tensively. Especially valuable was the archaeological exhibit of the So-

ciety at the Pan-American Exposition held in Buffalo in 1901. "Ohio Day"

was celebrated at the exposition on July eighteenth, when the pure white

marble building housing the large exhibit seemed more than ordinarily con-

spicuous. Governor George K. Nash and Hon. D. J. Ryan, and others

spoke. Eight thousand specimens comprised our exhibit among which was

the fine reproduction of the whole "Baum" prehistoric village. This exhibit

did much toward giving our Society national prominence.

The secretary at the Annual Meeting on April 26, 1901, noted that ade-

quate quarters were still lacking. He reported having visited various State

Societies and found all of them better housed and sheltered than that of

Ohio. At the same meeting, Curator Mills reported many donations to

the Museum and Library.

In the summer of 1901, excavations were made at Adena Mound, one

and one-half miles from Chillicothe, located centrally in the monuments,

with "Mound City" to the North. Very interesting discoveries were made.

The Society now had a budget of $11,000. It had received the Adams

Collection from Portsmouth, one of the best in the State, which along

with others, emphasized the need of adequate quarters.

On September 25, 1902, was held the "Lebanon Centennial," in Ham-

ilton County, with an oration by Professor W. H. Venable. This was only

a prelude, so to speak, to the larger Ohio Centennial held at Chillicothe,

May 20, 21, of 1903. State commissioners previously appointed by Gov-

ernor Nash cooperated with the Society to make the affair a success,

although it had to be staged on a legislative appropriation of $10,000.

General J. Warren Kiefer was chairman of the Committee, which

decided to confine its exercises to an educational and historical program.

Governor K. Nash, Hon. Judson Harmon, Secretary [Emilius O.] Randall,

Hon. Marcus A. Hanna, and President W. O. Thompson of Ohio State

University, participated.

The years 1903 and 1904 were marked by the passing away of many

old members, such as A. R. McIntire, William T. McClintick of Chilli-

cothe; H. R. Pool, A. N. Whitney, Governor Charles Foster of Fostoria,

Governor Asa S. Bushnell of Springfield, and Marcus A. Hanna, all of

whom had been active members in the Society.

In the summer of 1904, Dr. William C. Mills, then curator, took charge

of the Society's exhibit at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition at Saint Louis.

Here he defended as a work of art a small clay effigy of an Ohio Mound,

about eight inches long, against the humorous jibes of newspaper men, Dr.

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PROCEEDINGS                           383

 

Mills declaring that "it is a faithful picture . . . of the antiquity of the

human race, and a constant reminder of the strange people who lived on

this Continent even before the day of the American Indian."7 Ohio Day

at St. Louis was held October sixth with Governor Myron T. Herrick and

others making speeches.

All this was true progress and was thus described by President

Brinkerhoff at the interesting annual meeting held June 2, 1905. Profes-

sor Archer B. Hulbert believed that the Society should strengthen its his-

torical collection, and Professor Frederick Starr, the eminent ethnologist of

Chicago, spoke interestingly, praising the work of the Society. The next

day, the delegates went on excursion to Fort Ancient. In August of 1905,

Big Bottom Park on the Muskingum River, the site of the terrible Indian

massacre of 1791, was formally transferred to the Society, and September

thirtieth was the scene of public exercises, with 4,000 people present.

On August second of the next year the Fremonters held their

[George]Croghan celebration and practically the entire QUARTERLY for

January, 1907, was devoted to Croghan and his heroic defense of Fort

Stephenson. "The people of Fremont were greatly pleased with the co-

operation given . . . by the Society," wrote the editor of the ceremonial.

"Ohio Day at the Jamestown Exposition," was held on September 11, 1907,

where the Ohio Exhibit in the History Building received the highest award

--the gold medal. The David Zeisberger Centennial was held November

20, 1908, at Goshen; a descendant of the original John Heckewelder spoke

as did also Professor Wright, Professor Hulbert and others. On Novem-

ber 27, 28, 1908, at the second annual meeting of the Ohio Valley His-

torical Association, Secretary E. O. Randall, of our Society, presided over

the seven sessions on which program were outstanding speakers from lead-

ing Ohio colleges and universities.

