Bible Encyclopedias
Ohio

Physiography

The state lies on the borderland between the Prairie Plains and the Alleghany Plateau. The disturbances among the underlying rocks of Ohio have been slight, and originally the surface was a plain only slightly undulating; stream dissection changed the region to one of numberless hills and valleys; glacial drift then filled up the valleys over large broken areas, forming the remarkably level till plains of northwestern Ohio; but at the same time other areas were broken by the uneven distribution of the drift, and south-eastern Ohio, which was unglaciated, retains its rugged hilly character, gradually merging with the typical plateau country farther S.E. The average elevation of the state above the sea is about 850 ft., but extremes vary from 425 ft. at the confluence of the Great Miami and Ohio rivers in the S.W. corner to 1540 ft. on the summit of Hogues Hill about 12 m. E. of Bellefontaine in the west central part.

The main water-parting is formed by a range of hills which are composed chiefly of drift and extend W.S.W. across the state from Trumbull county in the N.E. to Darke county, or about the middle of the W. border. North of this water-parting the rivers flow into Lake Erie; S. of it into the Ohio river. Nearly all of the streams in the N.E. part of the state have a rapid current. Those that flow directly into the lake are short, but some of the rivers of this region, such as the Cuyahoga and the'Grand, are turned by drift ridges into circuitous courses and flow through narrow valleys with numerous falls and rapids. Passing the village of Cuyahoga Falls the Cuyahoga river descends more than 200 ft. in 3 m.; a part of its course is between walls of sandstone too ft. or more in height, and near its mouth, at Cleveland, its bed has been cut down through 60 ft. of drift. In the middle N. part of the state the Black, Vermilion and Huron rivers have their sources in swamps on the water-parting and flow directly to the lake through narrow valleys. The till plains of north-western Ohio are drained chiefly by the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, with their tributaries, and the average fall of the Maumee is only 1.1 ft. per mile, while that of the Sandusky decreases from about 7 ft. per mile at Upper Sandusky to 2.5 ft. per mile below Fremont. South of the water-parting the average length of the rivers is greater than that of those N. of it, and their average fall per mile is much less. In the S.W. the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers have uniform falls through basins that are decidedly rolling and that contain the extremes of elevation for the entire state. The central and S. middle part is drained by the Scioto river and its tributaries. The basin of this river is formed mostly in Devonian shale, and is bounded on the W. by a limestone rim and on the E. by preglacial valleys filled with glacial drift. In its middle portion the basin is about 40 m. wide and only moderately rolling, but toward the mouth of the river the basin becomes narrow and is shut in by high hills. In the E. part of Ohio the Muskingum river and its tributaries drain an area of about 7750 sq. m. or nearly one-fifth of the entire state. Much of the unglacial or driftless portion of the state is embraced within its limits, and although the streams now have a gentle or even sluggish flow, they have greatly broken the surface of the country. The upper portion of the basin is about 100 m. in width, but it becomes quite narrow below Zanesville. The Ohio river flows for 436 m. through a narrow valley on the S. border of the state, and Lake Erie forms the N. boundary for a distance of 230 m. At the W. end of the lake are Sandusky and Maumee bays, each with a good natural harbour. In this vicinity also are various small islands of limestone formation which are attractive summer resorts. On Put-in-Bay Island are some interesting "hydration" caves, i.e. caves formed by the uplifting and folding of the rocks while gypsum was forming beneath, followed by the partial collapse of those rocks when the gypsum passed into solution. Ohio has no large lakes within its limits, but there are several small ones on the water-parting, especially in the vicinity of Akron and Canton, and a few large reservoirs in the W. central section.

Fauna

Bears, wolves, bison, deer, wild turkeys and wild pigeons were common in the primeval forests of Ohio, but they long ago disappeared. Foxes are still found in considerable numbers in suitable habitats; opossums, skunks and raccoons are plentiful in some parts of the state; and rabbits and squirrels are still numerous. All the song-birds and birds of prey of the temperate zone are plentiful. Whitefish, bass, trout and pickerel are an important food supply obtained from the waters of the lake, and some perch, catfish and sunfish are caught in the rivers and brooks.

