210 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Presbyterianism on Walnut Hills, have
all aided to make the
Church History of the Ohio Valley the
record of its civilization
and progress. And not alone in
Cincinnati but throughout the
Western Country this influence was felt.
"Upon the Bible's sacred page,
The gathered beams of ages shine;
And, as it hastens, every age
But makes its brightness more divine.
More glorious still as ages roll,
New regions blessed, new powers
unfurled,
Expanding with th' expanding soul,
Its radiance shall o'erflow the
world."
LOCATION OF SITE OF OHIO CAPITAL.
BY E. O. RANDALL.
[Prepared for and read by title at the
Annual Meeting of the Ohio
Valley Historical Association, Columbus,
October 21, 1915.]
On the 13th of July, 1787,
Congress, then assembled in New
York, by a unanimous vote of the eight
states present and the
entire vote of the individual members,
except Yates of New
York, who opposed the measure, adopted
the famous "Ordinance
of 1787" establishing a government for the Northwest Territory.
On July 27, 1787,- two
weeks later - Congress passed the
ordinance of purchase - authorizing the
Federal Government to
sell to the Ohio Company a tract of land
in the Northwest Terri-
tory by which, as Dr. Manasseh Cutler
put it in his diary for
that day, "We obtained the grant of
near five millions of land,
amounting to three millions and a half
of dollars, one million
and a half acres for the Ohio Company
and the remainder for a
private speculation, in which many of
the prominent characters
of America are concerned; without
connecting this speculation,
similar terms and advantages could not
have been obtained for
the Ohio Company."
The designation of the boundaries of
this purchase is not
pertinent to our purpose.
Pursuant to the above purchase by the
Ohio Company, on
April 7th, (1788) the forty-seven -
(usually stated forty-eight)
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 211
but Col. J. R. Meigs did not arrive
until the 12th (April) -
male
members of the band of plucky pioneers
from New England,
directed by General Rufus Putnam,
embarked from the Ohio
Mayflower and landed at the mouth of the
Muskingum river and
on the banks, opposite the site of Ft.
Harmar, erected by the
Federal Government in November, 1785,
were greeted by the
friendly band of Wyandot Indians under
Captain Pipe. Here
the sturdy adventurers established the
first settlement in the
Northwest Territory. They called the
town "Marietta."
On the 5th of October, 1787, before a
single emigrant had
set out from the East for the Ohio
country, Arthur St. Clair
was chosen by the Continental Congress
as Governor of the new
territory. He arrived at Ft. Harmar July
9, 1788, remaining at
the Fort until the 15th, when he was
formally received at Marietta
and delivered an address to which
response was made in behalf
of the colony by General Rufus Putnam.
This was the initial
scene of the establishment of civil
government in Ohio.
By provision of the Ordinance of 1787
no legislature for
the new territory could be chosen until
the territory should con-
tain five thousand male inhabitants.
Meanwhile it was the duty
of the Governor (St. Clair) and the
three appointed judges,-
James M. Varnum, Samuel H. Parsons and
John Cleves Symmes,
who was appointed in place of James
Armstrong, first chosen
but declining to serve, with their
secretary, Winthrop Sargent, -
to provide such laws as might be
required.
These officials created a militia, the
needed courts and
decreed laws for the punishment of
crimes.
On July 27th (1788) the Governor
established by proclama-
tion the county of Washington, bounded
south by the Ohio river,
east by Virginia and Pennsylvania, north
by Lake Erie, west by
the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers as
far south as Ft. Laurens,
-built in the late fall of 1778 on the
Tuscarawas near the mouth
of Sandy Creek, a short distance from
the present site of Bolivar,
-thence west to the headwaters of the
Scioto river, which from
that point to its mouth was the western
line of the new county.
The boundaries of this initial county
included the territory
now constituting the entire eastern half
of Ohio and the eastern
half of what was later Franklin county.
The seat of govern-
212 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
ment for this, Washington county, as
well as for the whole
Northwest Territory, was at Marietta,
and here the Governor
and Judges officially resided and here
on September 2, 1788, with
fitting ceremonies the first Court in
the territory was opened by
the newly appointed common pleas judges,
Rufus Putnam, Ben-
jamin Tupper and Archibald Crory.
Thus the first settlement and the first
territorial capital in
the Ohio country.
In October, 1787, John Cleves Symmes,
formerly member
of Congress (1785-6) from New Jersey and
one of the terri-
torial judges, having become familiar
with the opportunities of
Western realty investments, secured from
the Continental Con-
gress a contract of purchase for a
million acres, fronting on the
Ohio river, between the Little and Big
Miami rivers.
Pursuant to this purchase Major Benjamin
Stites, the fore-
runner and advance agent of Symmes, with
an adventurous troop
of twenty-six colonists from the East,
landed on November 18,
1788, just (one-half mile) below the
little Miami, "on a low line
plain exceedingly fertile, a portion of
which was known as Tur-
key Bottom." In a few days Stites
erected thereon some huts
and a blockhouse and gave this second
settlement in the North-
west Territory the name of
"Columbia",-- it is now within the
present corporate limits of Cincinnati.
This second attempt at settlement in the
Ohio country was
directly followed by a third some four
miles further down the
river on the Ohio side immediately
opposite the mouth of the
Licking river. Its protagonists were
Matthias Denman, Robert
Patterson, and John Filson. The location
was upon land pur-
chased from Symmes and the landing and
initial platting of the
town was on December 28, 1780, some five
weeks subsequent to
the Columbia layout. Filson, a poet and
classic scholar, dubbed
the place "Losantiville", -
meaning opposite the Licking River.
Ten months later a detachment of troops
from Ft. Harmar un-
der Major John Doughty built within the
precincts of Losan-
tiville a formidable blockhouse, to
which was given the name
Fort Washington. It was visited in
January, 1790, by the terri-
torial governor, St. Clair, who, on
approaching the settlement-
so the story runs - stood on the
roof of his boat and looking at
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 213
the cluster of cabins on the river bank,
asked: "What in hell is
the name of this town anyhow?" On
being told it was "Losan-
tiville" he promptly rechristened
the baby burg "Cincinnati",
which ever since it has been.
St. Clair at the same time (January 2, 1790) proclaimed the
Symmes purchase, namely, the district
between the two Miamis
from the Ohio to the headwaters of the
Little Miami, Hamilton
County, and made Cincinnati the county
seat. The site of Col-
umbia was fated as a settlement, and was
later incorporated into
the precincts of the "Queen
City" as Cincinnati was later
regarded.
