USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > Centennial souvenir of Marietta, Ohio; settled April seventh, 1788, celebration, April seventh, 1888 > Part 2
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One inducement for the settlers here was, that a military post had been already established at Fort Harmar. Another was the information from surveyors and map-makers, who had some knowledge of this section. They reported the valleys fertile, the hills abounding in mineral wealth, and that salt and coal were plentiful. There were negotiations
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pending for treaties with the Indians, but of the uncertainty of what the result might be, it was deemed best to build a fort, which was afterwards called Campius Martius -- or military camp.
The Pioneers held in veneration and remembrance the first Fourth of July. The oration on that occasion was delivered by Gen. James M. Varnum, one of the Judges of the territory. The anniversary of their landing was commemorated by an address, given elsewhere. The address on the Fourth of July, 178S, was made by Return J. Meigs, Jr. It has too much of the ideal to be in harmony with the tenor of these notes, but this gentleman was ever hopeful and cheerful. The lines were composed one hundred years ago, so let them be re- corded here. The address was a poem but only an extract is preserved :
Enough of tributary praise is paid
To virtue living or to merit, dead; To happier themes the rural muse invites To calmest pleasures, and serene delights. To us glad fancy, brightest prospect shows, Rejoicing nature all around us glows; Here, late the savage hid, in ambush lay, Or roamed the uncultured valleys for his prey;
Here, frowned the forest, with terrific shade No cultured fields exposed, no opening glade. How changed the scene! see nature clothed in smiles With joy repays the laborer for his toils. Her hardy gifts rough industry extends, The groves bow down, the lofty forest bends.
On every side the cleaving ax is found, The oak and tall beach thunder to the ground: And see the spires of MARIETTA rise,
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And domes and temples swell into the skies; Here, justice reigns, and foul dissensions cease, Her walks be pleasant and her paths be peace. Here, swift Muskingum rolls its rapid waves, There, fruitful valleys fair Ohio laves; On its smooth surface gentle zephyrs play, The sunbeams tremble with a placid ray. What future harvests on its bosom glide, And loads of commerce swell the downward tide, Where Mississippi joins in length'ning sweep And rolls majestic to the Atlantic deep. Along these banks see distant villas spread; Here, waves the corn, and there extends the mead, Here, find the murmur of the gurgling rills, There, bleat the flocks upon a thousand hills. Fair opes the lawn, -- the fertile fields extend, The kindly showers, from smiling heaven descend; The skies drop fatness on the blooming vale From spicy shrubs ambrosial sweets exhale, Fresh fragrance rises from the flow'rets bloom And ripening vineyards breathe a glad perfume. Gay swell the music of the warbling grove And all around is melody and love. Here, may religion fix her blest abode, Bright emanation of creative God; Here, charity extends her liberal hand, And mild benevolence o'er-spread the land. In harmony and social virtues blend Joy without measure, rapture without end.
[Harris's Tour, IS03.]
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WAR WITH THE INDIANS.
In 1791, there was an unqualified out-break among the Indians, so that as cach new settlement was formed, each had to have its local protection, and sufficient force within itself to guard its own gar- risons. The settlements at Belpre, at Waterford, at Wolf Creek Mills, and at Big Bottom, thirty miles up the Muskingum, were all pro- tected by small defenses. There, though they had a Block-house, the inmates were taken by surprise, and the settlement entirely destroyed by the killing of the people and the burning of their houses.
During the years of the Indian war from 1791 to 1795, there was great suffering and privation; the hardships were multiplied by lack of provisions, and money to buy with. There were not men sufficient to provide for the necessary wants and at the same time carry on a war with a desperate enemy, at their own expense. When the war began 246 of the 287 able bodied men of the settlements were enlisted to defend the different neighborhoods, leaving only 41 not on duty. The war, at the same time kept many from coming who had expected to . join the Ohio Company here.
The merchandise from eastern cities was secured with great diffi- culty, there being no specie as a basis of currency. Eastern cities es- tablished a greatly reduced rate of value on the final certificates, that the soldiers had accepted as their pay for services in the War of the Revolution. They had for local traffic orders or vouchers for military duty in defense of the garrisons, which served for small transactions. These orders, redeemable by the treasury of the Company in Philadel- phia, were all paid at their face value, and served the place of gold and silver.