Flora

Ohio is known as the "Buckeye State" on account of the prevalence of the buckeye (Aesculus glabra). The state was originally covered with a dense forest mostly of hardwood timber, and although the merchantable portion of this has been practically all cut away, there are still undergrowths of young timber and a great variety of trees. The white oak is the most common, but there are thirteen other varieties of oak, six of hickory, five of ash, five of poplar, five of pine, three of elm, three of birch, two of locust and two of cherry. Beech, black walnut, butternut, chestnut, catalpa, hemlock and tamarack trees are also common. Among native fruits are the blackberry, raspberry, elderberry, cranberry, wild plum and pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Buttercups, violets, anemones, spring beauties, trilliums, arbutus, orchids, columbine, laurel, honeysuckle, golden rod and asters are common wild flowers, and of ferns there are many varieties.

Climate

The mean annual temperature of Ohio is about 51° F.; in the N., 49.5°, and in the S., 53.5°But except where influenced by Lake Erie the temperature is subject to great extremes; at Coalton, Jackson county, in the S.E. part of the state, the highest recorded range of extremes is from 104° to - 38° or 142°; at Wauseon, Fulton county, near the N.W. corner, it is from 104° to - 32° or 136°; while at Toledo on the lake shore the range is only from 99° to - 16° or 115° F. July is the warmest month, and in most parts of the state January is the coldest; in a few valleys, however, February has a colder record than January. The normal annual precipitation for the entire state is 38.4 in. It is greater in the S.E. and least in the N.W. At Marietta, for example, it is 42.1 in., but at Toledo it is only 308 in. Nearly 60% of it comes in the spring and summer. The average annual fall of snow is about 37 in. in the N. and 22 in. in the S. The prevailing winds in most parts are westerly, but sudden changes, as well as the extremes of temperature, are caused mainly by the frequent shifting of the wind from N.W. to S.W. and from S.W. to N.W. At Cleveland and Cincinnati the winds blow mostly from the S.E.

Soil

In the driftless area, the S.E. part of the state, the soil is largely a decomposition of the underlying rocks, and its fertility varies according to their composition; there is considerable limestone in the E. central portion, and this renders the soil very productive. In the valleys also are strips covered with a fertile alluvial deposit. In the other parts of the state the soil is composed mainly of glacial drift, and is generally deep and fertile. It is deeper and more fertile, however, in the basins of the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers, where there is a liberal mixture of decomposed limestone and where extensive areas with a clay subsoil are covered with alluvial deposits. North of the lower course of the Maumee river is a belt of sand, but Ohio drift generally contains a large mixture of clay.