The first settlement in the Virginia
Military District - the
section lying between the Little Miami
and the Scioto from the
sources of these two rivers to the
Ohio-was established at
Manchester, on the Ohio, in 1791 by Col.
Nathaniel Massie, one
of the influential leaders of the
Virginia and Kentucky migration
to the country north of the Ohio. In the
prosecution of his
work as surveyor and land-acquirer,
Colonel Massie explored the
Scioto and in the spring of 1796 laid
out the town of Chillicothe.
Two years later, in August, 1798, St.
Clair issued a proclamation
creating Ross County, of which
Chillicothe was made the seat
of government.
The collateral chain of events
transpiring meanwhile in the
Northwest Territory needs no recital
here. We refer to the Ohio
Indian War; the futile expedition
against the hostile Indians by
General Josiah Harmar in September,
1790; the disastrous ex-
pedition of General St. Clair a year
later in September, 1791,
and the victorious campaign of General
Anthony Wayne, begin-
ning in October, 1793, and closing in
the resultful battle of
Fallen Timbers in August, 1794. This
brilliant campaign of
Wayne tranquilized the entire frontier
from the Lakes to Flor-
ida, and culminated in the famous treaty
of Greenville, August,
1795. It was this same month that Jay's
treaty, calling among
other articles for the evacuation of the
border American Forts,
still occupied by the British, was made
public by Washington.
The following year was a memorable one
in the annals of the
Northwest. It saw the fulfillment of the
provisions of the Jay
treaty and the tide of emigration from
the east and south to the
214 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
trans-Alleghany, and trans-Ohio
territory, set in with renewed
energy.
Some six or seven counties had been
established. The ac-
quisition of the Western Reserve from
Connecticut had been
inaugurated and a settlement established
by Moses Cleveland at
the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, and
other settlements rapidly
followed along the valleys of the Miami,
the Scioto, the Mus-
kingum and the Mahoning.
In 1790 the white population of the
territory within the
present area of Ohio had reached about
three thousand; by 1798
it fulfilled the prerequisite of five
thousand free male inhabitants
of full age fixed by the Ordinance of 1787
for the choice of a
territorial general assembly.
There were now the counties of
Washington, Hamilton, St.
Clair, Knox, Randolph, Wayne, Adams,
Jefferson and Ross. Governor
St. Clair ordered an election of
territorial representatives to take place
on the third Monday of December, 1798.
The representatives must be
free-holders, owning not less than two
hundred acres each, and should be
chosen by free-holders, owning not less
than fifty acres each. The elected
representatives, chosen from the nine counties convened at Cincinnati,
February 4, 1799. It was their first
duty to nominate ten residents of
the territory, each possessing a
free-hold of not less than five hundred
acres, from whom a legislative council
of five members-corresponding
to the state senate-could be chosen by
Congress. These appointments
being made-by President Adams as
Congress was not then in session-
the first session-of the House of
Representatives only-adjourned,
without other transactions of
importance, until September 16, 1798. The
members of the First Council selected by
President Adams from the
legislative nominations were, Robert
Oliver, of Washington County;
Jacob Burnett and James Findlay, of
Hamilton; David Vance, of Jeffer-
son; and Henry Vandenburg, of Knox.
The Representatives in the general
assembly were: Joseph Darling-
ton, Nathaniel Massie, Adams county;
William Goforth, William Mc-
Millan, John Smith, John Ludlow, Robert
Benham, Aaron Caldwell,
Isaac Martin, Hamilton county; James
Pritchard, Jefferson county; John
Small, Knox county; John Edgar, Randolph
county; Thomas Worthing-
ton, Elias Langham, Samuel Findlay,
Edward Tiffin, Ross county; Shad-
rack Bond, St. Clair county; Return
Jonathan Meigs, Paul Fearing,
Washington county; Solomon Sibley, Jacob
Visgar, Charles F. Chabart
de Joncaire, Wayne county.
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 215
The first general assembly - as such
completely organized
-of the Northwest Territory, comprising
the Governor, the
Council of Five, and twenty
representatives, convened at Cincin-
nati September 16, 1799, and adjourned
from day to day for lack
of a quorum until September 23d,
when Henry Vandenburg of
Knox was elected President of the
Council and Edward Tiffin,
of Ross, Speaker of the House. On
October 3d, the two Houses
met in joint session and elected William
Henry Harrison to
represent the territory as delegate in
Congress. This general
assembly passed some thirty public acts,
eleven of which Gov-
ernor St. Clair vetoed. He by authority
vested in him on De-
cember 19, 1799, prorogued the assembly to
the first Monday
of January, 1800.
Agitation for a division of the
territory and admission of
the eastern portion as a state had
already begun and Harrison,
delegate to Congress, urged the matter
in that body. Congress
finally determined the issue by an act
passed May 7, 1800, mak-
ing a division upon a line drawn from
the mouth of the Ken-
tucky river to Ft. Recovery and thence
northwestward to the
Canadian boundary. From the region west
of that line the
territory of Indiana was created and
William Henry Harrison
appointed Governor. The so-called
Northwest Territory was
now limited to the area east of the
dividing line just noted and
its seat of government was fixed at
Chillicothe. The county of
Knox falling wholly within the new
territory of Indiana, Henry
Vandenburg, who resided in that county,
ceased to be a member
of the legislative council for the
Northwest Territory and was
succeeded by Solomon Sibley of Detroit,
Wayne County.
The first Territorial General Assembly
held its second ses-
sion at Chillicothe, beginning November
3d and ending Decem-
ber 9, 1800. It elected William McMillan
of Cincinnati Terri-
torial Delegate to Congress, in lieu of
Mr. Harrison. The ses-
sion was prorogued by Governor St.
Clair. At the third and
last session, which began November 24,
1801, which was a long
and stormy session, acts were passed to
incorporate the towns
of Cincinnati, Chillicothe and Detroit,
and to remove the seat of
government from Chillicothe to
Cincinnati. The removal of the
216 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
capital aroused so much feeling in
Chillicothe that for a time the
members who voted for it were threatened
with mob violence.
On January 23, 1802, the
territorial general assembly ad-
journed to meet on the fourth Monday in
November, 1802, but it
never reassembled.