Supplies were brought to the upper Ohio on horse-back or in wag ons, and then carried in boats down the river. Small dug-outs or
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canoes were first used, then keel-boats and barges, which increased in size and numbers as the traffic increased, some of these being sixty feet long, and from twelve to eighteen feet wide, covered sometimes with canvass, and called "arks." Many of these barges were simply but strongly built and fastened with wooden pins, so they were easily taken apart and used in the construction of buildings.
Monopolies were not tolerated in the early history of this country. After a part of the territory was organized as a state, the townships of land where salt springs were known to exist, were reserved by the State, also certain lands on the Muskingum. The reason given for this action being: " Had such property become the property of an in- dividual he would have had it in his power to create a monopoly of this article and been able to oppress a great portion of the citizens of the State." Salt was so scarce in early times at Marietta that mer- chants sent men with ox-teams to the Scioto country to procure this article. The journey often occupied a month or more until the return. The salt sold rapidly for six and seven dollars per bushel, and was in great demand; there was a bountiful supply of wild meat, the buf- falo, bear, deer and other wild game, with wild turkeys so plentiful that they sold for twelve and one-half cents cach, and the streams were swarming with fish. The journeys to salt springs in the Miami country were suspended during the war. It was also hazardous to hunt the wild game, or fish in the streams. The scarcity of gold and silver made it difficult to procure their equivalent in provisions, so every form of traffic was carried on to procure food, and children cried for this, which at times could not be provided for them. Sickness fol- lowed famine, carrying off many. The millions now enjoying their happy homes ought ever to be mindful of the purchase price of their privileges, by the early settlers of the country. Have the mem- ories of the trials of the Pioneers out run their limits? By no means.
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The sentiment and appreciation of the value of their wise provisions, grow with the years.
Fort Harmar.
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DEFENSES OF THE FRONTIER.
On the west bank of the Muskingum, at its confluence with the Ohio river, once stood a fort, erected for the protection of the frontier. It was hoped, by this precaution, to encourage immigration. This was one inducement for the Ohio Company to select lands at this place, though but a small body of troops were ever stationed here at any one time. It afforded some protection, for the only other military post at that time along the Ohio river was Fort McIntosh, thirty miles be- low Pittsburg.
Fort Harmar was built by a detachment of Government troops, in 1785, under the command of Major Doughty, and named for the colonel of his regiment.
The spot for the fort was well chosen, as an excellent view was ob- tained from the upper out-looks of the towers. The rivers could be seen for many miles in either direction, up or down the streams.
The guns were small, mounted on wheels, and served oftener for giving a salute than for repelling an attack. They were sufficient to repulse an enemy whose weapons were bows and arrows or muskets.
Major Doughty was a man of excellent taste. He had the grounds surrounding the fort cleared of the forest trees. The grassy lawn was interspersed with beds of gaily blooming flowers, and well-kept walks. Back of the fort he had a fine peach orchard, from seeds of his own planting. The soldiers cared for the grounds, and were glad of the pastime, for with them time hung heavily. Aside from the frequent friendly visits of the Indians, and the negotiations for treaties, there was little to do, to engage their minds. They greeted the Pioneers with great enthusiasm, when they came, and as a treaty of peace was then under consideration between the Indians and the officers at the
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fort, quite a number of chiefs witnessed their arrival, Captain Pipe, of the Delawares, welcoming the whites to their hunting grounds.
But in their visits, a few weeks afterwards, the Indians were great- ly displeased to see cabins built and crops planted, before the treaties with them had been settled.
At the out-break of the Indian war in 1791 the troops, so long stationed here, were withdrawn, for a post farther west, Fort Wash- ington, and a much smaller number sent here in command of Captain Zeigler.
