The Congress Lands West of Miami River was a land tract in southwest

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

that was established by the Congress late in the 18th century. It is located south of the Greenville Treaty Line, east of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, and north of the Great Miami River. The original survey in 1798 contained a triangular shaped slice of land, now located in Indiana, that extended to the Greenville line as it ran from

Fort Recovery Fort Recovery was a United States Army fort ordered built by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne during what is now termed the Northwest Indian War. Constructed from late 1793 and completed in March 1794, the fort was built along the Wabash River, with ...

to opposite the mouth of the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Kentuc ...

History

In 1787, lands in the Ohio Country east of the Great Miami River were sold by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

to Judge

John Cleves Symmes John Cleves Symmes (July 21, 1742February 26, 1814) was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison and, thereby, the g ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, known as

Symmes Purchase The Symmes Purchase, also known as the Miami Purchase, was an area of land totaling roughly in what is now Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties of southwestern Ohio, purchased by Judge John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey in 1788 from the Contine ...

. With the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, lands west and north of the Miami, and south and east of the Greenville Treaty Line were ceded by

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, and open to settlement.

The survey

The survey commenced in 1798. Land was to be systematically surveyed into square "townships", six miles (9.656 km) on a side created by lines running north–south intersected by east–west lines. Townships were to be arranged in north–south rows called ranges. These townships were sub-divided into thirty-six "sections" of one square mile (2.59 km²) or 640

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

. These ranges, townships, and sections were to be systematically numbered. The First Principal Meridian was established to run northward from the confluence of the Great Miami River and the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. Ranges were numbered east and west from this

meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

. Townships east of the meridian were numbered from south to north, starting at the Great Miami River. Townships west of the meridian were numbered from south to north starting at the Ohio River. Thus, townships in adjacent ranges rarely have the same number. Sections in each township are numbered according to the plan adopted in the Act of May 18, 1796. The Ohio Enabling Act of 1802 established the western boundary of the state along the First Principal Meridian.

Land sales

Section 4 of the Land Act of May 18, 1796 provided that the lands in the survey area be sold at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The Land Act of May 10, 1800 - Text of Act of May 10, 1800

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

established a Federal Land Office at Cincinnati for sales of these lands. Sales were also conducted from the nation's capital at the General Land Office. Local offices were eventually closed. The State of Ohio also eventually sold lands granted to them by the federal government, such as section 16 of each township.

College Township

Congress declared in September, 1803 that 23,321 acres (36.4 square miles) located in the Congress Lands West of Miami River were to be set aside for “an academy, other public schools and seminaries of learning.” It benefited

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

, chartered in 1809 by the state legislature in a town the legislature named

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The College Township is in township 5 of range 1 east, now the civil township called

Oxford Township, Butler County, Ohio Oxford Township, also known as the College Township, is one of thirteen townships in Butler County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the northwestern corner of the county, where it meets Preble County, Ohio, and Union County, Indiana. The ...

Modern times

The survey in Ohio in modern times includes all or parts of nine counties:

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

, Darke,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby

Notes

References

* *

External links

Ohio History Central- Congress Lands

Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources: Map of Original Land Subdivisions of Ohio (pdf)
{{coord, 39.59, -84.63, display=title, region:US-OH, format=dms Former regions and territories of the United States Geography of Ohio Pre-statehood history of Ohio History of the Midwestern United States Surveying of the United States Butler County, Ohio Darke County, Ohio Hamilton County, Ohio Logan County, Ohio Mercer County, Ohio Miami County, Ohio Montgomery County, Ohio Preble County, Ohio Shelby County, Ohio