Agriculture

Ohio ranks high as an agricultural state. Of its total land surface 24,501,820 acres or nearly 94% was, in 1900, included in farms and 78.5% of all the farm land was improved. There were altogether 276,719 farms; of these 93,028 contained less than 50 acres, 182,802 contained less than loo acres, 150,060 contained less than 175 acres, 26,659 contained 175 acres or more, and 164 contained moo acres or more. The average size of the farms decreased from 125.2 acres in 1850 to 99.2 acres in 1880 and 88.5 acres in 1900. Nearly seven-tenths of the farms were worked in 1900 by owners or part owners, 24,051 were worked by cash tenants, 51,880 were worked by share tenants, and 1969 were worked by negroes as owners, tenants or managers. There is a great variety of produce, but the principal crops are Indian corn, wheat, oats, hay, potatoes, apples and tobacco. In 1900 the acreage of cereals constituted 68.4% of the acreage of all crops, and the acreage of Indian corn, wheat and oats constituted 99.3% of the total acreage of cereals. The Indian corn crop was 67,501,144 bushels in 1870; 152,055,390 bushels in 1899 and 153,062,000 in 1909, when it was grown on 3,875,000 acres and the state ranked seventh among the states of the Union in the production of this cereal. The wheat crop was 27,882,159 bushels in 1870; 50,376,800 bushels (grown on 3,209,014 acres) in 1899; and 23,532,000 bushels (grown on 1,480,000 acres) in 1909. The oat crop was 25,347,549 bushels in 1870; 42,050,910 bushels (grown on 1,115,149 acres) in 1899; and 56,225,000 bushels (grown on 1,730,000 acres) in 1909. The barley crop decreased from 1,715,221 bushels in 1870 to 1,053,240 bushels in 1899 and 829,000 bushels in 1909. The number of swine was 1,964,770 in 1850; 3,285,789 in 190o; and 2,047,000 in 1910. The number of cattle was 1,358,947 in 1850; 2,117,925 in 1900; and 1,925,000 in 1910. In 1900 there were 868,832 and in 1910 947, 000 milch cows in the state. The number of sheep decreased slightly between 1870 and 1900, when there were 4,030,021; in 1910 there were 3,203,000 sheep in the state. The number of horses was 463,397 in 1850; 1,068,170 in 190o; and 977,000 in 1910. The cultivation of tobacco was of little importance in the state until about 1840; but the product increased from 10,454,449 lb in 1850 to 34,735,235 lb in 1880, and to 65,957,100 lb in 1899, when the crop was grown on 71,422 acres; in 1909 the crop was 83,250,000 lb, grown on 90,000 acres. The value of all farm products in 1899 was $ 2 57, 06 5, 826. Indian corn, wheat and oats are grown in all parts, but the W. half of the state produces about three-fourths of the Indian corn and two-thirds of the wheat, and in the N. half, especially in the N.W. corner, are the best oat-producing counties. The N.E. quarter ranks highest in the production of hay. Domestic animals are evenly distributed throughout the state; in no county was their total value, in June 1900, less than $500,000, and in only three counties (Licking, Trumbull and Wood) did their value exceed $2,000,000; in 73 counties their value exceeded $1,000,000, but was less than $2,000,000. Dairying and the production of eggs are also important industries in all sections. Most of the tobacco is grown in the counties on or near the S.W. border.

Fisheries

Commercial fishing is important only in Lake Erie. In 1903 the total catch there amounted to 10,748,986 lb, valued at $317,027. Propagation facilities are being greatly improved, and there are stringent laws for the protection of immature fish. Inland streams and lakes are well supplied with game fish; state laws prohibit the sale of game fish and their being taken, except with hook and line.

Mineral Products

The mineral wealth of Ohio consists largely of bituminous coal and petroleum, but the state also ranks high in the production of natural gas, sandstone, limestone, grindstone, lime and gypsum. The coal fields, comprising a total area of 10,000 sq. m. or more, are in the E. half of the state. Coal was discovered here as early as 1770, and the mining of it was begun not later than 1828, but no accurate account of the output was kept until 1872, in which year it was 5,315,294 short tons; this was increased to 18,988,150 short tons in 1900, and to 26,270,639 short tons in 1908 - in 1907 it was 32,142,419 short tons. There are 29 counties in which coal is produced, but 81.4% of it in 1908 came from Belmont, Athens, Jefferson, Guernsey, Perry, Hocking, Tuscarawas and Jackson counties. Two of the most productive petroleum fields of the United States are in part in Ohio; the Appalachian field in the E. and S. parts of the state, and the Lima-Indiana field in the N.W. part. Some petroleum was obtained in the S.E. as early as 1859, but the state's output was comparatively small until after petroleum was discovered in the N.W. in 1884; in 1883 the output was only L7,632 barrels, four years later it was 5,022,632 barrels, and in 1896 it was 23,941,169 barrels, or 39% of the total output in the United States. For the next ten years, however, there was a decrease, and in 1908 the output had fallen to 10,858,797 barrels, of which 6,748,676 barrels (valued at $6,861,885) was obtained in the Lima district, 4,109,935 barrels (valued at $7,315,667) from the southeast district, and 186 barrels (valued at $950), suitable for lubricating purposes, from the Mecca-Belden district in Trumbull and Lorain counties. Natural gas abounds in the eastern, central and north-western parts of the state. That in the E. was first used in 1866, the N.W. field was opened in 1884, and the central field was opened in 1887. The value of the state's yearly flow increased steadily from $ioo,000 in 1885 to $5,215,669 in 1889, decreased from the latter year to $1,171,777 in 1897, and then increased to $ 8, 2 44, 8 35 in 1908. Some of the best sandstone in the United States is obtained from Cuyahoga and Lorain counties; it is exceptionally pure in texture (about 97% being pure silica), durable and evenly coloured light buff, grey or blue grey. From the Ohio sandstone known as Berea grit a very large portion of the country's grindstones and pulpstones has been obtained; in 1908 the value of Ohio's output of these stones was $482,128. Some of the Berea grit is also suitable for making oilstones and scythestones. Although the state has a great amount of limestone, especially in Erie and Ottawa counties, its dull colour renders it unsuitable for most building purposes.` It is, however, much used as a flux for melting iron and for making quick lime. The quantity of Portland cement made in Ohio increased from 57,000 barrels in 1890 to 563,113 barrels in 1902 and to 1,521,764 barrels in 1908. Beds of rock gypsum extend over an area of 150 acres or more in Ottawa county. There is some iron ore in the eastern and south-eastern parts of the state, and the mining of it was begun early in the 19th century; but the output decreased from 254,294 long tons in 1889 to only 26,585 long tons (all carbonate) in 1908. Ohio, in 1908, produced 3,4 2 7,47 8 barrels of salt valued at $864,710. Other valuable minerals are clay suitable for making pottery, brick and tile (in 1908 the value of the clay working products was $26,622,490) and sand suitable for making glass. The total value of the state's mineral products in 1908 amounted to $134,499,335.