Many neighborly visits were exchanged between the occupants of the fort and the pioneers of the forest on the opposite side of the Mus- kingum. Some of the settlers occupied houses within the fort, others built in close proximity to it and relied upon its protection in time of attack by the Indians. About three-fourths of an acre of ground was inclosed within the walls, and a well, at that time in the center of the enclosure, has recently been located far down the river bank, the depth shallow. The frosts and floods have broken and washed the banks away so that a frontage that was once sufficient in size for a parade ground for a battalion of men has long since disappeared.
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CAMPUS MARTIUS.
The Indians had frequently broken former treaties, and General Putnam at once decided to protect the settlers against future out- breaks. He advised the erection of a strong defense near the settle- ment, which was immediately begun, but not completed for three years. It was built at the expense of the Ohio Company and in part by individuals building houses within the walls, at their own personal expense, occupying them for some years as the Indian war made it a necessity.
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Campus Martius was built upon ground with Washington street as a Southern boundary, and Second street the Eastern boundary, and fronting towards the Muskingum river; Hon. William P. Cutler's residence and grounds are near the site upon which Campus Martius stood.
This defense was three-fourths of a mile from the " Point," where the first houses were erected, and connected with it by a narrow, wind- ing path through the forest, with substantial bridges crossing the streams, that still intersect the lower portion of the city.
Marietta in 1792.
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Dr. S. P. Hildreth in 1848, in his Pioneer history, says: "All these tenements have long since passed away, like the people who dwelt within them, and their places are supplied with substantial brick build- ings. It is nevertheless pleasant to look upon the likeness of what has been before our own times, and to dwell upon the remembrance of our hardy ancestors, who struggled long and manfully with famine, pov- erty, and the red men of the forest, to provide a home, not only for themselves, but for their children. This little spot is the germ from whence sprung the State of Ohio, with its millions of inhabitants, and shall not its remembrance be preserved."
The Point in 1792 projected far out into the waters of the Ohio river on one side and the Muskingum on the other. The houses were in close proximity to each other and a small detachment of soldiers was sometimes stationed here, during the Indian war.
The Stockade, which included Campus Martius, with about forty acres of ground, is still so called by old residents. General Putnam's wisdom was clearly shown when it was found necessary to make haste in the completion of the garrison, and the immediate occupancy of it by the settlers. It proved a strong defense against the Indians during the war, and was considered by far the best defense of the frontier. The outer walls were two story log houses, joined compactly together, opening into an inner court, one hundred and forty feet square. Each angle of the fort was protected by a block-house and a tower, built still higher, for an out-look, so that the approach of Indians could be more clearly discerned and announced by an alarm from the guns, if needed. Aside from the many families here quartered, the govern- ment officers for the territory occupied buildings also. Governor St. Clair and his family resided in one of the corner buildings; Winthrop Sargent, Secretary, used the one directly over the door, or heavy gate, as an office. One was used for a store-house for supplies, another for church
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service, for holding court, or any gathering or entertainment of the settlers. In this same building the day schools were taught, and the first Sunday school, organized by Mary Lake. Here the American Union Lodge of Free Masons re-organized their lodge, after an ad- journment of seven years. The first organization was among the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war which moved its place of meeting with the general orders of the army. The adjournment was in 1783, and the reorganization in 1790.
Much time and ingenuity was consumed in defense of this garrison. After Campus Martius was made secure within, the heavy gates placed on their hinges, the outer defenses were looked after. First, a heavy picket fence, leaning outward, was built around it and heavy gates hung at the openings. Beyond this, a high brush fence with the small twigs lying inward towards the fence. This proved a very formidable protection as the large limbs were sharpened and driven into the ground. There was but little loss of life among the settlers at Mari- etta in comparison with many other places in the State. Some of these were the result of carelessness for their own safety.
Some idea of the anxiety of the early settlers, in regard to attacks by the Indians, may be obtained from the following by Dr. S. P. Hil- . dreth in regard to the military discipline kept up during the war:
"The garrison at Campus Martius was kept under the strictest dis- cipline by order of Governor St. Clair. The men were divided into squads, and called out to their posts by daylight. The bastions were occupied every night by four of these squads. After dark the sentries were set, and the watch-word cried every half hour during the night. A magazine of ammunition was placed in the North-west block-house, in the upper loft, and long poles with iron spears, kept in each of the block-houses for the defense of the doors, should the Indians break through the inner rampart of palisades. A four-pound cannon wa ..