The acrimonious agitation for the
establishment of the state
was now on in full force. This
proposition of statehood was
favored and opposed by the respective
prevailing parties. State-
hood, according to the boundaries of the
territory already es-
tablished, was favored by the
Republicans (Democrats) led by
Thomas Worthington, Nathaniel Massie and
Edward Tiffin.
They were opposed by the Federalists
(Republicans) led by St.
Clair, Jacob Burnett, Rufus Putnam and
Benjamin Stites. The
Republicans were successful.
The Ordinance of 1787
required as a condition to the ad-
mission of the territory as a state that
it should contain sixty
thousand free inhabitants. According to
the census of 1800, it
actually contained 45,365. This
difficulty was removed by Con-
gress which passed an act April 30,
1802, enabling the people
of the eastern district of the aforesaid
Northwest Territory to
frame a constitution and organize a
state government. This it
was hoped would add another state to the
Republican phalanx.
In furtherance of this enabling act a
constitutional conven-
tion assembled at Chillicothe, November 1, 1802. It accom-
plished its work in twenty-five days. A
speech of Governor
St. Clair early in the proceedings of
the convention created a
political storm. It was in opposition to
the formation of the new
state and St. Clair criticised the
administration of Thomas Jef-
ferson. The Governor's removal from
office by the President
followed immediately. It took effect
November 22, 1802, and
Charles W. Byrd, then secretary of the
territory, was appointed
Governor to serve until the proposed
state could be created.
The Constitution of 1802 defined the
boundaries of the state,
provisionally, and established the seat
of government at Chilli-
cothe until 1808. (Article VII, Section
4.) This Constitution
was never submitted for popular
acceptance or rejection at the
polls. Congress affirmed it by act of
February 19, 1803.
But the territorial government continued
to and including
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 217
February 28th, as determined by act of
Congress (Laws of U.
S. Vol. 4, pg 4). On March 1, 1803, the
Legislature assembled
at Chillicothe and Ohio on that day
became a member of the
sisterhood of states.
Now we retrace our steps to catch the
thread of our narra-
tive.
Virginia authorized her soldiers of the
Revolution to ap-
point a surveyor of the lands known as
the "Ohio-Virginia Mili-
tary District", which she had
reserved from her Northwest ces-
sions to the national government. They
chose as such surveyor
Col. Robert C. Anderson, a distinguished
veteran officer of the
Revolution, father of Major Robert
Anderson, defender of Fort
Sumter, and of Charles Anderson,
Governor of Ohio. On July
20, 1784, Anderson opened an office for
the survey of the Vir-
ginia bounty-land, on the present site
of Louisville, Ky. Among
the deputy surveyors whom he named were
Nathaniel Massie,
Duncan McArthur, John O'Bannon, Arthur
Fox, John Beasley,
and Lucas Sullivant.
Lucas Sullivant, a native of Virginia,
an emigrant to Ken-
tucky, was assigned to the northern
portion of the Virginia Mili-
tary District as the field of his
surveying services. He began
his operations in the spring of 1795.
His experiences, as related
in the Sullivant family memoirs, form
one of the most romantic
and thrilling stories of western pioneer
adventure and achieve-
ment. In the course of his exploring
meanderings and surveying
expeditions Sullivant came upon what was
then known to sur-
veyors and map makers as the "Forks
of the Scioto", the juncture
of the Scioto and Whetstone, as it was
then known, now the
Olentangy. It was in the midst of the
Ohio wilderness, and for
decades a favorite locality for Indian
villages, especially of the
Mingo and Wyandot tribes - the great
Mingo orator, Logan,
had here at times resided among his
Cayuga warriors.
While engaged in his surveying tours
Sullivant, with the
Anglo-Saxon landgrabbing instinct,
selected choice tracts of
land and located them in his own right.
Indeed, so extensive
became his real estate acquisitions that
he was often spoken of
as "Monarch of all he
surveyed." His trained eye and prophetic
vision particularly drew him to the
region of the Scioto forks.
218 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
The fertility of the soil, the
luxuriance of the forests, the cen-
trality of location as to the Ohio
rivers, the advantage of its
location on the waterway route from the
Sandusky and Scioto,
connecting by the short portage Lake
Erie on the north and the
Ohio on the south.
Here in the midsummer of 1797 Lucas
Sullivant laid out
the town of Franklinton on the west bank
of the Scioto, just
south of the mouth of the Whetstone. He
platted a considerable
sized town and the sale of lots was
announced for a certain day;
but before the appointed time an
inundation of all the low lands
took place, an overflow of such an
extent that it has since been
known as the "great flood of
1798."
The real estate speculator then wisely
extended his town
plat to the high ground, a little
farther west of the river and
there, on the site of the present state
hospital, Sullivant erected
the first brick dwelling in the county,
and established his perma-
nent home, in which he resided at the
time of his death.
Settlements rapidly followed, of
emigrants from Kentucky,
Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
In August, 1798, the territorial county
of Ross was pro-
claimed by Governor St. Clair. It
embraced the field of opera-
tion of Sullivant, as just noted. From
the northern part of this
Ross county, Franklin county was set off
by act of the first gen-
eral assembly of Ohio, passed March
20th, to take effect April
30, 1803.
Franklinton lay within the boundaries of
the new county
and was made the county seat, and a
county jail-usually the
first requisite of the initiative of a
Christian civilization-an
edifice of hewn logs - was erected by
Lucas Sullivant, at a cost
of $80. In 1808 a brick court house was
erected from the clay
of one of the ancient mounds in the
neighborhood.
We cannot follow the career, conspicuous
as it was, of
Franklinton, which during the war of
1812 was for some time
the headquarters of William Henry
Harrison, and was the scene
(June 21, 1813) of an important treaty between the general on
the part of the United States, and the
Wyandot Chief, Tarhe,
who pledged the loyalty of his tribe to
the American cause.
As we have already noted, the Ohio constitution
of 1802,
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley
Historical Association. 219
fixed the seat of government at
Chillicothe and decreed it should
there remain until 1808, and the same
document expressly for-
bade any expenditures for public
buildings for legislative pur-
poses until 1809.
The first general assembly, therefore,
met in the Ross county
court house, within which the
territorial legislature had held its
last session, and in which also the
constitutional convention of
the state had met. This building was a
two-story stone edifice,
the interior of which was inadequate for
the housing of the leg-
islature; it only accommodated the house
of representatives, and
the senate was provided for by a brick
annex connected with the
court house by a covered passage.
