Ohio Company of Associates
Encyclopedia
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
group to settle in the present-day state of Ohio. It was formed on March 1, 1786, by General Rufus Putnam
Rufus Putnam
Rufus Putnam was a colonial military officer during the French and Indian War, and a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
, Benjamin Tupper
Benjamin Tupper
Benjamin Tupper was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, achieving the rank of brevet brigadier general. Subsequently, he served as a Massachusetts legislator, and he assisted Gen. William Shepard in stopping Shays'...
, Samuel Holden Parsons
Samuel Holden Parsons
Samuel Holden Parsons was an American lawyer, jurist, and military leader.Parsons was born in Lyme, Connecticut, the son of Jonathan Parsons and Phoebe Parsons...
and Manasseh Cutler
Manasseh Cutler
Manasseh Cutler was an American clergyman involved in the American Revolutionary War. Cutler was also a member of the United States House of Representatives and a founder of Ohio University....
, who had met in Boston, Massachusetts, at The Bunch-of-Grapes tavern, located on King Street to discuss the settlement of the territory around the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
.
Cutler was sent to New York to negotiate with the Congress of the Confederation
Congress of the Confederation
The Congress of the Confederation or the United States in Congress Assembled was the governing body of the United States of America that existed from March 1, 1781, to March 4, 1789. It comprised delegates appointed by the legislatures of the states. It was the immediate successor to the Second...
to help the company secure a claim on the portion of land they were interested in. While there, Cutler aligned himself with William Duer
William Duer (1747-1799)
William Duer was a British-born American lawyer, developer, and speculator from New York City. A Federalist, Duer wrote in support of ratifying the United States Constitution as "Philo-Publius." He had earlier served in the Continental Congress and the convention that framed the New York...
, secretary of the U.S. Treasury Board. Duer and his associates formed a steadfast group of New York speculators
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...
determined for the settlement of the area west of the Appalachians. At this time, Congress desperately needed revenue. It was the economic strain and the pressure from Duer and Cutler that helped them to secure the incorporation in the Northwest Ordinance
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13, 1787...
, for the government of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
of the paragraphs which prohibited slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and provided for public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and for the support of the ministry.
After the creation of the Northwest Territory, Cutler suggested that the governor of the territory be General Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
, who was then serving as the President of Congress. Once St. Clair had been appointed to his new position, two new contracts were signed on October 27, 1787 between St. Clair, Cutler, and Major Winthrop Sargent, the secretary of the Ohio Company. The first was for the absolute purchase for the Ohio Company, of 1,500,000 acres (6,000 km²) of land at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers from a point near the site of the present Marietta
Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...
, to a point nearly opposite the site of the present Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
, for a payment of $1 million in government securities, then worth about 12¢ specie to the dollar. The contract also provided that one section of land in every township be devoted to the maintenance of public schools, another section be set apart for religious uses, and two entire townships be reserved for a university.
The second contract was an option to buy all the land between the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and the Scioto rivers
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
and the western boundary line of the Ohio Company's tract, extending north of the tenth survey township
Survey township
Survey township, sometimes called Congressional township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, refers to a square unit of land, that is nominally six miles on a side...
from the Ohio, this tract being preempted by Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent for themselves and others actually for the Scioto Company
Scioto Company
thumb|The proposed purchase by the Scioto Company is shown in red. The proposed purchase by the [[Ohio Company of Associates|Ohio Company]] is in blue. The final purchase by the Ohio Company is in green...
. Cutler's original intent was to buy for the Ohio Company only about 1,500,000 acres (6,000 km²), but on the July 27, Congress authorized a grant of about 5,000,000 acres (20,000 km²) of land for $3,500,000; a reduction of one-third was allowed for bad tracts, and it was also provided that the lands could be paid for in United States securities. On the same day, Cutler and Sargent for themselves and associates transferred to William Duer, then Secretary of the Treasury Board, and his associates one equal moiety of the Scioto tract of land mentioned in the second contract, it being provided that both parties were to be equally interested in the sale of the land, and were to share equally any profit or loss. However, the interest of the Scioto Company was only speculative, and their contract lapsed before any land was purchased. In contrast, the Ohio Company held a genuine plan of settlement.
