USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > First Annual Report of the Ohio Valley Historical Association comprising the proceedings of the central Ohio Valley History Conference held at Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 29 and 30, 1907 > Part 3
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1. Field work, in which are obtained pioneers' recollections, mem- ories of public affairs and of men of note, and data relative to the social and economic conditions of the state; the society also gets in touch with local societies, searches for archives, inspires archæological discoveries, interests newspaper editors and teachers, and in general seeks to awaken within the state an historic consciousness.
2. It solicits all manner of historical material - and incidentally Dr. Thwaites enlarged upon the nature of such materials, and showed by example that everything which may be considered a record has a practical value to historians; particular stress was laid on diaries, jour- nals, account books, surveyors' note and field books, record books of every sort, letters and letter-books, books, pamphlets, leaflets, newspaper files and clippings.
3. It maintains an historical and anthropological museum, that the stage of the past may as far as possible be re-dressed.
4. It has a portrait gallery, which is the Pantheon of the state.
5. It conducts a library, which seeks to be an all-around scholars' work-shop, for history is the record of all that man has thought and wrought, and knows no bounds; from this library, loans are made to local public libraries throughout the state, of all but the rarest books.
6. As an information bureau, the society makes itself of practical value to the public.
7. Its publications are an important factor of its work.
Dr. Thwaites pointed out that any historical society, state or local, which sought official aid, should be popular in its organization and methods ; it must perpetually demonstrate its reason for being, by proving useful and inspiring to the public. Its directors must heartily believe in the enterprise, and be willing to spend freely of their time and effort. Its salaried staff must be headed by men holding office for the good they can do - experts, of sound business habits, with knowledge of men, and a capacity to influence public opinion in a good cause. They must be not dry-as-dust antiquarians, but imbued with modern thought and methods - earnest, practical men, in whom both scholars and men of affairs may repose confidence.
The speaker closed with well wishes to the proposed organization for co-operation between the various historical organizations in the Ohio Valley. He hoped that this organization might be enabled, through ade- quate support, to accomplish much within a region that enjoys so rich a heritage of historic deeds.
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THE OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
HON. E. O. RANDALL, Secretary.
Few states are richer in historical lore than Ohio, and no state com- pares with it in archaeological wealth. Two pre-historic races inhabited the present confines of the Buckeye commonwealth. The geologists tell us that the Ice Man revelled in this domain in those early days when nature was at work carving out the valleys and hills that make Ohio so picturesque and fertile. The exact date of that episode is in doubt. Then came the Mound Builder. Ohio seems to have been his favorite field and he left innumerable monuments and evidences of his sojourn and civilization.
In 1875 an Ohio archæo- logical society was formed at the home of General Roeliff Brinkerhoff in Mansfield. Its purpose was the study of Ohio archeology, and the preservation of the remains of the Lost Empire of the Mound Builders. An appro- priation was made by the Legislature of Twenty-Five Hundred dollars for the pur- pose of an archæological ex- hibit by the Society at the E. O. RANDALL. Centennial Exposition of 1876 at Philadelphia. Pro- fessor John T. Short, an eminent student of American archaeology and Professor in the Ohio State University was the Secretary of that Society.
But it was found that the Society could not live upon "bones" alone, and in March, 1885, the Society was re-organized by a number of prom- inent scholars and professors, interested in both archaeology and history, assembled from various parts of the state. These gentlemen, some sixty in number, convened in the Library Room of the State Capitol, and after a two days' session perfected the organization known as the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. Senator Allen G. Thurman was
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made President. The purposes of the Society were stated to be "the pro- motion of the knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio, by establishing and maintaining a library of books, manuscripts, maps, charts, etc., properly pertaining 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 reasonable terms - and by courses of lectures and pub- lication of books, papers and documents touching the specimens so specified."
The government of the Society consists of a president, two vice" presidents, secretary and editor, treasurer, curator and librarian. There are twenty-one trustees; fifteen of whom are elected by the Society, five each year to serve for three years; and six appointed by the Governor of the State, two each year, to serve for three years. For some twenty- two years the Society has faithfully and successfully pursued the lines of. study and investigation for which it was organized. During that time it has accumulated one of the most valuable collections of pre-historic relics 'and antiquities extant in the United States. There are now in this country something like one hundred and fourteen public archaeological museums, and that of our Society ranks fourth in extent and complete- ness of its exhibits, being surpassed only by the Peabody Museum, Cam- bridge, Mass .; the Columbian Field Museum, Chicago; the Museum of Natural History, New York, and the Smithsonian Institution, Washing- ton, D. C. We have in the quarters of the Society at Columbus, no less than one hundred thousand artifacts, typifying almost every feature now obtainable of the aboriginal life of that mysterious and populous people which for a better name, we designate the Mound Builders. This work of the Society is generously sustained by appropriations from the Gen- eral Assembly which makes an annual allowance of some Twenty-Five Hundred dollars for our archaeological department.