That the permanent seat of state
government should be lo-
cated at a point nearer the center of
the state than Chillicothe
was generally anticipated, and in that
expectation every settle-
ment in the state, even remotely
eligible to win the prize, took
timely steps to secure it. Franklinton,
Delaware, Worthington,
Zanesville, Lancaster, and Newark were
the earliest and most
insistent of these claimants. Other
towns, and even uninhabited
localities, later joined the list of
proposed sites.
Pressed for proper accommodations and
the importunities of
the advocates of competing localities,
the general assembly, at
Chillicothe, passed an act February 20, 1810,
providing for a
commission of five members, to be
selected by joint ballot of
both houses to hear arguments, inspect
localities and recommend
a site for the permanent seat of
government. The act read as
follows:
AN ACT to provide for the permanent seat
of government. Passed
February 20, 1810. Ohio Laws, Volume 8 *
* *
Sections 1 and 2 provide for the
appointment of five commission-
ers by joint ballot of both houses of
the general assembly, a majority of
the board to be necessary for the
recommendation of any particular site.
"SEC. 3. That after the
commissioners shall have taken an oath or
affirmation faithfully to discharge the
duties enjoined on them by this
act, they shall proceed to examine and
select the most eligible spot, which
in their opinion will be most central,
taking into view the natural ad-
vantages of the state; Provided: It
shall not be more than forty miles
from what may be deemed the common
centre of the state, to be ascer-
tained by Mansfield's map thereof.
220 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
"SEC. 4. That after the
commissioners shall have fixed on the most
eligible spot, they shall make up a
report of their proceedings and sign
the same, seal it up and direct it to
the speaker of the Senate, and forward
the same to the senate, within ten days
after the commencement of the
next session of the general assembly;
and if it shall appear to the satis-
faction of the next general assembly,
that the place fixed on is the most
eligible place, they shall confirm the
report of the commissioners, and
proceed to take such further order
thereon as to them shall appear most
advantageous and proper.
"SEC. 5. That the commissioners
shall meet at Franklinton on the
first day of September next, to proceed
to discharge the duties enjoined
to them by this act, and shall each
receive three dollars per day.
"This act to take effect from and
after the commencement passage
thereof.
EDWARD TIFFIN,
Speaker of the house of
representatives.
DUNCAN MCARTHUR,
Speaker of the senate."
In pursuance of this act, Senators James
Findlay, W. Silli-
man, Joseph Darlington, Resin Beall and
William McFarland
were appointed commissioners. They visited Franklinton, but
discarded its pretensions, condemning it
because of its low situa-
tion, its subjection to inundation, and
the unsuitableness of its
plan of streets.
The commissioners then inspected various
other localities
with like result, and finally agreed to
report: "That they have
diligently examined a number of
different places within the circle
prescribed (forty miles from the common centre) and a ma-
jority of said commissioners are of the
opinion that a tract of
land owned by John and Peter Sells,
situated on the west bank
of the Scioto river, four miles and
three-quarters west of the
town of Worthington, in the county of
Franklin, and on which
said Sells now resides, appears to them
most eligible." This was
the site of the subsequent and present
village of Dublin. This
report, dated at Newark, September 12,
(1810) and signed by
all the Commissioners, was delivered to
the general assembly on
December 11, 1810.
The general assembly at the time of the
reception of this
report was in session at Zanesville,
where a building for its es-
pecial accommodation had been provided.
Here the sessions of
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 221
1810-11 and 1811-12 were held, and
various additional proposals
for the location of the capital as well
as the report of the legis-
lative committee were received.
No definite action was taken by the
legislature in the session
of 1810-11. Meanwhile the rival
applicants pushed their re-
spective claims upon the members of the
general assembly, with
all the ardor and boldness of undaunted
lobbyists. Some of the
original contestants subsided or
withdrew from the field, while
new parties made their appearance.
The original joint commission of five
members having ceased
to exist with the expiration of the
session of the 9th General
Assembly, the succeeding (10th)
legislature, in its session of
1811-12, resumed the subject of a
permanent capital site. The
senate appointed a new committee of its
members, consisting of
Senators J. P. R. Bureau, J. Pritchard,
David Purviance, George
Tod and Samuel Evans.
On January 18, 1812, as the printed
proceedings testify,
Senator Evans in behalf of the committee
to whom were re-
ferred so much of the unfinished
business of the last (9th) ses-
sion, relating to the fixing of the
permanent seat of government,
and who were directed to receive
donations therefor, beg leave
to report that they had received
proposals for the following
places, viz.: "Delaware, Sells
Place [now Dublin], Thomas
Backus's land (four miles from
Franklinton, seven miles below
Sells Place), High Bank opposite
Franklinton, High Bank, Pick-
away Plains and Circleville, Pickaway
county." The prospective
advantages of location and details of
each proposed offer were
briefly recited by Mr. Evans, as
reported in the Senate Journal
for that day.
The locality known as the "High
Bank", nearly opposite to
Franklinton, was offered by Messrs. Lyne
Starling, John Kerr,
A. McLaughlin and James Johnston.
The elevation there was reasonably good,
and the opportu-
nity for platting a town without
hindrance from buildings, pre-
arranged streets, or even clearings, was
unlimited. The lands
on the plateau had been patented as
early as 1802 to John Hal-
stead, Martha Walker, Benjamin Thompson,
Seth Harding and
James Price, all refugees of the War of
Independence. The
222 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
original patentees had disposed of their
titles, and these, after
intermediate transmissions, had come
into the hands of Lyne
Starling, John Kerr, Alexander
McLaughlin and James John-
ston. Combining their interests, these
four proprietors laid off
a tract of about twelve hundred acres on
the plateau, platted it,
provisionally, into streets and squares,
and submitted proposals.
for the location of the seat of
government thereon to the Gen-
eral Assembly at Zanesville. A
copy of the plat accompanied
their propositions, the full text of
which was as follows:
ORIGINAL PROPOSALS OF THE PROPRIETORS OF
COLUMBUS.