Manufactures

The total value of the manufactures increased from $348,298,390 in 1880 to $641,688,064 in 1890, and to $832,438,113 in 1900. The value of the factory product was $748,670,855 in 1900 and $960,811,857 in 1905.1 The most important manufacturing industry is that of iron and steel. This industry was established near Youngstown in 1804. The value of the products increased from $65,206,828 in 1890 to $138,935,256 in 1900 and to $152,859,124 in 1905. Foundry and machine-shop products, consisting largely of engines, boilers, metal-working machinery, wood-working machinery, pumping machinery, mining machinery and stoves, rank second among the state's manufactures; their value increased from $43,617,07 2 in 1890 to $72,399,632 in 1900, and to $94,507,691 in 1905. Flour and grist mill products rank third in the state; the value of the products decreased from $39,468,409 in 1890 to $37,39 0 ,3 6 7 in 1900, and then increased to $40,855,566 in 1905. Meat (slaughtering and packing) was next in the value of the product, and increased from $20,660,780 in 1900 to $28,729,044 in 1905. Clay products rank fifth in the state; they increased in value from $16,480,812 in 1900 to $25,686,870 in 1905. Boots and shoes rank sixth; their value increased from $8,489,728 in 1890 to $17,920,854 in 1900 and to $25,140,220 in 1905. Other leading manufactures are malt liquors ($21,620,794 in 1905), railway rolling-stock consisting largely of cars ($21,428,227), men's clothing ($18,496,173), planing mill products ($17,725,711), carriages and wagons ($16,096,125), distilled liquors ($15,976,523), rubber and elastic goods ($15,963,603), furniture ($13,322,608), cigars and cigarettes ($13,241,230), agricultural implements ($12,891,197), women's clothing ($12,803582), lumber and timber products ($12,567,992), soap and candles. ($11,791,223), electrical machinery, apparatus and supplies ($11,019,235), paper and wood pulp ($10,961,527) and refined petroleum ($10,948,864).

T he great manufacturing centres are Cleveland, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Toledo, Columbus, Dayton and Akron, and in 1905 the value of the products of these cities amounted to 56.7% of that for the entire state. A large portion of the iron and steel is manufactured in Cleveland, Youngstown, Steubenville, Bellaire, Lorain and Ironton. Most of the automobiles are manufactured in Cleveland; most of the cash registers and calculating machines in Dayton; most of the rubber and elastic goods in Akron; nearly one-half of the liquors and about three-fourths of the men's clothing in Cincinnati. East Liverpool leads in the manufacture of pottery; Toledo in flour and grist mill products; Springfield in agricultural implements; Cincinnati and Columbus in boots and shoes; Cleveland in women's clothing.