Each year for the past ten years explorations have been made, by the Society, of mounds, village sites, cemeteries and other localities marking the habitation of this aboriginal race. Few, if any, of the state societies have accomplished the results obtained by these explorations. The Society now owns Fort Ancient in Warren county, the largest, most imposing and best preserved fortified enclosure of the Mound Builders in existence in the United States. The earthen walls of this Fort still standing intact, as they were centuries ago, if placed in a continuous line, would be nearly four miles in length, and they enclose an area of over one hundred acres. The Society is also the possessor of the Serpent Mound in Adams county, the largest and most interesting religious monu- ment, or temple, as it is sometimes called, of this same strange people. This "shrine" is located upon the brow of a hill overlooking Brush creek. The great earthen serpent, now in perfect preservation, is represented in a series of convolutions as if it were wriggling itself to the edge of a precipice. If his majestic snakeship were stretched full length, he would
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measure from head to tip of the tail something like thirteen hundred and fifty feet. The preservation of these two great earthen relics of the Mound Builders is alone sufficient cause for the existence of the So- ciety, for had it not been for the Society both those unique antiquities would doubtless, ere now, have become obliterated. They are the study of scholars and students from all parts of the world, and miniature models of them are to be found in the museums of London, Paris, Berlin and even cities of the Orient.
The Society has been for some years preparing an archaeological map of Ohio, upon which is being designated the locations in our State, where evidences have been found of the existence of the Mound Builder. Something like four thousand of these pre-historic sites have already been marked, and it is estimated that only one-fourth of these provable localities have thus far been designated. It is estimated that if all of the mounds and fortifications still standing, in more or less complete form, in this State, were placed in a continuous line, that line would ex- tend over three hundred miles, and it would have required three hundred thousand men, working eight hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days, or one year without cessation, to have built these mounds and for- tifications, evidencing the vastness of the population that must have oc- cupied this territory in the days when these people were in the height of their activity.
Three years ago the Society published an extensive volume, of some seven hundred pages, profusely illustrated, entitled "The Archaeological History of Ohio," giving detailed accounts of the chief archaeological relics now extant and including all that is worth stating of the knowledge assumed or proven concerning this archaeology. By means of special appropriations by the General Assembly, the Society made Ohio Archae- ological Exhibits at the Columbian Exposition, Chicago, the Pan-Amer- ican Exposition, Buffalo, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, and the Jamestown Exposition just closing. At each of these great fairs the Ohio Society was awarded the first premium diploma for the most scientific and extensive display of archaeological specimens and results of original research offered by any State.
The Society has been no less active in its efforts to collect and pre- serve the historical lore of the State. Ohio, the first state carved from the great Northwest Territory, has been wonderfully productive of early romance and later history. Ohio has in turn been the possession of Spain, France, England and the United States. Its pioneer period was one of unusual importance in the development of our Great West. The geog- raphy of Ohio, lying as it does midway between the Great Lakes and the Great River, was peculiarly fitted for the production of early history. With its connecting rivers and portages it was also the main highway for the earliest discoverers and explorers in their migrations from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. It was also the first great stopping station in the emigration of the Anglo-Saxon settlements from New Eng-
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land to the West. Upon the banks of the Maumee, the Miamis, the Scioto, the Muskingum and the Tuscarawas were the early villages of the great Indian tribes of the Miamis, the Delawares, the Shawnees, the Wyandots, the Ottawas and others. It was in this territory that the great final contest took place between the pale face and the redman for the conquest of the West. It was here, in these same valleys just men- tioned, that the Indian took his stand under the leadership of such great chiefs as Pontiac, Tecumseh, Little Turtle, Cornstalk, Blue Jacket, Logan and lesser famous savage heroes. This domain during the American Revolution was the background of that great drama in which the British, from their headquarters in Detroit, with the Indians as their ally, endeavored to possess and retain the Northwest Territory. should the soldiers of Washington be victorious on the shores of New England. The explorations of George Rogers Clark, Wilkinson, Scott, Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne are the backwood scenes of American heroism and patriotism that equal the epics of Homer, Virgil and the Niebelungenlied.
The Society has published sixteen annual volumes of historical and archaeological material and several volumes on special historical subjects. This work has been provided for by an annual appropriation by the leg- islature of some twenty-five hundred dollars. Several reprint editions of these books have been issued and they have reached nearly all the public and school libraries of our State. Few, if any, State historical societies have so widely and profusely distributed the historical literature of their respective states as has the Ohio Society, which has been per- mitted to do this because of the generous patronage it has received at the hands of the State authorities. The Society has conducted centennial celebrations at Marietta, Greenville, Gallipolis and other historic points, and with imposing ceremonies observed at Chillicothe the Hundredth Anniversary of the organization of Ohio as a state. The Society has a membership of some three hundred life members, and about one hundred ordinary members. Its great need today is that of a building for its ex- clusive habitation, and that, we believe, will not be long forthcoming.