"The gift to the State of Ohio and our Society of Spiegel Grove at

Fremont, the beautiful homestead of Rutherford B. Hayes, is one of the

most interesting, commendable, and generous gifts of recent years."⁸ At

the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting, Secretary Randall explained why this

was the big event for the Society in 1909. A permanent committee was

at the time set up to work out details and to take care of the property, con-

sisting of Messrs. [Caleb H.] Gallup, Ryan, [Edwin F.] Wood and Randall.

This matter of Spiegel Grove was after considerable time and effort solved

satisfactorily to all. The grove had been donated on condition that the

Society should erect a fireproof building to house the unusually rich Hayes

private library of Americana. In April of 1911, Mr. Andrew Carnegie

offered $60,000, provided a county circulating library be erected for San-

dusky County; but the terms could not be met. The General Assembly

representing all the people came to the rescue, appropriating $40,000 for

the building at Spiegel Grove, and $10,000 for upkeep. On June 14, 1912,

Governor Judson Harmon approved all appropriations.

In 1908 the Society had about 100,000 specimens, mostly archaeological,

including many of great historical value, duly catalogued in the Museum

room, then housed in Page Hall, on the campus of the Ohio State Uni-

versity. The library contained 3,000 volumes. By 1911 the collection had

grown to include 150,000 relics and 6,000 volumes.

The Legislature set apart $100,000 to build the much needed new home

for the great collection of archaeology and history. No adverse vote or

7 Emilius Oviatt Randall, "Editorialana," ibid., XIII (1904), 396.

8 Lucy Elliot Keeler, "Spiegel Grove, the Home of Rutherford B. Hayes," ibid.,

XVIII (1909), 345.

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criticism was recorded as these measures went through; and the Society's

sincere thanks and appreciation went to Senator Thomas A. Dean of Fre-

mont, and Governor Harmon for their foresight and support. On Septem-

ber 12, 1912, the corner stone was laid, Mr. J. N. Bradford, the architect

for the Dawson Construction Company, being present, with Professor

Wright, D. J. Ryan, J. W. Harmer and others.

From August 26 to September 1, 1912, the Ohio-Columbus Centennial

was held, with an elaborate program including addresses and parades in

which were floats depicting Ohio and Columbus early history. Of more

direct interest to the Society, however, was the ceremony upon the acquisi-

tion of Logan Elm Park, in October, 1912. In the fall of the previous year,

efforts were made to negotiate for the site of the park six miles south of

Circleville in Pickaway County. Finally the old historic elm and sufficient

acreage for a park were procured through the earnest efforts of Mrs.

Mary McMahon Jones, a member of the Society. A number of Indians

came down from a convention in Columbus and participated in the dedi-

cation ceremony, October 2, 1912, the anniversary date of the Lord Dun-

more Treaty.

On May 9 of 1913, Henry C. Shetrone, our present efficient director,

became identified with the Society. A newspaper man at the time, Mr.

Shetrone, from extensive digging in the mounds and from wide outside

study for twenty years, was to make himself one of the country's authori-

ties on the Mound Builders. September 10, 1913, the Centennial of Perry's

Victory was celebrated with exercises at Put-in-Bay and addresses by

Professor Wright, William Howard Taft, former President and later

Chief Justice of the United States, and James A. McDonald of Canada.

On July 27 of the same year, 1913, came the Centennial Celebration of

the Siege of Fort Meigs, at Perrysburg, the principal exercises being held

in a deep ravine on the Pioneer Association property immediately east of

the old breastworks, with addresses by the late Timothy S. Hogan, then

Attorney-General of Ohio, and others. On August second following was

celebrated Croghan's victory at Fremont, in honor of that young officer's

heroic defense of Fort Stephenson on the Lower Sandusky River, claimed

to be "the one successful land battle" of the War of 1812. Here as at the

other celebrations and historical gatherings, the Society cooperated heartily

with the local citizens and authorities.

