image:federal office marker.JPG, alt=historical marker saying Federal Land Office This log building was constructed in 1801 by David Hoge on the west side of Third Street. It served as his home and as the first Federal land office in that part of the Northwest Territory known as the Seven Ranges. In 1809 it was moved, and twelve years later encased in a brick structure where it was discovered in 1940. It has been preserved by the citizens of Jefferson County. image:Steubenville Land District.png, The Steubenville Land District shrank in 1807. Star locates Land Office. Federal Land Office is a former government building in Steubenville, Ohio where the federal government sold public lands to settlers. It is now on the property of a museum beside reconstructed

Fort Steuben Fort Steuben was a fortification erected in Feb. 1787 on the Ohio River in eastern Ohio Country at the northern end of the Seven Ranges land tract to be surveyed. It was at the location of the modern city of Steubenville, Ohio. The fort was built ...

.Old Fort Steuben Website
/ref> In 1973, while on another site about a mile away, , it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

for its historical significance., Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-10-26. It was later moved to its present location.

History

In 1800, Congress passed the Harrison Land Act, titled An Act to amend an act entitled "An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States, in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and above the mouth of the Kentucky River". - 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 ...

Section 1 established four land offices in

Cincinnati, Ohio 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 ...

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Mar ...

, and Steubenville, Ohio. The Steubenville office was responsible for the Steubenville Land District, lands in the northernmost 48 miles of the

Seven Ranges The Seven Ranges (also known as the Old 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 sou ...

, and in the

Congress Lands North of Old Seven Ranges The Congress Lands North of the Old Seven Ranges was a land tract in northeast Ohio that was established by the Congress early in the 19th century. It is located south of the Connecticut Western Reserve and Firelands, east of the Congress Lands ...

. Each office was under the direction of an officer called "Register of the Land Office", appointed by the President with consent and approval of the Senate. Section 4 directed sales to begin at Steubenville in 1801. Section 6 created the position "receiver of public monies" at each office. The act allowed payment for land to be spread over several years, and it was the duty of the officers to keep meticulous records of buyers, property location, and payments, and issue patents when paid in full. President Adams named David Hoge as

Register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

. He purchased a plot of land on the west side of Third Street from Bezaleel Wells, founder of Steubenville, and built a two-story log cabin as home and office. Ohio Historical Society Plaque In 1809, it was moved and 12 years later encased in a brick structure, where it was discovered in 1940, and preserved by citizens of

Jefferson County, Ohio Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,249. Its county seat is Steubenville. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was vice president at the time of its creation. ...

. The Act of March 3, 1807 - Text of Act of March 3, 1807

established a land office for the Congress Lands North of Old Seven Ranges that ended up in Canton, creating the Canton Land District. This reduced the size of the Steubenville Land District. David Hoge served as Register from 1801 to 1841. Receivers, in chronological order, were Zaccheus Biggs, Obadiah Jennings, Peter Wilson, Gen.

Samuel Stokely Samuel Stokely (January 25, 1796 – May 23, 1861) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1841 to 1843. Biography Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, Stokely attended private schools. He ...

, and John Viers. The office was closed by the Act of June 12, 1840. In the nineteenth century, several hundred Federal Land Offices were established in the Public Lands states.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Government buildings completed in 1801 Buildings and structures in Jefferson County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Ohio Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Relocated buildings and structures in Ohio Steubenville, Ohio 1801 establishments in the Northwest Territory

History

See also

References

External links