To the Honorable the Legislature of the
State of Ohio:
We the subscribers do offer the
following as our proposals provided
the legislature at their present session
shall fix and establish the permanent
seat of Government for said State on the
East bank of the Scioto river
nearly opposite to the town of Franklinton
on half sections Nos. 9, 25
& 26, and parts of half sections
Nos. 10 & 11, all in Township 5 of Range
22 of the Refugee lands and commence
their session there on the first
Monday of December, 1817:
1st. To lay out a Town on the lands
aforesaid on or before the
first day of July next agreeably to the
plans presented by us to the
Legislature.
2d. To convey to the State, by general
warranty deed in fee simple
such square in said town of the contents
of ten acres or near it for the
public buildings and such lot of ten
acres for Penitentiary and depend-
encies, as a director of such person or
persons as the legislature will
appoint or may select.
3. To erect and complete a State House,
offices & Penitentiary &
such other buildings as shall be
directed by the Legislature, to be built
of stone and Brick or of either, the
work to be done in a workman like
manner and of such size and dimensions
as the Legislature shall think
fit, the Penitentiary & dependencies
to be complete on or before the
first day of January, 1815, the
Statehouse and offices on or before the
first Monday of December, 1817.
When the buildings shall be completed
the Legislature and the
subscribers reciprocally shall appoint
workmen to examine and value
the whole buildings, which valuation
shall be binding, and if it does
not amount to Fifty thousand dollars we
shall make up the deficiency in
such further buildings as shall be
directed by law, but if it exceeds the
sum of Fifty thousand dollars the
Legislature will by law remunerate
us in such way as they may think just
and equitable.
Annual Meeting
Ohio Valley Historical Association.
223
The legislature may
by themselves or agent alter the width of the
streets and alleys of
said Town previous to its being laid out by us if they
may think proper to
do so.
LYNE STARLING. (seal.)
JOHN KERR. (seal.)
A. MCLAUGHLIN. (seal.)
JAMES JOHNSTON. (seal.)
Attest:
WILSON ELLIoTT.
ISAAC HAZLETT.
These propositions
were accompanied by the following
bond:
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE
PRESENTS that we, James Johnson, of
Washington County,
Lyne Starling, of Franklin County, Alexander Mc-
Laughlin, of
Muskingum County, & John Kerr, of Ross County, all of
the State of Ohio,
our heirs, executors, administrators or assigns do
promise to pay to
William McFarland, treasurer of said State, or his suc-
cessors in office,
for the use of the State of Ohio, the sum of One Hun-
dred Thousand Dollars
for the payment of which we do bind ourselves
firmly by these
presents, which are sealed with our seals and dated the
10th day of February,
in the year of our Lord, 1812.
The condition of the
above obligation is such that if the above
bounden James
Johnston, Lyne Starling, Alexander McLaughlin, & John
Kerr, their heirs,
executors, administrators or assigns, shall truly and
faithfully comply
with their proposals to the State of Ohio by erecting
the public buildings
and conveying to the said State grounds for the State
House, offices and
penitentiary they have proposed to do, then this obliga-
tion to be null and
void, otherwise to be and continue in full force and
virtue. JAMES JOHNSTON. (seal.)
LYNE STARLING. (seal.)
A. MCLAUGHLIN. (seal.)
In presence of JOHN KERR. (seal.)
WILSON ELLIOTT.
ISAAC HAZLETT.
The absolute
permanence of location on which the foregoing
scheme was
conditioned appearing to jeopardize its acceptance,
the following
supplementary proposals were submitted:
To the Honorable
the Legislature of the State of Ohio:
We the subscribers do
agree to comply with the terms of our Bond
now in possession of
the Senate of the State aforesaid, in case they
will fix the seat of
government of this State on the lands designated in
their proposals now
with the Senate, on the east bank of the Scioto
224 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
River, nearly opposite
to Franklinton, and commence their sessions there
at or before the first
Monday of December, 1817, and continue the same
in the town to be laid
off by us until the year 1840.
The conditional
proposals are offered by us for the acceptance of
the Legislature of
Ohio provided they may be considered more eligible
than those previously
put in.
JOHN KERR. (seal.)
JAMES JOHNSTON. (seal.)
A. MCLAUGHLIN. (seal.)
Witness LYNE STARLING. (seal.)
WILSON ELLIOTT.
February 11, 1812.
Mr. Evans closed his
report by saying that "Your commit-
tee beg leave to
recommend to the consideration of the Senate
the following
resolution:
"Resolved, That a committee, to consist of * * *members, be
appointed to bring in
a bill for fixing the permanent seat of government,
on the lands of Moses
Bixby and Henry Baldwin, agreeable to the first
number of their
written proposals."-this was the Delaware site.
Mr. Evans himself
dissented from the choice of the com-
mittee, though not
otherwise expressing his preference.
The committee report
was committed to a committee of the
whole senate.
On January 20 the
matter was taken up by the senate as a
committee of the
whole. The parties submitting the
"High
Bank opposite
Franklinton" were permitted to withdraw their
proposals, evidently
merely for the purpose of some change in
the conditions of
their offer, for they were shortly thereafter be-
fore the Senate for
further consideration.
February 4th, Mr.
Evans made an additional report of some
alterations in the
Sells Brothers offer and also presented a re-
newal by James
Kilbourn of the site of the town of Worthing-
ton, and an amended
proposition from the Starling & Company
people, as follows:
"The committee to
whom were referred the proposals for
fixing the permanent
seat of government, begs leave to report.
They have examined the
proposals made since their first report,
and find them as
follows:
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 225
"Messrs. John and Peter Sells
offers to lay out a town on their
land, on such plan as the legislature
will point out, and out of the same
they will convey as much ground as may
be necessary for a state house,
offices & penitentiary, and moreover
to build a state house, and such other
houses as commissioners, to be appointed
by the legislature, shall direct,
provided that the same does not exceed
twenty thousand dollars; which
donation is to be made, if the
legislature establishes the permanent seat of
government on their lands, within three
years.
"Messrs. Starling, Kerr, M'Laughlin
and Johnston, offers to lay out
a town on the east bank of Scioto river,
nearly opposite the town of
Franklinton; out of said town they will
convey to the state, a square of
ten acres for public buildings. They
will, besides, build a good and
commodious brick-house, for the use of
the legislature, the same to be
seventy by fifty feet, two stories high,
with two wings, also two stories
high, twenty by thirty-two feet. Also
they will erect a penitentiary, equal
in extent and accommodations, as the one
in Frankfort, Kentucky; or
they will erect one, one hundred feet in
length, and twenty feet wide, two
stories high. From said buildings shall
extend walls twelve feet high at
right angles, one hundred and
sixty-feet, which shall be connected by a
wall parallel to the penitentiary-the
whole occupying a space of one
hundred, by one hundred and sixty feet.