The company made its first installment of $500,000, but was unable to raise the second $500,000. It settled for a purchase of 750000 acres (3,035.1 km²), plus the two townships for College Lands
College Lands
The College Lands were a tract of land in the Northwest Territory, later Ohio, that the Congress donated for the support of a university. Ohio University became the first college northwest of the Ohio River as a beneficiary of this tract.-Background:...
and the reserved School Lands
School Lands
The School Lands are part of the Ohio Lands, comprising land grants in Ohio from the United States federal government for public schools. Support for public education in the United States predates the constitution; two years before the adoption of the United States Constitution of 1787, the...
and Ministerial Lands
Ministerial Lands
The Ministerial Lands were tracts of land in the Northwest Territory, later Ohio, that the Congress donated for the support of clergy.In the contracts that the Congress wrote for purchases of large tracts of land in the Northwest Territory in the 1780s by the Ohio Company of Associates and John...
sections in each township for a total area of 913833 acres (3,698.2 km²), called the First Purchase. The lands were privately surveyed, but on the same plan of townships, ranges, and sections as the adjacent Seven Ranges
Seven Ranges
The Seven Ranges was a land tract in eastern Ohio that was the first tract to be surveyed in what became the Public Land Survey System. The tract is across the northern edge, on the western edge, with the south and east sides along the Ohio River...
under the procedure of the Land Ordinance of 1785
Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress on May 20, 1785. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation of the inhabitants of the United States...
.
In 1788, General Rufus Putnam laid out the plans for Marietta, the first permanent settlement in the present state of Ohio. Pioneers
American Pioneers to the Northwest Territory
American pioneers to the Northwest Territory included soldiers of the Revolution and members of the Ohio Company of Associates. During 1788 these pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta, Ohio as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory,...
were sent out by the Ohio Company from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
to Marietta. The first purchase was in Washington
Washington County, Ohio
Washington County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 61,778. Its county seat is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for George Washington. Washington County is included in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia-Ohio...
, Meigs
Meigs County, Ohio
Meigs County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,770. Its county seat is Pomeroy, and it is named for Return J. Meigs, Jr., the 4th Governor of Ohio.-Geography:...
, Gallia
Gallia County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,069 people, 12,060 households, and 8,586 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile . There were 13,498 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
, Lawrence
Lawrence County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,319 people, 24,732 households, and 17,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 137 people per square mile . There were 27,189 housing units at an average density of 60 per square mile...
and Athens Counties
Athens County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...
.
Difficulties with Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
during the Northwest Indian War
Northwest Indian War
The Northwest Indian War , also known as Little Turtle's War and by various other names, was a war fought between the United States and a confederation of numerous American Indian tribes for control of the Northwest Territory...
, including the Big Bottom Massacre
Big Bottom Massacre
The Big Bottom massacre occurred on January 2, 1791, near present-day Stockport now in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. Delaware and Wyandot Indians surprised a new settlement at the edge of the flood plain, or "bottom" land of the Muskingum River; they stormed the blockhouse and killed eleven...
, led Congress in 1792 to donate 100000 acres (404.7 km²) on the north edge of the first purchase as a buffer against incursion, called the Donation Tract
Donation Tract
The Donation Tract was a land tract in southern Ohio that was established by the Congress late in the 18th century to buffer Ohio Company lands against Indians. Congress gave lots to men who settled on the land...
, in Washington and Morgan Counties. Many associates of the company held army bounty warrants, which they could exchange for federal land, totaling 142900 acres (578.3 km²). Later in 1792, another purchase was made of 214285 acres (867.2 km²) in Morgan
Morgan County, Ohio
**----...
, Hocking
Hocking County, Ohio
Hocking County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 29,380. Its county seat is Logan. Its name is from the Hocking River, the origins of which are disputed but is said to be a Delaware Indian word meaning "bottle river".-Geography:According to the...
, Vinton
Vinton County, Ohio
Vinton County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,435. , the least populous in the state. Its county seat is McArthur. The county is named for Samuel Finley Vinton, a 19th-century United States Congressman from...
and Athens Counties
Athens County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...
using these bounties, with the 1/3 discount for bad lands, as in the first purchase. The Second Purchase had no sections set aside for schools or ministry. The Second Purchase is also known as the Purchase on the Muskingum
Purchase on the Muskingum
The Purchase on the Muskingum also called Ohio Company’s Second Purchase, was a tract of land in the Northwest Territory, later Ohio, that the Ohio Company of Associates purchased from the United States federal government in 1792.-History:...
.
In 1796, the Ohio Company divided its shares and ceased to be a genuine land company.
| TRACT | AREA (acres) |
AREA (Metric Unit) |
|---|---|---|
| First Purchase |
913833 | Something |
| Second Purchase |
214285 | Something |
| Donation Tract |
100000 | Something |
| Total | 1228118 | Something |