The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company whose members are today credited with becoming the first non- Native American group to permanently settle west of the Allegheny mountains. In 1788 they established

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 ...

, as the first permanent settlement of the new

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the newly organized

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

Creation of the company

The company was formed between March 1 and March 3, 1786, by

Rufus Putnam Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumental ...

Benjamin Tupper Benjamin Tupper (March 11, 1738 – June 7, 1792) 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 (military), brevet Brigadier general (United ...

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

and

Manasseh Cutler Manasseh Cutler (May 13, 1742 – July 28, 1823) was an American clergyman involved in the American Revolutionary War. He was influential in the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and wrote the section prohibiting slavery in the Nort ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. They had met at The

Bunch-of-Grapes The Bunch-of-Grapes was a tavern located on King Street (State Street (Boston), State Street) in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 17th and 18th centuries. Typical of taverns of the time, it served multiple functions in the life of the town. Often t ...

tavern, located on King Street, to discuss the settlement of the territory around 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 ...

.Hubbard, Robert Ernest. ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' p. 104, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2020. . On March 8, 1787, Parsons, Putnam, and Cutler were chosen as directors, and

Winthrop Sargent Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was a United States patriot, politician, and writer; and a member of the Federalist party. Early life Sargent was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight children ...

was elected secretary.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 199. On August 30, 1787,

James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the Rho ...

was elected as a director, and Richard Platt as treasurer.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 200-01. Later directors included Griffin Greene upon the death of Varnum,Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 249. and Robert Oliver upon the death of Parsons.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 259.

Negotiations with the government

Cutler was sent to New York to negotiate with the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...

to help the company secure a claim on a portion of the land. While there, Cutler aligned himself with William Duer, secretary of the U.S. Treasury Board. Duer and his associates formed a group of New York

speculators In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many s ...

who were determined to see settlement of the area west of the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. At this time, Congress desperately needed revenue. The prospect of sales of land helped settle controversy and secure the incorporation in the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

of the paragraphs that prohibited

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, provided for land for

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

and for the support of the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. The Ohio Company's purchase was enabled first by the passage on July 13, 1787, of the "Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States Northwest of the River Ohio," commonly known as the

, and second, by the Act of October 23, 1787, which authorized Congress to make contracts of public lands for not less than one million acres. On October 27, 1787, the Treasury Board under Secretary William Duer finalized the Ohio Company's purchase. Their first contract was for the Ohio Company to purchase 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 present-day

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

, to a point nearly opposite present-day

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, 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 proposed purchase by the left, 350px The second contract was an option to buy all the land between the

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 ...

and the Scioto rivers and the western boundary line of the Ohio Company's tract, extending north of the tenth

survey township A survey township, sometimes called a Congressional township or just township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, is a nominally-square area of land that is nominally six U.S. survey miles (about 9.66 km) on a side. E ...

from the Ohio, this tract being preempted by Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent for themselves and others for the

Scioto Company The proposed purchase by the Scioto Company is shown in red. The proposed purchase by the Ohio Company is in blue. The final purchase by the Ohio Company is in green. The 350px The Scioto Company was led by American colonel William Duer, a ...

. Cutler's original intent was to buy only about 1,500,000 acres (6,000 km²) for the Ohio Company, 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 Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

of the Scioto tract of land mentioned in the second contract. Both parties were to be equally interested in the sale of the land, and were to share equally any profit or loss. But, the Scioto Company interest was speculative, and their contract lapsed before they purchased any land. In contrast, the Ohio Company had 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 , plus the two townships for

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. Backgro ...

and the reserved

School Lands The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have ...

and

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 th ...

sections in each township, for a total area of , called the First Purchase. The lands were privately surveyed, but on the same plan of townships, ranges, and sections as the adjacent

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 ...

under the procedure of the

Land Ordinance of 1785 The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have ...

.Text of Ordinance of May 20, 1785

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 ...

Settlement at
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 ...

In 1788, General

laid out the plans for Marietta, the first permanent settlement in the present state of Ohio. The Ohio Company sent pioneers from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

to the Northwest Territory. Their first purchase was in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Meigs,

Gallia Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during Rep ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

and Athens counties. Difficulties with Native Americans during the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...

, including the Big Bottom Massacre, led Congress in 1792 to donate on the north edge of the first purchase as a buffer against incursion. The Donation Tract incorporated much of present-day Washington and Morgan counties. Many associates of the company held army bounty warrants, which they could exchange for federal land, totaling . Later in 1792, the Ohio Company purchased another in Morgan,

Hocking Hocking may refer to: Places * Hocking County, Ohio, United States * Hocking Township, Fairfield County, Ohio * Hocking Hills, Ohio * Hocking River, Ohio * Hocking Canal, a former canal that ran parallel to the Hocking River * Hocking, Western Aus ...

, Vinton and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

counties, using these bounties, with the 1/3 discount for bad lands, as in the first purchase. - Text of Act of April 21, 1792

The Second Purchase had no sections set aside for schools or ministry. The Second Purchase is also known as the

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 178 ...

. In 1796, the Ohio Company divided its shares and ceased to be a genuine land company.

Notes

References

* Hildreth, S. P. (1852). ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. * * * * ;Attribution *

External links

Manuscripts and Documents of the Ohio Company of Associates - Marietta College
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohio Company Of Associates American companies established in 1786 Early American land companies Pre-statehood history of Ohio Marietta, Ohio