Memorial Day, May 30, 1914, was a great day, a day of joy, a datum

post for the Society, the Dedication of the Ohio State Archaeological and

Historical Society Museum and Library Building. This was held on a

Saturday, in the rotunda of the new building on High Street at Fifteenth

Avenue, a strategic and impressive location for the Society's new home.

Professor Wright spoke first, followed by Secretary Randall who gave us

a "running chronicle" of the history of the Society. "Its great work," said

the secretary, "was the interest in archaeology and history it has brought

about in the State of Ohio." Our curator, Dr. Mills, aptly characterizing

the new building as "purely classic in structure with restrained beauty and

dignity, built substantially yet so economically." After this ex-Governor

James E. Campbell spoke as did also Hon. D. J. Ryan. Professor Isaac J.

Cox, then professor of history at the University of Cincinnati, delivered

the dedicatory address.

From its birth the home of the Society had been the capital city of

Ohio. Now that the Society was at last housed in adequate permanent

quarters, . ..   renewed growth was confidently expected  . ...

A great event was the dedication of the Rutherford B. Hayes Me-

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morial at Spiegel Grove on May 16, 1916, at Fremont, with Governor

Frank B. Willis, President Wright, former Governor Campbell, and

Secretary of War Newton D. Baker on the program.

At the Thirty-first Annual Meeting, November 27, 1916, Curator Mills

spoke on the growth of the Library, stating that when he had taken charge

of it in 1900 there were only 260 volumes, but that there were now (No-

vember, 1916) 12,000, and that the Library had grown mostly without a

dollar of expense, by gifts and exchanges, and including a larger collection

of county histories than the State Library.

On September 28, of 1917, Secretary Randall reported that the site

of Fort Laurens in Tuscarawas County had been secured for the Society.

This was a very important acquisition. On September 25, 1918, a year

later, the Secretary reported that the site of the old Campus Martius in

Marietta had been acquired by the Society. By a curious coincidence, the

days on which the various steps in the transaction had been consummated

were days of particular interest. The bill authorizing the purchase of the

site was signed, for example, on Mayflower Day (April 7, 1917) by Gov-

ernor James M. Cox. On Armistice Day (November 11, 1918), the Ohio

Legislative Committee filed report of the purchase, and payment was made

on February 14, 1919, Saint Valentine's Day. Mr. Lewis Schaus, visiting

the site, reported the house of General [Rufus] Putnam in poor condition.

A standing committee was at once appointed consisting of Messrs. Camp-

bell, Mills, Randall, and Schaus to devise ways and means to care for the

house. A museum was erected later on this site in Marietta, and when a

second wing was built, it completely enclosed the house of General Putnam.

The policy of the museum at Marietta has been to keep strictly to history

and relics of the community's early life. On September 21, of 1921, came

the ceremony of the Unveiling of the Tablet at Campus Martius, described

locally as "one of the most brilliant functions ever given in Marietta."

The new secretary, Charles Burleigh Galbreath, accepted the tablet in the

name of the Society, and a scholarly address was delivered by Dr. Edwin

Erle Sparks of State College, Pennsylvania.

We were engaged in the World War at the time the new building

was a year old. In February, 1918, Governor Cox appointed the Ohio

Historical Commission as the official State agency to preserve memorials

of Ohio's part in the war, with a personnel composed mostly from col-

leges and universities. Immediately the Society actively cooperated with

the commission which had its headquarters in the new building and planned

to lodge its collections in the Library of the Society. The commission

declared progress would have been impossible without the help of the

Society and its able secretary. In August, 1919, Mr. W. Ferrand Felch

reported afresh upon the matter, stating that county histories of partici-

pation in the Great War could be written only with the aid of the archives

collected by the State commission.

Secretary Emilius Oviatt Randall passed away December 18, 1919,

having served the Society in that office twenty-five consecutive years. At

a special meeting of the trustees (March 16, 1920) Mr. Charles B. Gal-

breath was chosen secretary to fill the vacancy.

