Ohio's Living Heritage
Two centuries ago, the Ohio's lands were a mix of prairies and heavily forested wilderness, crisscrossed with Native American hunting trails and villages. In fact, it is estimated that there were some 15,000 Native Americans living on this land from 5 different peoples: Miami, Shawnee, Ottawa, Wyandot and Delaware.
Today, the same land that supported those 15,000 Native Americans, supports over 10,000,000 people. That's more people than live in Sweden, Greece or Austria.
If a census could have been taken during the early days of Ohio, it would have shown that Ohio had a general divide between those settling in northern Ohio and southern Ohio.
Northern Ohio settlers were made up mostly of transplanted Yankees from New England, while southern settlers were actually part of the Virginia Military District with lots of soldiers from the American Revolutionary War laying claim to land as payment for services in the war. These were the farmer warriors of the day-- land loving people that appreciated the rich soils of southern Ohio.
The New England Yankees were primarily merchants and manufacturers-- the industrial complex of 18th Century America.
In the middle of the state there were large numbers of German settlers coming from central Pennsylvania.
As time progressed, the northern half of the state became less northern and the southern half became less southern.
This was Ohio's heritage, the people that made us what we are today. They were resourceful and strong-- the Ohio wilderness was no place for the gentry minded folks or for those not willing to pitch in and work. But long before this immigration to Ohio took place, there were problems between those already living here and those wishing to live here.
For $35 you could buy a boat to paradise
Early settlers had to cross the Allegheny mountains, an arduous journey that seemed to last a lifetime for those making the trek. When these pioneers reached Pittsburgh where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers joined to form the Ohio, boat builders were there to take the money of these pioneers in a promise to ride in the lap of luxury along with your cattle and horses for just $35. These were the flatboats, or more commonly called "broad horn" boats. They were actually like floating barnyards.
Once they set off from Pittsburgh, their next stop was Wheeling where they load up on supplies of salt, pork, dried fruits, cornmeal and molasses. Then it was off again into the Ohio Valley. When they reached their destination, the flatboat would be dismantled and used to build a cabin until a proper cabin could be constructed.
Reconstructed flatboat located along the Ohio River in Marietta. This replica built in 1975 is based on the flatboat used to bring Ohio Company of Associates settlers to Marietta in 1788.
Flatboats were designed to carry cargo downstream, floating with the current. With flat bottoms, they were easily built to any size needed. The 18th and early 19th Centuries, these boats were the most popular method of transport for settlers traveling west into Ohio and Kentucky. They were often called "Kentucky Boats."
Keel boats were entirely different types of boats used to go up-stream. Upon arrival at their final destination, they would dismantle the boat use the wood to build the settlers' new house.
Even into the late 19th century, farmers built this type of boat to ship their market down-river. Once the produce was sold, they would sell the boat for its lumber. The farmer would then walk home or find passage on a steamboat back upriver.
Early conflicts
Some groups of Native Ohio peoples welcomed the new settlers. Others, did not, particularly those that had had dealings with the white-man in the past and found they could not be trusted and their treaties meant nothing if the whites wanted to change the rules. This led to violent conflicts.
During the mid 1700s, many of the Native Americans sided with the French in hopes of stemming the tide of British colonists coming into the Ohio territory. When the British defeated the French in 1763, Native Americans were left to fend for themselves against the British and settlers. Then when the split came between the Americans and the British in 1776, the Native Americans again decided to side with what they perceived as the lesser of 2 evils, and became allies with the British. Once again the Native Americans were on the losing side and left to fend for themselves.
As a result of these bloody conflicts, over the years, Native Americans had become painted with a broad brush as being blood-thirsty savages who were always at war with the settlers. Although not all Native Americans were anti-American. A number of them were friendly with the early settlers. This friendship was more often than not, not mutual. Distrust from wary settlers often led to whites killing friendly Native peoples. These acts led to a racial distrust between both the whites and Native peoples.
