Column

   On March 1, Ohio will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its admittance to the Union.  Celebrations of all kinds will take place throughout the state until the end of 2003 in observance of this milestone.  To help you educate your non-Buckeye friends and relatives, here is an Ohio fact sheet.

   The Marion County Committee for the Ohio Bicentennial meets regularly to coordinate local Bicentennial events.  Look for flyers listing these events at sites around the county in the near future.  An online calendar of events can be found at www.historymarion.org/whats_happening.htm by clicking on the link in the box with the Bicentennial logo.

   To learn more about the committee and its work, contact The Marion County Historical Society at 740/387-4255 or mchs@historymarion.org.

AN OHIO FACT SHEET

Origin of Ohio’s name:  from Native American word “O-Y-O,” meaning “great water.”

Ohio symbols: State Tree – buckeye; State Flower – scarlet carnation; State Wild Flower – large white trillium; State Bird – cardinal; State Animal – white-tailed deer; State Reptile – black racer (snake); State Insect – ladybug; State Mineral – flint; State Fossil – trilobite; State Song – “Beautiful Ohio”; State Rock Song – “Hang on Sloopy”; State Beverage – tomato juice

Early history timeline:

13,000 years before present - first human inhabitants reach Ohio. 

Prehistoric cultures identified in Ohio: Paleoindian, Archaic, Adena, Hopewell, Fort Ancient, Whittlesey.

About 1600 AD – last of prehistoric cultures disappeared.

Early 1700s – Historic Native American tribes arrive in Ohio.  The major tribes were: Delaware, Mingo, Shawnee, Miami, Wyandot, and Ottawa.

1700s – the Ohio Country was claimed by France. 

1763 – After its defeat in the French and Indian War, France ceded all its North American lands to England.

1783 – Ohio Country officially ceded to the United States following the American Revolution.  The British maintained a military presence – in violation of the treaty – until they were defeated by the U. S. in the War of 1812.

1785 – U. S. Congress established the Northwest Territory.  It included all of the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and a portion of Minnesota.

1787 – Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance.  It provided for governance of the Northwest Territory, guaranteed certain individual freedoms, and forbade slavery in the Territory.  It also provided a means for admitting new states to the Union.

1788 – First permanent, authorized settlement established at Marietta by the Ohio Company.

1795 – Native Americans relinquished claim to approximately ¾ of Ohio via the Greenville Treaty.  This was the first of a series of treaties whereby Native Americans ceded lands to the U. S., as more and more settlers arrived.

1803 – Ohio admitted to the Union as the 17^th state. 

Ohio’s capitals:  Chillicothe, 1803-10; Zanesville, 1810-12; Chillicothe, 1812-16; Columbus, 1816-present.

1804 – Ohio University, first public institution of higher education in the Northwest Territory, established.

1843 – The Wyandots relinquished their lands in Ohio.  Most of the tribe was relocated to Kansas.