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placed in each of the bastions of the north-east and south-west block- houses to defend the approaches in these quarters, and especially to be fired as alarm guns, to give notice to the inhabitants, of danger, when out at work in the field. This strict discipline was kept up for about four years, or until after the victory of General Wayne."
The tribes of Indians in the Northwest Territory at the time of the settlement at Marietta, were Delawares, Mohawks, Wyandots, Shawa- nees and Senecas. The five nations with which treaties of peace were declared in January, 1789, at Fort Harmar, were the Chippewas, Ot- tawas, Miamis, Pottewatamies and Sacs. The treaty was made by Gov. St. Clair, they to relinquish all rights to the Northwest Territory, and to further carry out stipulations of a former treaty, that of October, 1784. After this treaty these tribes were invited to a grand feast in the hall of Campus Martius, then not completed.
A hundred acres of land was first offered by the Ohio Company to any able-bodied man who would settle upon their lands, permanently, and help in defense of the settlers until the close of the war.
A number from Virginia and Pennsylvania responded to the offer of this bounty of land. This was found to be impoverishing the Com- pany so rapidly that the Directors appealed to Congress to relieve them of a part of their purchase. Their request was granted and one hundred thousand acres out of the original purchase donated by Con- gress to such settlers. With the exception of this and a few months' pay of the militia the Ohio Company bore all the expense of their de- fenses, for the different settlements in the purchase, and for all sup- plies necessary in carrying on the war. Many who accepted lands upon conditions of actual settlement sold out at low prices early after the close of the war and returned to their former homes, thus retard- ing the rapid settlement of the country as anticipated by the donation of lands.
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The total expense incurred by the Company in money, for wages, rations, guards, scouts, ammunition, lumber and materials of whatever kind, including charges made by Rufus Putnam, Robert Oliver and Griffen Green for services, was $14,788.92; of this the United States paid $3,358.12; balance due the Company, $11,350.90.
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Farmer's Castle, Belpre.
Belpre, twelve miles below Marietta, was protected by three de- fenses. The first being the most important, called Farmer's Castle.
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This was built upon a high bank, about opposite where the ex- cursion boats now land, at Blennerhassett Island. There was a com- manding view of the Ohio river, an interminable swamp back of it. It must have appeared to good advantage from the river with the heavy wooded hills as a back-ground.
The settlement here was not unlike the one at Marietta. The gar- rison was under military discipline, and religious services and schools were at once established. Miss Bathsheba Rouse, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, taught in the summer season, and Daniel Mayo, of Boston, in the winter. The people were called together for services on Sabbath by the beating of a drum. Over two hundred men, wo- men and children lived in Farmer's Castle, and in Goodale's and Stone's garrisons, two smaller defenses on either side of the "Castle," until the constant annoyance by the Indians ceased, and their lives seemed more secure.
FORT FREYE.
This defense was named for Captain Joseph Freye, and built sim- ilarly to Campus Martius, except it was triangular in shape, with one side fronting on the Muskingum river. It was located just below Beverly, on the same side of the river. There was also a garrison at Plainfield-now Waterford-named Fort Tyler, for Dean Tyler, one of the Pioneers.
Not many lives were lost in this section, though the number killed by the Indians during the war was over fifteen hundred whites in the different settlements in what is now Ohio, and the torture of constant fear was great in this region.
Another and very important precaution taken by the settlers was to employ rangers, persons familiar with every portion of the country, as -
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hunters, enlisted by Col. Ebenezer Sproat; they were to traverse the country many miles in all directions, hastening to camp to give the alarm if Indians were seen. There were four or six for each settlement. They dressed in a semi savage costume and adopted any disguise that would most successfully deceive the enemy. The first to scout for Campus Martius were Joseph Rogers and Edward Henderson, the former being killed, after one of their detours, when near the garrison.
TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT .- ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES AND STATE.