After the American Revolution, Ohio began to see increasingly large numbers of settlers move into the area. They saw the rich land as a place to start over and lay claim to the promises created by the new country. The problem was that the land had been off limits to American settlers. Large numbers of Native peoples living north of the Ohio River had signed treaties with the government that promised settlers would remain south of the Ohio and the Native peoples would stay north . This treaty was impossible to enforce and settlers quickly filtered into southern Ohio, and this eventually led to even more violent conflicts.
In 1794 at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in northwest Ohio, a large contingent of Native Americans were defeated by an American military force. This led to a peace treaty (Treaty of Greeneville) being signed by many of those at the battle. The treaty gave up almost 2/3s of the land that is now present day Ohio.
There was an outspoken contingent of Native Americans that did not accept the treaty and they continued the fight that led them to again join forces with the British during the War of 1812. Once again, the Native Americans were on the wrong side and lost. This eventually led to their complete expulsion from Ohio (even those Native Americans who were friendly toward the Americans) in 1843.
A divided state
In the mid 19th Century, Ohio found itself divided, politically. In the beginning the state was made up predominately settlers from New England in the northern regions and the southern half were predominately southern farmers. As these two groups aged, they mingled together, but each group still held firm to their political views.
It seemed there was no middle. Folks were either pro Union (anti-slavery) or pro state's right (pro slavery). Ohio was a non-slave state, so the issue was more about state's rights and anti-slavery. Escaping slaves made their way north through Ohio on what became known as the Underground Railroad which was nothing more than those sympathetic to the former slaves and providing some assistance to them to move north.
"So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war."
This is what President Lincoln said to Harriet Beecher Stowe upon
their meeting in 1862. Stowe was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Her book was the best-selling
novel of the 19th Century and is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist's cause in the 1850s
which led to the Civil War. Stowe lived in Cincinnati. It was during this time that she became
involved in Reverend John Rankin's anti-slavery efforts. It was during this time period that she
heard the stories of escaping slaves that passed through the area that formed the basis of her
best-selling book.
Change in leadership
As the influx of whites into the Ohio valley increased, the Native peoples quickly realized the treaties they had signed meant nothing. Strong leaders from various groups became organizers of the Native peoples.
Some of these leaders had studied the tactics used by the military, and they used those same tactics themselves.
Although the British had been technically defeated in the Revolution, they still had an interest in the Ohio land. They developed a strategy that involved supplying the Native peoples with arms, munitions and supplies and openly encouraged them to strike back at the settlers, and to attack any military advancements by the American government.
Railroads make both the National Road and the Canals Obsolete
Before the National Road and Ohio's Canals were even completed, a new form of transportation was being introduced into Ohio: the railroads. Although at the beginning they were noisy, undependable, and dangerous, the railroads would quickly become the cheapest form of transportation in the state and bring unheard of mobility within just a few short years. Imagine, you could eat breakfast in Columbus and have dinner that same day in Cincinnati!
Today, the railroads have mostly been surpassed as a personal mode of transportation, except for scenic excursion train rides, but the railroads still play a vital role for Ohio's industrial base.
Flying High Over Dayton
In 1903, the Wright Brothers from Dayton, powered by a home-made gasoline engine, became the first men to fly heavier than air machines in Kittyhawk, NC. They chose Kittyhawk because that was where the National Weather Service said had the most consistent winds.
They built their new machine in Dayton and transported it by train to the east coast. They did this for several years, until they worked out a way of lifting off without the need for those winds. The two brothers then began flying their machine from a pasture just outside of Dayton, a place that would later become Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The Wright Brothers were criticized for their invention because they wanted to keep the mechanics of the machine private until they could patent their invention. They never were able to patent the airplane, but they did patent their method of being able to turn the plane once it was airborne.
The Wright Brothers finally gained international recognition when they took their new airplane to Europe and put on a dazzling display of aeronautics for the entire world to witness.