The work of the Society in the new building was on a new footing,

and could go on with increasing vigor, and the building up and organization

of a staff for broader and deeper archaeological and historical research.

An interesting ceremony was held on October 4, 1920, when a soldiers'

memorial tablet was unveiled at Spiegel Grove in Fremont. On a cloudless

day, with thousands of people present, ex-Governor James E. Campbell

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386     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

presiding, and the then United States Senator, Warren G. Harding, and

others addressed the large crowd present.

At the 1920 Annual Meeting, Secretary Galbreath reported the munifi-

cent gift of the Miamisburg Mound, the largest conical shaped mound in

Ohio located near Miamisburg. Mr. Charles F. Kettering, a member of

the Society, purchased a farm of 200 acres to secure the mound and he

gave much more to provide a park at this unusual and valuable site.

In October of the next year (1921), President Wright died after

years of faithful service to the Society, and was succeeded as president

by Hon. James E. Campbell. At the Annual Meeting held October first,

1921, the secretary reported passage of an appropriation to defray the

expense of publishing the Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes.

This was carried out, the work covering several fine volumes. The acqui-

sition known as the Claude Meeker Library of Ohioana, and the payment

for same from the proceeds of a war movie depicting the camp-life of the

American soldier, is of outstanding importance. At the next Annual

Meeting (September 9, 1922) we were advised of the series of celebrations

commemorating the Centennial of the Birth of General Ulysses S. Grant,

with addresses at Point Pleasant by Warren G. Harding, President of the

United States; at Bethel by Hon. Frank B. Willis, and at Georgetown by

United States Senator Atlee Pomerene.

During the years 1922 to 1924, the Society participated in many color-

ful and interesting ceremonies, such as the observance of Ohio History Day

at Logan Elm Park (October 2, 1922); the Centenary Celebration of Ruth-

erford B. Hayes at Spiegel Grove (October 4, 1922); the Celebration of

the One Hundred and Thirtieth Anniversary of the Battle at Fort St.

Clair (November 6, 1922), with the unveiling of a boulder monument and

bronze tablet; a patriotic celebration on June 13, 1923, at Logan Elm Park,

under the auspices of the Daughters and Sons of the American Revolution,

principal address being that of United States Senator Simeon D. Fess;

and on August 8, 1924, the George Rogers Clark monument was unveiled

near Springfield, Ohio, the site of the Battle of Piqua.

December 17, 1924, the president of the Society, James E. Campbell,

passed away, after a long and useful life of eighty-one years. On his

death tributes came pouring in. His work for the Society had been very

helpful, especially when presenting matters to the General Assembly. He

did not live to see carried out his wish that a heroic statue of a doughboy

be placed at the entrance to the Museum and Library. On April 10, 1925,

Arthur Charles Johnson was chosen his successor.

In December, 1925, it was reported in the QUARTERLY, "The new wing

presents a very dignified appearance at the main entrance to the University

grounds."  This doubled the capacity of the Museum, and its completion

and dedicatory ceremonies were at the time awaited with the greatest

interest, in that with the new wing bright hopes were anticipated for the

Society and its future use to the people of Ohio.

The World War Memorial Wing was dedicated April 6, 1926. In

spite of bad weather, a large assembly heard and saw the beautiful cere-

mony.   "The timely appreciative words of welcome of Governor Vic

Donahey" and the brief, eloquent speeches of Judge Benson W. Hough,

Lieutenant Colonel Ralph D. Cole, and the dedicatory address of Congress-

man Theodore E. Burton, were "among the most impressive ever delivered

on the grounds of Ohio State University." Professor Wilbur H. Siebert

presided. Short talks were delivered by President Arthur Charles Johnson

of the Society; Dr. Alexander C. Flick, head of the New York State

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Division of Archives, and Wallace B. Cathcart, director of Western

Reserve Historical Society.

Although the housing of the Society was not fully realized the addi-

tion of the Memorial Wing was truly a splendid start in a still wider

range of work.