In July, 1788, Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Territory, with his secretary, Winthrop Sargent, arrived at Marietta. These gentle- men, with the Judges, James M. Varnum, Samuel H. Parsons and John Cleve Symms, the first two already here, constituted the repre- sentatives of the Colonial Government for the Territory, with full power to adopt and execute such local laws as were deemed necessary. They were appointed to these offices at the time of the passage of the Ordinance of 1787. On the 15th of July, soon after his arrival, Governor St. Clair published the act of Congress giving him his com- mission as Governor. On the 26th of July a proclamation was issued creating the county of Washington. In August the land was surveyed into lots, and the village made the county seat of the first county in the Northwest Territory. This village, town, or settlement, included within its boundaries what is now Marietta township. It was not in- corporated as a town until the year 1800, and did not have a Mayor until 1825. Harmar did not have an independent government by cor- porate act until 1837.
The first Territorial Legislature met in 1799, when Paul Fearing and Colonel R. J. Meigs were the representatives from Washington county. Colonel Robert Oliver was one of the five members of the
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upper house of this legislature, where he continued in office until the State was organized, in February, 1803. Ephraim Cutler and William R. Putnam represented this county in the second Territorial Legisla- ture. The first Court in the territory was held in Campus Martius, September 2d, 1788. Colonel Ebenezer Sproat was sheriff. In re- ferring to this, General Putnam says: "Happily for the credit of the people, there was no suit, either civil or criminal, brought before the Court."
Arthur St. Clair was Territorial Governor until the formation of the State, and its admission into the Union.
Edward Tiffin was the first governor of the State. William Henry Harrison was the first representative to Congress from Ohio as a State. From the landing of Rufus Putnam and his associates, four- teen years clapsed to the time when the act was passed admitting Ohio into the Union. The constitution was framed at Chillicothe between the first and twenty-ninth day of November, 1802. This constitution was not submitted to the people of the territory for their approval, but was sent directly to Congress. It was not acted upon until Feb- ruary 19th, 1803, when that body passed the act entitled "an act to provide for the due execution of the laws of the United States within the State of Ohio." By this act Ohio became a State. At the time of admission there were nine counties; eight others organized at the first session of the State Legislature, making seventeen at the time the State Seal was designed. This accounts, it is claimed, for the seventeen arrows on the seal.
WASHINGTON COUNTY.
This county has somewhat diminished in size since its first organ- ization, When a part of the Northwest Territory, it included within its boundaries one-half of what is now the State of Ohio. Its pres-
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ent area is limited to a fraction over six hundred square miles, with a population of about fifty thousand inhabitants. The county seat- Marietta-and its immediate suburbs has a population of ten thousand. This section is a typical New England country, hilly, with water in abundance, streams in every portion of the county, which is inter- spersed at short distances with pleasant country villages. Along the Muskingum are the towns of Beverly, Waterford, Lowell and Har- mar. On the Ohio, Newport, surveyed and laid off into town lots in 1797, and Belpre, the first settlement after Marietta; fourteen families going from Marietta to this locality. There are growing centers in the eastern part of the county, along the different lines of railroads. Macksburg and Elba in the oil district, and the villages of Water- town, Barlow, Vincent, Cutler and Bartlett in the western portion.
The land holders have generally tilled the soil for a competence, but more recently much attention has been given to the raising of stock, to which the lands of the county are admirably adapted.
As early as 1789, there were peach trees laden with fruit on grounds adjacent to Fort Harmar. In 1795, there were peach orchards at Belpre and large, well-bearing apple orchards in 1800. Washington county has always kept up a creditable reputation in the culture of fruit and is noted for its shipments of small fruits, strawberries, grapes, plums, peaches and large supplies of apples. Wool is an im- portant and increasing export. Coal is abundant, and of an excellent quality. The discovery of petroleum in the eastern portion of the county has added greatly to its wealth, creating a new industry in its production and export. For many years this county furnished the only oil producing territory in the State. This article of commerce was discovered in this section in 1800, at the time called Seneca or British Oil, and sold in small quantities for medicinal purposes.
As the gentlemen who located the lands for the Ohio Company
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foresaw, there has been every advantage developed in facilities for agricultural pursuits, mineral wealth, and all that tend towards a suc- cessful competency to the industrious.
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