Transportation and Commerce

The most important natural means of transportation are the Ohio river on the S. border and Lake 1 The statistics of 1905 were taken under the direction of the United States Census Bureau, but products other than those of the factory system, such, for example, as those of the hand trades, were excluded.

Erie on the N. border. One of the first great public improvements made within the state was the connexion of these waterways by two canals - the Ohio & Erie Canal from Cleveland to Portsmouth, and the Miami & Erie Canal from Toledo to Cincinnati. The Ohio & Erie was opened throughout its entire length (309 m.) in 1832. The Miami & Erie was completed from Middletown to Cincinnati in 1827; in 1845 it was opened to the lake (250 m. from Cincinnati). The national government began in 1825 to extend the National Road across Ohio from Bridgeport, opposite Wheeling, West Virginia, through Zanesville and Columbus, and completed it to Springfield in 1837. Before the completion of the Miami & Erie Canal to Toledo, the building of railways was begun in this region, and in 1836 a railway was completed from that city to Adrian, Michigan. By the close of 1850 the railway mileage had increased to 575 m., and for the next forty years, with the exception of the Civil War period, more than 2000 m. of railways were built during each decade. At the close of 1908 there was a total mileage of 9,300.45 m. Among the railways are the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis, the Baltimore & Ohio, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, the New York, Chicago & St Louis, the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis (Pennsylvania), the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago (Pennsylvania), the Nypano (Erie), the Wheeling & Lake Erie, the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, and the Norfolk & Western. As the building of steam railways lessened, the building of suburban and interurban electric railways was begun, and systems of these railways have been rapidly extended until all the more populous districts are connected by them.

Ohio has six ports of entry. They are Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, and the value of the foreign commerce passing through these in 1909 amounted to $9,483,974 in imports (more than one-half to Cleveland) and $10,920,083 in exports (nearly eight-ninths from Cleveland). Of far greater volume than the foreign commerce is the domestic trade in coal, iron, lumber, &c., largely by way of the Great Lakes.

Population

The population of Ohio in the various census years was: (1800) 45,365; (1810) 230,760; (1820) 581,434; (1830) 937,9 0 3; (1840) 1 ,5 1 9,4 6 7; (1850) 1 ,9 80 ,3 2 9; (1860) 2 ,339,5 11; (1870) 2,665,260; (1880) 3, 1 9 8,062; (1890) 3,672,316; (1900) 4,157,545; (1910) 4,767,121. In 1900 Ohio ranked fourth in population among the states. Of the total population in 1900, 4,060, 204 or 9 7.6% were white and 97,34 1 were coloured (96,901 negroes, 371 Chinese, 27 Japanese and 42 Indians). Of the same total 3,6 9 8,811 or 88.9% were native-born and 458,734 were foreign-born; 93.8% of the foreign-born consisted of the following: 204,160 natives of Germany, 65,553 of Great Britain, 55,018 of Ireland, 22,767 of Canada (19,864 English Canadian), 16,822 of Poland, 15,131 of Bohemia, 11,575 of Austria and 11,321 of Italy. In 1906 there were 1,742,873 communicants of different religious denominations, over one-third being Roman Catholics and about one-fifth Methodists. From 1890 to 1900 the urban population (i.e. population of incorporated places having 4000 inhabitants or more) increased from 1,387,884 to 1,864,519, and the semiurban (i.e. population of incorporated places having less than 4000 inhabitants) increased from 45 8, 0 33 t o 549,74 1, but the rural (i.e. population outside of incorporated places) decreased from 1,826,412 to 1,743, 2 85. The largest cities are Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Columbus (the capital), Dayton, Youngstown, Akron, Springfield, Canton, Hamilton, Zanesville and Lima.