In February, 1927, a meeting of unique interest was held in the

audience room of the enlarged Society building, a joint session of the

Society and the Columbus McGuffey Society at which there was placed

in the McGuffey Alcove over one hundred volumes of the famous school

readers . . . collected and donated by the McGuffey Society of Columbus.

Director William C. Mills, died on January 17, 1928. He was the

author of Certain Mounds and Village Sites in four volumes, the Archaeo-

logical Atlas of Ohio, and numerous other articles and writings. He was

and is widely known as a practical and experienced archaeologist. His

long and faithful service of nearly thirty years will ever be remembered.

In 1928 Henry C. Shetrone was elected director to succeed Dr. Mills;

Harlow Lindley was chosen curator of history after leaving his work as

librarian at Spiegel Grove, and Dr. Emerson F. Greenman was named to

succeed Mr. Shetrone as curator of archaeology.

The selection of Dr. Greenman made it possible to complete a useful

archaeological exploration which had been begun in 1925. The examination

of the great central tumulus of the Seip Mound group occupied four

successive summers from 1925 to 1928. Mr. Shetrone was in charge of

the work three seasons, and Dr. Greenman the fourth and last.

At the trustees meeting in January, 1929, it was agreed to accept an

accumulation of . . . documents which for many years had been stored

... in the basement of the State House. . . . These documents, which

constitute the State archives of Ohio, are in the custody of the Society

by Legislative enactment.

At the meeting of May 4, 1929, Dr. F. C. Furniss of the trustees said,

"A survey, observation and study of the park system of other states has

convinced us that we have paid too little attention to the park system of

the State of Ohio, Ohio in this respect ranking third from the bottom."

This admission of Ohio's backwardness has brought about a real park

system  and Ohio's standing has much improved.     Commendation was

expressed concerning "the work of Secretary Galbreath, who had con-

ceived the idea of making our great and growing collection of Ohio

newspapers at all times available for use and that the necessary legislation

had been secured to put the project under way."

On September 14, 1929, Ohio's monument to General "Mad" Anthony

Wayne of Revolutionary fame was unveiled. The ceremony was held on

an elevation overlooking the scene of his victory near Maumee, Ohio,

where the Battle of Fallen Timbers was fought in August, 1794. Five

thousand people composing the audience heard addresses by President

Johnson of the Society, Governor Myers Y. Cooper and others. The

director of the Society presided.

The new South Wing to the building was completed and ready in

1928, which was indeed a welcome addition for the ever expanding work

of the Society.

The Ohio History Conference (February 7, 1930), held in the now

completed building of the Society, was an important gathering. The con-

ference was called "in order to formally launch the new and enlarged

program of the . . . Society," to use the words of Dr. Harlow Lindley.

Dr. Benjamin F. Shambaugh of the Iowa Historical Society was the

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388     OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

principal speaker and opened the discussion, the audience being representa-

tive of the entire State.

"A chorus of cordial appreciation" greeted the appearance of the

restored mound builder "The Pre-historic Sculptor" in 1930, and who now

has a mate, "The Basket Maker." The restored prehistoric pair are most

life-like and present to the spectator a concrete ethnologic study as well as

inspiration.

From February to Thanksgiving of 1932, the Bicentennial of the

Birth of General George Washington was celebrated with various programs

at points along the Ohio River, some of the ceremonies being very in-

structive and picturesque, the results of which brought and continue to

bring to light valuable historic facts unknown before, many of which had

been thought lost forever.

Our newspaper library, the brain-child of Secretary Galbreath and

the zeal of his able assistant, Mr. Harold G. Simpson, . . . was becoming a

wonderful collection in 1930 with 18,000 volumes, and in April, 1933, it

was reported to contain 24,800 volumes, and at this time it has reached the

enormous figure of 33,000 volumes. This repository is "by far the largest

collection of Ohio newspapers in the world." It is known as the Charles

Burleigh Galbreath Newspaper Library and is being constantly used by

students, research workers, teachers, and the public. It also contains hun-

dreds of volumes of newspapers from other states as well as foreign

countries, some dating back to the 1600's.

