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Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Hamilton, Mansfield, Warren, Covington, Lima, Springfield, Newport, Marion, Cuyahoga Falls, Euclid, Florence, Hebron, Hudson, Kent, Lorain, Massillon, Middletown, Monroe, Newark, Westerville, Alexandria, Ashtabula
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Prehistory in Ohio refers to that period of time when people
were living here, but did not record the events in their
lives in documents that have been preserved to the present
day. It is "history without the words." The prehistoric
period in Ohio began at least 15,000 years ago when humans
entered the region near the end of the last Ice Age. The
period ended around 350 years ago when French explorers in
Canada began to record information about the lands along the
south shore of Lake Erie. Archaeologists help us learn about
these prehistoric groups by studying the objects they made
and used (artifacts) and the remnants of their camp sites
and villages (sites). Archaeology can show how the ways of
life of Ohio's ancient people changed over time as they
adapted to their surroundings. The oral traditions of modern
American Indian tribes also may provide valuable insights
into certain aspects of prehistoric cultures.
First explored
for France by sieur de la Salle in 1669, the Ohio region
became British property after the French and Indian Wars.
Ohio was acquired by the U.S. after the Revolutionary War in
1783. In 1788, the first permanent settlement was
established at Marietta, capital of the Northwest Territory.
The 1790s saw severe fighting with the Indians in Ohio; a
major battle was won by Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne at Fallen
Timbers in 1794. In the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver H.
Perry defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie on
Sept. 10, 1813.
The historic
period in Ohio began around 1688 when French explorers
recorded accounts of their travel along the south shore of
Lake Erie. Since that time the land and the people who
occupy it have undergone profound changes. The introduction
of European goods associated with the European fur trade
began the demise of the native groups who occupied the area.
Following the American Revolution eastern immigrants flooded
west and completed the displacement of native peoples. In
less than one hundred years the new immigrants stripped the
forests, plowed that lands, built hundreds of towns and
cities, and crisscrossed the state with canals, railroads
and highways. By the late nineteenth century, Ohio had
emerged as an industrial and political giant in the United
States. As the nation continued to move west during the 20th
century Ohio again reinvented itself as a leader in
transportation, communication, and service industries.
Today, Ohio remains an important political, educational, and
social leader.
The natural heritage of Ohio greatly influenced human
prehistoric and historic development, each of which, in
turn, has affected our current natural heritage. As we learn
more about our state's natural history we develop better
understandings our present environment. Despite major
changes, — some quite drastic — Ohioans still enjoy a rich
natural heritage. The knowledge we acquire from studying the
past can guide us to preserve or even improve Ohio's natural
heritage for our children and grandchildren. The natural
history section covers many topics including fossils over
500 million years old, geographic features created by
glaciers over a mile thick, minerals that have fueled major
industries, wildlife that has provided both sustenance and
enjoyment for generations of humans, and much more.
Ohio is a state in the United States. Historically (but not
universally) considered a part of the Midwest, Ohio is a
multi-regional, cultural and geographical crossroads, with
elements of the Midwest, Northeast, Appalachia and the
South. "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of
everything American—part north-eastern and part southern,
part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and
part booming suburb," notes The Economist. Prior to 1984,
the United States Census Bureau considered Ohio part of the
North Central Region. That region concept was renamed
"Midwest" and split into two divisions. Ohio is now in the
East North Central States division. Ohio was the first and
eastern-most state admitted to the Union under the Northwest
Ordinance. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is OH; its old-style
abbreviation is O. Ohio is an Iroquois word meaning "good
river." The name refers to the Ohio River that forms its
southern border. The U.S. Navy has named several ships USS
Ohio in honor of this state.
Ohio, the
region north of the Ohio River and south of the Great Lakes,
was originally controlled by various native tribes. At the
time of European colonization, the Iroquois federation of
the New York area claimed the region including the modern
territory of Ohio as a hunting ground. However, locally, the
region was populated by several other peoples, principally
the Miamis, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Ottawas, and
Eries. During the 18th century, the French set up a system
of trading posts to control the fur trade in the region.
In 1754, France and Great Britain fought a war known in the
United States as the French and Indian War. As a result of
the Treaty of Paris, the French ceded control of Ohio and
the old Northwest to Great Britain.
Britain soon passed the Proclamation of 1763, which
prohibited the American colonists from settling in Ohio
Country. British control of the region ended with the
American victory in the American Revolution, after which the
British ceded claims to Ohio and the territory in the West
to the Mississippi River to the United States.
The United States created the Northwest Territory in 1787
under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, also known as the
Freedom Ordinance because for the first time slavery would
be prohibited from an entire American region. The states of
the Midwest would be known as free states, in
contradistinction to those states south of the Ohio River
known as slave states, and later, as Northeastern states
abolished slavery in the coming two generations, the free
states would be known as Northern States. The Northwest
Territory originally included areas that had previously been
known as Ohio Country and Illinois Country. As Ohio prepared
for statehood, Indiana Territory was created, reducing the
Northwest Territory to approximately the size of present-day
Ohio plus the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of
Michigan and the eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula.
Under the Northwest Ordinance, any of the states to be
formed out of the Northwest Territory would be admitted as a
state once the population exceeded 60,000. Although Ohio's
population numbered only 45,000 in December 1801, Congress
determined that the population was growing rapidly and Ohio
could begin the path to statehood with the assumption that
it would exceed 60,000 residents by the time it would become
a state. On February 19, 1803, President Jefferson signed an
act of U.S. Congress that recognized Ohio as the 17th state.
The current custom of Congress declaring an official date of
statehood did not begin until 1812, with Louisiana's
admission. So, on August 7, 1953 (the year of Ohio's 150th
anniversary), President Eisenhower signed an act that
officially declared March 1, 1803 the date of Ohio's
admittance into the Union. Ohio is sometimes known as "the
mother of modern presidents". Virginia actually has the most
presidents with 8 born there.
In 1835, Ohio fought a mostly bloodless boundary war with
Michigan over the Toledo Strip known as the Toledo War.
Congress intervened and, as a condition for admittance as a
state of the Union, Michigan was forced to accept the
western two-thirds of the Upper Peninsula in exchange for
giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip.
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