To the penitentiary shall be
appropriated ten acres of ground, for
gardens.
All the buildings to be completed on or
before the first Monday of
December, eighteen hundred and eighteen.
All which donations shall be
given, on condition that the legislature
will commence their sessions in
said contemplated town, on the said
first Monday of December, eighteen
hundred and eighteen, and there
thenceforward do continue.
Or in lieu of the foregoing offers, they
the said Starling, Kerr,
M'Laughlin and Johnston, will (if the
legislature prefers it) erect in the
town mentioned in their first proposals,
such public buildings, not exceed-
ing fifty thousand dollars, as the legislature
will direct; they will have
the buildings completed on or before the
first Monday of December,
eighteen hundred and seventeen. They
will let the legislature choose the
ground for the public square and the
penitentiary, and direct the width of
the streets and alleys.
(Senate Journal, 1812-February 4-p. 102)
The Senate committee on the seat of
government asked for
further time.
February 5th. The Senate as a committee
of the whole con-
tinued its consideration of the site
question. Mr. Purviance re-
ported his committee had agreed to the
following resolution:
"Resolved, That a committee of three members (of the senate) be
appointed to prepare and bring in a bill
to fix and establish the permanent
Vol. XXV-15
226 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
seat of government, at * * *, agreeably
to the propositions of * * *;
and that from and after the 1st day of
May next, Lancaster shall be the
temporary seat of government until
otherwise directed by law."
Senator Joseph Foos, of Franklin, moved
to fill the first
blank-
(of the site) -with these words: "the High Bank on
the East side of the Scioto river,
opposite the town of Franklin-
ton."
Mr. Bureau moved that the blank
read: "The town of
Delaware."
Mr. Bigger moved it be filled with
"the farm of Peter and
John Sells."
Mr. Caldwell moved "the town of
Worthington."
Mr. Evans, representing Ross county, was
in favor of "The
High Bank in the Pickaway Plains."
Mr. Bureau was for "the land of
Moses Bixby and Henry
Baldwin."
Mr. Pritchard proposed "New
Lancaster."
The question was first put on filling
said blank with these
words: "The High Bank on the east
side of the Scioto river
opposite the town of Franklinton."
The vote was decided in
the affirmative;- fifteen yeas and nine
nays.
The said resolution was further amended
and then read as
follows:
Resolved by the Senate and House of
Representatives, That a com-
mittee of three members be appointed on
the part of the Senate to pre-
pare and bring in a bill, to fix and
establish the permanent seat of gov-
ernment, at the High Bank of the east
side of the Scioto River, opposite
the town of Franklinton, agreeably to
the proposition of Messrs. Starling,
Kerr, M'Laughlin and Johnston; and that
from and after the first day
of May next, Lancaster shall be the
temporary seat of government, until
otherwise directed by law. By vote the Senate
agreed to the resolution,
yeas
17, nays 7.
This action was on February 5th. The
resolution imme-
diately went to the house of
representatives, which on the same
day, proceeded, in a committee of the
whole, to consider the
same. The senate resolution was agreed
to with the exception
that the house, on motion of Mr.
Morris, by a vote of twenty-
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 227
five yeas to twenty nays substituted
"Chillicothe" in the place of
"Lancaster" as the temporary
seat of government.
The resolution thus amended was returned
next day (Feb-
ruary 6th) to the Senate, which on
motion to retain Lancaster
stood tie, twelve yeas to twelve nays.
On the following day an-
other attempt was made to restore
Lancaster, which was lost by
a vote of ten yeas to thirteen nays, so
"Chillicothe" stood undis-
turbed in the house bill. In pursuance
of said resolution a com-
mittee was accordingly appointed, of
Senators David Purviance,
J. P. R. Bureau and John Bigger, to act
in conference with a
similar committee to be appointed by the
house. On the 8th, the
house by resolution appointed as its
committee to act jointly
with the senate, Messrs. David Morris,
Samuel Huntington and
William Sterrett. On the same day an
attempt by the House to
substitute the Delaware site for the
Scioto High Bank was lost
by vote of twenty yeas to twenty-five
nays.
February 8th. Mr. Purviance, from the
Senate committee,
reported a bill, the matter having now
passed the resolution
stage, and taken the formal status of an
enactment, "Fixing and
establishing the permanent and temporary
seat of government",
which bill was received, read the first
time and ordered to pass
on to the second reading.
February 10th. The senate in committee
of the whole took
up the bill for further consideration,
receiving further changes
in the proposals of Messrs. Starling,
Kerr, McLaughlin and
Johnston.
February 12th. The bill was reported out of the committee
of the whole to the senate for action.
The bill as it now stood
was for the East Bank of the Scioto
opposite Franklinton for
the permanent capital and Chillicothe
for the temporary capital.
It was the final struggle for the
friends of the bill and the allies,
representing other sites, in opposition.
An attempt to substitute
Delaware for the "East High Bank on
Scioto" was defeated by
ten yeas to fourteen nays. The day was
mainly consumed by
the filibustering field; riders,
substitutes, strike outs, insertions,
amendments and postponements -indeed all
the arts of parlia-
mentary tactics and obstructions were
futile, and after the third
reading the bill passed by the vote of
thirteen yeas (including
228 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the speaker) to eleven nays. It was not
a wide margin, but it
was enough.