The historical work of the Society is one of its major activities.

The circulating loan collections in archaeology, mineralogy, history, and

natural history and general service to the public schools of Ohio, together

with radio talks, have and are engaging the attention of our secretary and

director and their experienced assistants.

The State Parks and their supervision have become a department

under the able management of Mr. Harry R. McPherson. At this time

the Society has charged to its care more than thirty parks. The founders

of the Society could not have dreamed that the then infant Society would

or could be made to cover the immense field it now does.

That the Society has made marvelous progress during the fifty years

of its existence none can deny. It has merited the absolute right to live

so long as the nation and the State exist. Aside from the class-work in

the schools, colleges and universities, it is the great State agency for the

instruction of all the people in the archaeology and history of their own

State and nation  There is no instrument so well adapted and equipped for

carrying on this form of popular and universal education as our own Ohio

State Archaeological and Historical Society. Such an organization inspires

archaeological explorations, accumulates archives, collects reminiscences

from pioneers, amasses data relative to social and economic history and

present conditions, conducts a well-selected historical and ethnological mu-

seum that shall be representative of the locality, arranges for popular

lectures on these subjects from rostrum and radio, conducts historical

pilgrimages and commemorative celebrations, influences school and library

boards, interests and instructs teachers and librarians, displays exhibits of

its discoveries, relics, specimens and collections at world's fairs, expositions

and centennials, furnishes writers, magazines and newspapers with accurate

historic and related data, publishes pamphlets, magazines and books con-

taining reports of the work of research workers, lecturers, celebrations,

commemorations and discoveries, and in general awakens within the locality

and region which it represents an active and enduring historical conscious-

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PROCEEDINGS                           389

 

ness. We assert without fear of contradiction that our Society after fifty

years has been and is now doing all this and more.

The author of this discourse is not an archivist nor a historian, but

it seems to him that the cardinal principle underlying the collecting, ar-

ranging, classifying, preserving and displaying of every such society as ours

should be the preservation of every book and pamphlet printed in and

every specimen, relic and memento discovered or found in the State which

the Society represents. Only in this way can the full and true history and

archaeology of the State--the story of its political, social, economic, edu-

cational, and scientific achievement--be traced and recorded. It will be

noted that in such a comprehensive scheme, nothing is worthless. It does

not matter how small and insignificant a crude artifact or how old or

apparently useless a book may be, it should be examined and investigated

by skilled persons and if found useful for the purpose of such a society,

studied, catalogued and placed in its proper environment. We must ever

keep in mind that the only way properly and fully to understand the

present is by a knowledge of the past, that is, that part of the past that

is germane to the present problem to be understood and interpreted. It

will therefore be seen that the past plays a very large part indeed in the

lives of peoples, states and nations.

Today we should recall the labors and works of not only the many

that have passed from among us, but also the efforts and enterprise of

those still with us in carrying out the purpose of our Society, well remem-

bering that in a paper of this scope, it is impossible to record them all.

We can but refer you to the records of the Society. We have been

blessed with men of great ability who have served us, and in the great

majority of instances they have been kept in their respective offices until

ill-health or death removed them. Such men as United States Senator

and Judge of the Ohio Supreme Court Allen G. Thurman, popularly

known as the "Old Roman," was our first president; Francis C. Sessions

was our second; President of the United States Rutherford B. Hayes was

our third; General Roeliff Brinkerhoff, also one time judge of the Ohio

Supreme Court, was our fourth and served us faithfully nineteen years.

Professor G. Frederick Wright of Oberlin University began his presidency

in 1912, and was succeeded by Hon. James E. Campbell in 1919, a former

governor of our State.   President Campbell served us six years. No

ex-presidents of our Society survive. In 1925 our present genial, energetic

and far-seeing Arthur Charles Johnson, was chosen as executive head of

our Society and is still ably leading us to greater accomplishments. The

period of his incumbency is an outstanding decade of Society progress in

spite of the handicaps of a world-wide depression. We congratulate him,

as we also do the official family and corps that serve under and with him.