The Society seeks and indeed that is one of its purposes, to come in close contact with the county and the local historical societies in the State, and it cordially invites the encouragement and aid of all teachers and students and all others interested in the archacology and history of Ohio. It goes without saying that as time takes its flight a great deal of this pre-historic and historic material will become lost. Much of it has already escaped forever the preservation it deserved. Our attempt in this statement is simply to tell you in meagre measure just what our Society attempts to be and tries to do. We modestly refrain from any extended enumeration of its achievements. As to a complete category we are in the position of a speaker we once witnessed. It was some years ago at a banquet in New York City at which the toastmaster, evi- dently an amateur in his vocation, proved to be an unconscious humorist. In the midst of a long program of toasts he arose and announced that
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he had just noticed the entry into the hall of the American Minister to Brazil and he would interrupt the regular proceedings by calling upon the distinguished representative of this country to that interesting country of South America to speak to the assembled diners. The toastmaster said he would ask the gentleman to tell us something of the geography and geology of Brazil; its agricultural and mineral resources, its rivers, mountains and natural beauty, the customs of its people, its marvelous growth, its form of government, its educational and social institutions, its financial system, its industries, manufactures and arts, its military and naval strength, its past history, present condition and future pros- pects, but as the time was limited, owing to speakers yet to come, he would ask the gentleman to confine his remarks to five minutes. In the few minutes properly allotted to me I have been unable to do justice to the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.
HISTORY OF THE KENTUCKY STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
MRS. JENNIE C. MORTON, Secretary.
Notwithstanding the date of the early founding of this society, 1836, and the rich and remarkable history of Kentucky, there are few, if indeed there is another Society in the South, that has so little early history con- nected with its existence to keep alive its memory. We know from the State records that it did exist, and there are a few resolutions extant concerning it then, 'and later on in 1839-40-41, when the Legislature di- rected its Journals, and all books published by the State to be deposited in the Kentucky Historical Society, (Collins History of Kentucky, pp 45- 46). It may explain the silence and indifference in regard to its meet- ings and work, when it is known the founders of this Society at Frank- fort had to contend for possession of the Capital of the State even then, as their forefathers had done; and with the threat of "Capital Removal" every year, or whenever the Legislature met, we think those members may be excused for want of enthusiasm, and commendable activity in the Historical Society, or pride in the history of the State, however rare, fascinating and brilliant it was represented by travelers at that time. The "Capital Removal" question, like the sword of Damocles, dangled over their heads, depreciating their property, suppressing enterprise, and re- tarding progress in the growth and prosperity of the city. This danger to their home interests naturally brought a coolness over their historical ambition, and a want of generous aid in providing for the upbuilding of their laudable cause. They had founded the Kentucky Historical So- ciety in 1836. Its members left only their resolutions, published in the Commonwealth of that year, but no records, or gifts though they never lost sight of their original purpose.
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In 1875, ten years after the close of the Civil War, a number of Ex-Confederate officers and soldiers, then officers of the state govern- ment, attempted to re-organize this old historical society of their fore- fathers, by founding as a prelude a literary Society, known as the Frank- fort Lyceum. The result of this effort was that in 1879-80 the Legis- lature, upon petition of these gentlemen passed an act. giving the his- torical society a charter and a name, and a departmental habitation in the Capitol of the state; rooms were set apart in the Executive building, and the Society was given an appropriation of $1,500. It was founded in the honor of Daniel Boone, and named The Kentucky Historical So- ciety ; later on for protection, the State Historical Society.
In 1881 the Historical Society met in these rooms. We have a pamphlet descriptive of the occasion with speeches of the distinguished gentlemen present, the resolutions, and a list of gifts to the Society from various sources. The keys to the Society's rooms were turned over to Governor Luke P. Blackburn, the President Ex-Officio of the Society under the Constitution. He declined the keys, unless the So- ciety should suspend, in which case the State became the owner of its property ; otherwise it remained in the care of the Secretary and of the Librarian of the Society.
The Curator of this Society then was the late John R. Proctor, Geologist of the State, who uniting his influence with that of its mem- bers, secured from the Legislature the appropriation for a Museum in the Executive Building, on the second floor, where it might be con- nected with the Historical Society as well as with the Geological Depart- ment, to illustrate the wonderful possessions of the State mentioned in the histories and in other works descriptive of Kentucky in our Library. When this Museum was arranged and completed under Mr. Proctor's direction, it was said to be one of the most complete Museums in America. The Historical Society was justly proud of it and all visitors were directed to see it before leaving the building. It became the pride and special charge of the curator until he removed to Washington, D. C., where he became civil service commissioner, and died about 1906. The museum passed into other hands. It will doubtless be placed in the new Capitol, or if the old Capitol is converted into a college or university, will become part of its property.