The bill was messaged to the house the
same day, and
though not mentioned in that day's
journal, as in the original
publication of the proceedings, it must
have been read for the
first time, as on the following day the
house went into a com-
mittee of the whole, read for the second
time and debated the
bill. Efforts were made to insert
Franklinton for Chillicothe
as the temporary seat of government; but
without avail. The
foes to the site proposed and thus far
selected, rallied in full
force and the sparring was vigorous and
skilful. It was another
field day, as the House Journal amply
testifies, and the adherents
of the bill would neither yield nor
compromise and on the ques-
tion, "Shall the bill pass?"
which stood as it came from the senate
without alteration, the roll was called
and stood yeas twenty-
seven (including Speaker Corwin) - nays
nineteen. And so the
hill passed, and on February 14th, the
"East High Bank, opposite
the town of Franklinton," became
the legislative Valentine to the
state of Ohio. The bill as it became a
law was as follows:
SECT. 1. Be it enacted by the General
Assembly of the state of Ohio,
That the proposals made to this
legislature by Alexander Mc-
Laughlin, John Kerr, Lyne Starling and
James Johnston, (to lay out a
town on their lands, situate on the east
bank of the Scioto river, opposite
Franklinton, in the county of Franklin,
and pants of half sections number
nine, ten, eleven, twenty-five and
twenty-six, for the purpose of having
the permanent seat of government thereon
established; also, to convey
to this state a square of ten acres and
a lot of ten acres, and to erect a
state house, such offices, and a
penitentiary, as shall be directed by the
legislature,) are hereby accepted, and
the same and their penal bond
annexed thereto, dated the tenth of
February, one thousand eight hundred
and twelve, conditioned for their faithful
performances of said proposals,
shall be valid to all intents and
purposes, and shall remain in the office
of the treasurer of state, there to be
kept for the use of this state.
SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That
the seat of government of
this state be, and the same is hereby
fixed and permanently established
on the land aforesaid, and the
legislature shall commence their sessions
thereat on the first Monday of December,
one thousand eight hundred
and seventeen, and there continue until
the first day of May, one thou-
sand eight hundred and forty, and from
thence until otherwise provided
by law.
SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That
there shall be appointed by
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 229
a joint resolution of this general
assembly, a director, who shall, within
thirty days after his appointment, take
and subscribe an oath faithfully
and impartially to discharge the duties
enjoined on him by law, and shall
hold his office to the end of the
session of the next legislature: Pro-
vided, That in case the office of the director aforesaid shall
by death,
resignation, or in any other wise become
vacant during the recess of
the legislature, the governor shall fill
such vacancy.
SECT. 4. Be it further
enacted, That the aforesaid director
shall
view and examine the lands above
mentioned and superintend the survey-
ing and laying out of the town aforesaid
and direct the width of streets
and alleys therein; also, to select the
square for public buildings and
the lot for the penitentiary and
dependencies according to the proposals
aforesaid; and he shall make a report
thereof to the next legislature; he
shall moreover perform such other duties
as will be required of him
by law.
SECT. 5. Be it further
enacted, That said McLaughlin, Kerr,
Starling, and Johnston, shall, on or
before the first day of July next
ensuing, at their own expense, cause the
town aforesaid to be laid out,
and a plat of the same recorded in the
recorder's office of Franklin
county, distinguishing therein the
square and lot to be by them conveyed
to this state; and they shall moreover
transmit a certified copy thereof
to the next legislature for their
inspection.
SECT. 6. And be it further enacted, That
from and after the
first day of May next, Chillicothe shall
be the temporary seat of govern-
ment until otherwise provided by law.
MATTHIAS CORWIN,
Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
THOS. KIRKER,
Speaker of the Senate.
February 14, 1812.
(Laws of Ohio, Vol. 10 (1812) p. 92.)
(Passed in the first session of the
Tenth general assembly.)
In the Senate on February 20,
(1812), the Journal states:
Mr. Evans submitted to the consideration
of the Senate the
following resolution:
Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that the
seat of government, in this state, shall
be known and distinguished by
the name of * * *
The same was ordered to lie for
consideration.
This resolution was at once sent to the
House, which on
the same day gave it consideration. The
name "Ohio City" was
230 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
proposed, but on vote was defeated by
yeas nineteen, nays
twenty-two, and the subject was left for
future action.
February 21st. The senate took up the
resolution, giving
name to the permanent seat of
government, which was offered
the day before by Mr. Evans. The said
resolution was amended
and agreed to as follows:
Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that the
town to be laid out at the High Bank, on
the east side of the Scioto
river, opposite the town of Franklinton,
for the permanent seat of
government of this state, shall be known
and distinguished by the
name of Columbus.
This name was proposed by Mr. Joseph
Foos, Senator from
Franklin county, the same Senator who
had so valiantly cham-
pioned the Scioto High Bank site. On the
passage of this reso-
lution by the senate, naming the site,
it was sent to the house
with a request for its concurrence. The
house on motion that it
do agree to the resolution, concurred by
a vote of 24 yeas to
10 nays. And so the seat of government
of the state of Ohio
found its local habitation and its name.
The General Assembly, (February 20) by
Joint Resolution
appointed Joel Wright, of Warren county,
as director, to "view
and examine" the lands proffered
and lay out and survey "the
town aforesaid." Joseph Vance, of
Franklin county, was selected
to assist him.
The refugee lands, upon which our state
capital was located,
comprised a narrow tract four miles and
a half wide, from
north to south, and extending
forty-eight miles eastwardly from
the Scioto river. It took its name from
the fact that it was
appropriated by Congress for the benefit
of persons from Canada
and Novia Scotia, who in our
Revolutionary War, espoused the
cause of the revolted colonies. The
lands in this tract were
originally surveyed in 1799, under the
authority of the general
government, and divided, as other public
lands, into sections of
six hundred and forty acres each. But in
1801 they were di-
vided into half-sections, and numbered
as such. Patents were
issued for half-sections, designating
them by their numbers.
On the recorded plat of the town, the
streets and alleys
crossed each other at right angles,
bearing twelve degrees west
Annual Meeting Ohio Valley Historical
Association. 231
of north, and twelve degrees north of
east. High street, run-
ning north and south, was one hundred
feet wide; and Broad, an
east and west street, was one hundred
and twenty feet in width.
The other streets were eighty-two and a
half feet wide, and
the alleys generally thirty-three feet.
The inlots were sixty-
two and a half feet front, and one
hundred and eighty-seven and
a half feet deep. The outlots east of
the town plat, each con-
tained about three acres.
On the 18th of June, 1812, the same day
on which the
United States declared war against Great
Britain, the first pub-
lic sale of lots took place. It had been
extensively advertised.
The terms of sale were extremely
liberal. Only one-fifth of the
purchase money was to be paid in hand;
the residue in four equal
annual installments, without interest,
unless default was made in
prompt payment. The lots sold were
principally on High and
Broad streets, and brought prices
varying from two hundred to
one thousand dollars each.
