222 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
sack, Anthony Bleecker, Samuel Bayard,
Peter G. Stuyvesant and John
Pintard met in the picture room of the
old city hall, in Wall Street, to
organize this society, whose principal
object should be to collect and pro-
tect materials relating to the natural,
civil and ecclesiastical history of the
United States in general and the State
of New York in particular. The
society was incorporated by an act of
the legislature of February 9, 1809.
It is now one of the richest historical
societies of the country in its accu-
mulation of books, pictures, manuscripts
and objects of art. Its library
comprises over 100,000 books, pamphlets
and manuscripts. At present the
society is housed in its own property, a
small, unpretentious building,
which it has occupied for a century,
which is literally packed with the
invaluable collections which the society
has purchased or from time to
time have been bequeathed to it by
distinguished donors.
The securing by the New York Historical
Society of such worthy
quarters as it will soon possess is an
object lesson which it is hoped the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society may be able to follow at
no distant date. With a home such as the
life and work of our society
now
deserves it, too, would be the beneficiary
of innumerable collections
of books, manuscripts and archaeological
relics and endowment funds.
Provided with proper permanent quarters
the Ohio State Society would
soon occupy the same relation to Ohio
archaeology and history that the
New York Society now bears to the Empire
State.
THE MAUMEE VALLEY PIONEER AND HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION.
The Maumee Valley Pioneer and Historical
Association held its
annual meeting at the court house, in
Toledo, on February 22. The asso-
ciation is comprised of earnest pioneers
and other loyal, patriotic citizens,
living along the historic Maumee. They
are endeavoring to keep alive
the fires of patriotism and preserve the
historic landmarks of the eventful
locality in question. There was a good
attendance of gentlemen and lady
members. Mr. D. K. Hollenbeck, of
Perrysburg, the president, called
the meeting to order, and the Rev. N. B.
C. Love, trustee of the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, delivered the invocation. The
report of the treasurer showed a balance
of $38.96 on hand. The follow-
ing members were elected as trustees for
thee years: D. K. Hollenbeck,
J. L. Pray and C. O. Bringham. A
committee of three, consisting of
Julius Lamson, David Robinson, Jr., and
J. Kent Hamilton, was appointed
to confer with the electric roads, with
a view of their contributing toward
the fund for buying the unpurchased
portion of Fort Meigs, which the
association hopes to obtain entire, and,
without destroying its historic
character, transform into some sort of a
public park. The association
already owns nine acres, which is about
one-fourth of the entire fort tract.
The committee on Fort Miami reported
that the association should no
Editorialana. 223
longer contemplate buying that property,
as it had been purchased by Mr.
A. M. Woolson, who they were glad to
learn proposed to preserve the
landmark, and, it was understood, would
set off a portion to the Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution. There
was also some discussion con-
cerning the proposition that the
association acquire possession of the old
court house at Maumee, which building is
located on the spot of the
famous Dudley massacre. The court house
would be a most fitting build-
ing for a museum of the relics of the
pioneer days.
Rev. N. B. C. Love pronounced a fitting
eulogy upon Mr. J. R. Tracy,
a deceased member of the association.
Upon adjournment of the associa-
tion, the board of directors held a meeting
and re-elected the old officers,
as follows: President, D. K. Hollenbeck;
Vice-President, William Cor-
lett; Secretary, J. L. Pray, and
Treasurer, A. F. Mitchell.
TO RAISE PERRY'S FLAGSHIP
"NIAGARA."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, of
late date, in announcing that a move-
ment is in contemplation of raising the
Niagara from its watery grave,
in Lake Erie, says:
"Whatever may be the objections to
raising the hull of the battleship
Maine from the mud of Havana harbor,
none of them can hold in the case
of Commodore Perry's flagship, the
Niagara, which it is now proposed to
raise from the bottom of Misery Bay, in
Erie harbor, where she has
reposed for three-quarters of a century.
The ship was built in Erie, and
when her day of usefulness was over was
sunk out of sight, and for a
long time almost out of memory. The
house committee on naval affairs
has ordered a favorable report on the
bill, providing money for raising
the Niagara and turning her over to the
state home for disabled soldiers
and sailors.
"The Niagara was the flagship of
the man who performed off Put-
in-Bay in September, 1813, the
unprecedented feat of compelling the sur-
render of an entire British squadron,
and as such she should fairly share
that affection and veneration which the
American people have long lav-
ished on the Constitution and one or two
other historic ships, none of
which really performed such a glorious
part in naval war as fell to the
share of Perry's flagship.
"This national neglect can be
attributed in great part to the fact that
no gifted lyrist like the author of
"Old Ironsides" has embalmed the
Niagara's achievement in deathless verse
and in part, perhaps, to the
American tendency to forget the day of
small things. The Niagara was
little if any larger than one of the
boats which a modern 16,000-ton battle-
ship carries on her deck. In these days
a 2,500-ton war vessel is not con-
sidered worthy of a place in a line of
battle, and is used chiefly for sea
police duty, yet the combined tonnage of
Perry's squadron did not exceed
2,500 tons. An ordinary lake freighter
is larger."