The membership list of the Historical Society at that time contains the names of the most eminent men in Kentucky, preachers, doctors, law- yers, statesmen, scientists, governors, poets, painters and other dis- tinguished men and women of ripe culture. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, one of the brightest and best informed writers of the South today, was one of its founders, and Col. R. T. Durrett, President of the Filson Club, Louisville, Ky. a.id Col. Bennett H. Young were then as now members, and also Ex-Governor James B. McCreary, Hon. John A. Steele and Hon. Curtis F. Burnant. For several years we read the Society held its stated meetings in its rooms throughout Gov. Blackburn's administration.
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Governor Knott succeeded Governor Blackburn and was President Ex- Officio of the Society.
On the 6th of October, 1886, when Frankfort held her Centennial celebration, its members had an Exhibition in the Hall of Representa- tives in the Capitol in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. They brought from their rooms, portraits, pictures, relics, manuscripts, old letters, lace, gold, silver, china, and souvenirs to adorn the walls and cases. Many of these things had been contributed to the Society by that generous President of the Ladies' Branch of the Society, Mrs. T. L. Jones of Newport, Ky. The splendid exhibition aroused so much interest and pleasure that hundreds of people crowded to see it, and the hall was kept open for a week. The members were much gratified and encouraged by the interest expressed in the Society. They had historians to give lectures in the rooms, and the late Henry T. Stanton, a member, wrote and read there some of his brightest poems and most wonderful critiques.
Governor Knott's administration closed in 1887, and Gov. Buckner succeeded him as executive of the state and President Ex-Officio of the Society. . About this time a patriotic wave swept over the state, and so- cieties were being formed by the descendants of Revolutionary ancestors in many of the cities and towns, styled the "Society of the Sons of the American Revolution." Members of the Historical Society urged this new society to unite with the State Society, and make theirs a new De- partment of Genealogy; but the Sons declined to become a department, and preferred to absorb the older Society in their quest after historic people. The motif of the Historical Society was to "Collect and pre- serve whatever pertained to the history of Kentucky," and the members held that this was broad enough to include Genealogy and that it should do so without any discrimination between those who had the Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs of the Revolution for their ancestors, and those who did not belong to this exclusive historical coterie.
This controversy and others which arose in the Society swept the members apart. In 1890 the last meeting of this Historical Society was held, at which it was decided to suspend the meetings until such time as would be proper to open them again, and promote its best interest. This was done under the rules of the Society, the Historical rooms were closed to the public, and the keys given to Governor Brown.
On the 4th of July, 1895, the writer with a number of ladies, who like herself had become imbued with patriotism and historical enthusiasm in the cause of the "Daughters of the American Revolution", met at the residence of Miss Sally Jackson, in the city of Frankfort, and there founded a local patriotic society, known as the "Frankfort Colonial Daughters." (Sce "The Capital" 1895). The object of this society was first, to restore the Kentucky State Historical Society; and second, to collect materials for a history of Frankfort and its people of Colonial and Revolutionary ancestry, whose descendants were now scattered over the world, and thus promote good citizenship and patriotic loyalty to
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Kentucky. So they proceeded to the work, each member writing the his- tory and genealogy of her family as she had heard it, and adding to these, authentic records and certificates of the services of her ancestors in the Revolution, or as Kentucky pioneers. This society revived the in- terest once felt in the State Historical Society, whose resident members came forward to unite in a work for the State, that would again justify the existence of their society.
Governor W. O. Bradley succeeded Governor Brown in 1895, and at the request of the members of the Historical Society turned over the rooms to them. As a preliminary step to the work of the united societies, the Historical Rooms were opened and a public meeting held in them on the 6th of October, 1896. This date was selected because it was that of the founding of the city, 1786.
In the newspapers of the month, "The Democrat," "The Rounda- bout," and "The Courier Journal" are long descriptions of the reopening of these rooms on that day. Speeches were made by prominent men, describing the work of the "Colonial Daughters" which had resulted in the reorganization of the State Historical Society. The bells of the city rang to commemorate the event, and lastly the names of the great crowd were recorded in the Centennial Register of 1886, now in the Historical rooms.
We will not repeat here what was thien published; it can be found in the "Register" of January, 1903, and also in a small pamphlet giving an account of the occasion. It was not until June 7th, 1897, that the newly formed society met in the Historical rooms for legal organization. The officers were elected, and the Constitution amended to meet the require- ments of the newly formed body, in conformity with the new Con- stitution, made in 1892.
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