In fifty long years we have had but four secretaries, three of whom have

left us. The first, Albert A. Graham, who gave the best that was in, him

until his death in 1894. The next was that vigorous and penetrating

personality, who never overlooked anything that would benefit the Society,

the Hon. Emilius Oviatt Randall, whose record of service spans a quarter

of a century. Professor Charles Burleigh Galbreath took up the duties

of secretary in 1920, and he, too, served until his death, February 23, 1934,

a period of fourteen years. He was a great secretary and editor, a student,

a historian "to the manner born," a plodder, a man whose interest in the

Society and its future was always uppermost in his mind. His articles,

editorials and notes appearing in the QUARTERLY and Museum Echoes have

never been surpassed. . . . President Johnson and Secretary Galbreath

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390     OHIO ARCH AEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

were a great team when they made up their minds to accomplish some-

thing for the Society. We here point to but a few of the outstanding

fruits of their work:

The Newspaper Library of 33,000 volumes, estimated to be worth

$200,000; the Sargent Letters; the Venable Letter Collection; the John

Brown Collection of relics and manuscripts; the Joshua R. Giddings Col-

lection of letters and manuscripts; the Private Library of the historian,

Henry Howe; Dr. W. C. Mills Private Library; the Journal of the North-

west Territory  . . . ; Silver Service of the Battleship Ohio . . . ; the

Dawson Ornithological Collection: the Private Library of the late Hon.

Daniel J. Ryan . . . ; and the Genealogical Library of the "Old North-

west" Genealogical and Historical Society.

We should not neglect to mention that another and new department

has been added to that of the founders, that known as the Department of

Natural History, which has come into being during the administration of

our present president, Arthur Charles Johnson. We here record the faith-

ful and efficient work and service of Dr. Harlow Lindley, our present

secretary, of Mr. Henry C. Shetrone, our present director, of Edward S.

Thomas, curator of the Department of Natural History, of Dr. William

D. Overman, curator of History, of Howard R. Goodwin, our registrar and

artist, as well as the sincere and efficient helpers that assist them and

other faithful ones, all of whom have played and continue to play their

part to bring to fruition the aims and purposes of the Society.

On April 7, 1788, the forty-eight persons composing the Ohio Company

arrived in their boat, The Mayflower, at the point now known as Marietta

and there landed after floating down the Ohio River. Marietta became the

capital of the Northwest Territory, out of which our own State of Ohio,

was the first born. The Northwest Territory Centennial was duly cele-

brated the week of April 7, 1888. Our Society was but three years old

then. Although so young it took a very active interest and part in the

celebration and helped very materially in making the centennial the great

success it was. It is only three years until April 7, 1938, on which date it

will have been 150 years since the settlement of the Northwest Territory.

May it not be well that our Society keep this in mind to the end that our

Society, which in 1888 was a mere infant, but now a matured giant and

tower of strength, again take an active and leading part and make the

sesquicentennial of Ohio and the Northwest Territory an outstanding ex-

position and exhibition from every point of view. Without a doubt

Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, also children of the Northwest

Territory, would participate. Now that we have the records and collec-

tions in the way of relics, manuscripts, documents, specimens, books and

artifacts the educational advantage and value of an up to the minute

Northwest Territory sesquicentennial exhibit would be tremendous and

give effective impetus to archaeological and historical exploration and re-

search probably greater than at any former time in the Society's history.

On this Anniversary day we become sensible of the legacies bequeathed

to us--become sensible of our might, our accomplishments, our progress.

We can truthfully say our aims and purposes were not and have not been

in vain. We can justly feel proud of our achievements, not unmindful of

our humble beginning and of being compelled to realize that we have, both

literally and figuratively, but scratched the surface. We come, not to

boast. We, however, sincerely express our appreciation and gratitude for

those conditions by which that beginning was surrounded and on account

of which all that has since followed has been made possible. The work

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