At the time of the public sale of lots,
the prospects of the
site of the proposed capital were by no
means enticing. The
streets and alleys marked on the plat
had to be traced through
a dense forest. In site and immediate
surroundings presented
but few evidences of the former presence
of civilized man. The
only cleared land then on or contiguous
to the town plat was a
small spot on Front, a little south of
State street; another small
field and a cabin on the bank of the
river at the western ter-
minus of Rich Street; and a cabin and
garden spot in front of
where the penitentiary now stands.
But as it was decreed that this was to
become the capital
city of the state, immigrants sought
homes within its borders
from all sections of the country.
Improvements and general
business went forward with the increase
of population.
In pursuance of their contract with the
state, the proprietors
of Columbus set to work with
characteristic energy, and in 1813
excavated the ground on the southwest
corner of the public
square for the foundation of the state
house. The building
was erected the following year. It was a
plain brick structure,
seventy-five by fifty feet, and two
stories high. It is interesting
to note, in this connection, that the
brick used in the construc-
232 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
tion of this state house were made
from the earth appropriated
from and by the demolition of a
beautiful prehistoric mound
that once stood at the corner of High
and Mound streets, and
from which mound, during its
destruction, many human bones
of a past race were taken. This incident
furnished the subject
of a poem by one of the settlers of
Columbus, shortly after the
construction of its first buildings.
"Oh Town! consecrated before
The white man's foot e'er trod our
shore,
To battle's strife and valour's grave,
Spare! oh spare the buried brave.
"A thousand winters passed away,
And yet demolished not the clay,
Which on yon hillock held in trust
The quiet of the warrior's dust.
"The Indian came and went again;
He hunted through the lengthened plain;
And from the Mound he oft beheld
The present silent battle field.
"But did the Indian e'er presume,
To violate that ancient tomb?
Ah, no! he had the soldier grace
Which spares the soldier's resting
place.
"It is alone for Christian hand
To sever that sepulchral band,
Which ever to the view is spread,
To bind the living to the dead."
While we are in a poetical mood, it is
worthy of note that
the original brick state house, the erection
of which has just
been recorded, had a stone above its
main entrance, upon which
was inscribed the following lines from
Barlow's Columbiad:
"The equality of right is nature's
plan,
And following nature is the march of
man;
Based on its rock of right your empire
lies,
On walls of wisdom let the fabric rise.
Preserve your principles, their force
unfold,
Let nations prove them, and let kings
behold,
Equality your first firm grounded stand,
Annual Meeting
Ohio Valley Historical Association. 233
Then free elections,
then your union band;
This holy triad
should forever shine,
The great conpendium
of all rights divine.
Creed of all schools,
whence youths by millions draw,
Their theme of right,
their decalogue of law,
Till man shall wonder
(in these schools inured)
How wars were made,
how tyrants were endured."
Following the
erection of the state house, there was built
in 1815, a two-story
brick building, one hundred and fifty feet
in length, by
twenty-five in width, fronting on High street, fifty
or sixty feet north
of the state house, for the purposes of state
offices.
The public square on
which these buildings stood, was, in
1815 or 1816, cleared
of the native timber and underbrush by
Jarvis Pike,
generally known as Judge Pike, who enclosed the lot
with a rough rail
fence, and farmed the ground three or four
years, raising upon
it wheat, corn, etc. The fence having got
out of order, and not
being repaired, was at length destroyed,
and the square lay in
common for a dozen or more years.
On the 10th of
February, 1816, the town was incorporated
as the "borough
of Columbus" and on the 1st Monday in May,
following, Robert W.
McCoy, John Cutler, Robert Armstrong,
Henry Brown, Caleb
Houston, Michael Patton, Jeremiah Arm-
strong, Jarvis Pike
(who was the first Mayor) and John Kerr
were elected the
first board of councilmen.
Another local poet at
that time, inspired by the incident of
the incorporation,
perpetrated the following doggerel verse, con-
cerning the
incorporators and their occupations.
I sell buckram and
tape, . . . ... .
McCoy.
I sell crocks and
leather, . . . ... .
Cutler.
I am the gentleman's
ape, . . . . . . J.
Armstrong.
I am all that
together, . . . . . . .Brown.
I build houses and
barns, . . . . . . . Houston.
I do the public
carving . . . . . . Patton.
I sell cakes and
beer, .... J.Armstrong
I am almost starving,
. . . .. . . Pike.
I sell lots and the
like,
And dabble in
speculation, . ... Kerr.
We and his Majesty
Pike
Make a splendid
corporation.
234 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
In the fall of 1816 the state offices
were removed from
Chillicothe to Columbus, and on the
first Monday of December,
of the same year, the legislature began
its first session in the
then new state house in Columbus. The proprietors having
finished the public buildings and deeded
the two ten acre lots
to the state, agreeably to their
proposals, at this session they
presented their account for the erection
of the public buildings:
and by an act passed January 29, 1817,
the Governor was au-
thorized to settle and adjust the
account, and the Auditor re-
quired to draw on the treasurer for the
balance found due after
deducting the $50,000 which the
proprietors were by their pro-
posal bound to give.
In the settlement, after deducting from
the charge for car-
penter work some six or seven per cent.,
and the $50,000, there
was found a balance due the proprietors
of about $33,000, which
was paid by the state, and thus was
closed the political and finan-
cial enterprise of fixing the permanent
capital for the state of
Ohio.
Concerning this matter of the location
of the capital, The
Supporter-a Chillicothe weekly of the date Saturday morning,
February 29, 1812-in its leading
editorial spoke as follows:
"The law fixing the permanent seat
of government will be seen
in this week's paper-a town to be laid
out on the east bank of the
Scioto river, opposite Franklinton, and
is, we understand, to be named
Columbus. We believe a more eligible
site for a town is not to be found
and it must afford considerable
gratification that this long contested sub-
ject has at last been settled. The
legislature has appointed Joel Wright,
of Warren county, director."
THE CENTENNIAL CHURCHES OF THE MIAMI
VALLEY.
J. E. BRADFORD, MIAMI UNIVERSITY,
OXFORD.
The aim of this study is to trace the
course and note some
of the main features of ecclesiastical
development in the Miami
Valley to the close of the year 1815. By
the Miami Valley we
mean the whole area drained by the two
Miamis including the
Whitewater which is one of its
tributaries entering the Great
Miami near its mouth. Let it be borne in
mind that what is
here offered is but a hasty preliminary
survey of a very inter-