Administration

Ohio is governed under the constitution of 1851 as amended in 1875, 1883, 1885, 1 9 02, 1 9 03, and 1905. An amendment may be proposed at any time by either branch of the General Assembly, and if after being approved by three-fifths of the members of both branches it is also approved at a general election by a majority of those voting on the question it is declared adopted; a constitutional convention may be called after a favourable two-thirds vote of the members of each branch of the Assembly and a favourable popular vote - a majority of those voting on the question; and the question of calling such a convention must be submitted to a popular vote at least once every twenty years. Under the constitution of 1802 and 1851 the suffrage was limited to "white male" citizens of the United States, but since the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution (1870), negroes vote, though the constitution is unchanged. Since 18 9 4 women who possess the usual qualifications required of men may vote for and be voted for as members of boards of education. The constitution requires that all elections be by ballot, and the Australian ballot system was adopted in 1891; registration is required in cities having a population of 11,800 or more. The executive department consists of a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and attorney-general. As a result of the dispute between Governor Arthur St Clair and the Territorial legislature, the constitution of 1802 conferred nearly all of the ordinary executive functions on the legislature. The governor's control over appointments was strengthened by the constitution of 1851 and by the subsequent creation of statutory offices, boards and commissions, but the right of veto was not given to him until the adoption of the constitutional amendments of 1903. The power as conferred at that time, however, is broader than usual, for it extends not only to items in appropriation bills, but to separate sections in other measures, and, in addition to the customary provision for passing a bill over the governor's veto by a two-thirds vote of each house it is required that the votes for repassage in each house must not be less than those given on the original passage. The governor is elected in November of even-numbered years for a term of two years. He is commanderin-chief of the static military and naval forces, except when they are called into the service of the United States. He grants pardons and reprieves on the recommendation of the state board of pardons. If he die in office, resign or be impeached, the officers standing next in succession are the lieutenant-governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House of Representatives in the order named.

Members of the Senate and House of Representatives are elected for terms of two years; they must be residents of their respective counties or districts for one year preceding election, unless absent on public business of the state or of the United States. The ratio of representation in the Senate is obtained by dividing the total population of the state by thirty-five, the ratio in the House by dividing the population by one hundred. The membership in each house, however, is slightly above these figures, owing to a system of fractional representation and to the constitutional amendment of 1903 which allows each county at least one representative in the House of Representatives. The constitution provides for a reapportionment every ten years beginning in 1861. Biennial sessions are held beginning on the first Monday in January of the even-numbered years. The powers of the two houses are equal in every respect except that the Senate passes upon the governor's appointments and tries impeachment cases brought before it by the House of Representatives. The constitution prohibits special, local and retroactive legislation, legislation impairing the obligation of contracts, and legislation levying a poll tax for county or state purposes or a tax on state, municipal and public school bonds (amendment of 1905), and it limits the amount and specifies the character of public debts which the legislature may contract.

The judicial department in 1910 was composed of a supreme court of six judges, eight circuit courts.' of three judges each, ten districts (some with sub-divisions) of the common pleas court, the superior court of Cincinnati, probate courts, courts of insolvency in Cuyahoga and Hamilton counties, juvenile courts (established in 1904), justice of the peace courts and municipal courts. Under the constitution of 1802 judges were chosen by the legislature, but since 1851 they have been elected by direct popular vote - the judges of the supreme court being chosen at large. They are removable on complaint by a concurrent resolution approved by a two-thirds majority in each house of the legislature. The constitution provides that the terms of supreme and circuit judges shall be such even number of years not less than six as may be prescribed by the legislature - the statutory provision is six years - that of the judges of the common pleas six years, that of the probate judges four years, that of other judges such even number of years not exceeding six as may be prescribed by the legislature - the statutory provision is six years - and that of justices of the peace such even number of years not exceeding four as may be thus prescribed - the statutory provision is four years.

Local Government

The county and the township are the units of the rural, the city and the village the units of the urban local The provision for circuit courts was first made in the constitution by an amendment of 1883.

government. The chief county authority is the board of commissioners of three members elected for terms of two years. The other officials are the sheriff, treasurer and coroner, elected for two years; the auditor, recorder, clerk of courts, prosecuting attorney, surveyor and infirmary directors, elected for two years; and the board of school examiners (three) and the board of county visitors (six, of whom three are women), appointed usually by the probate judge for three years. The chief township authority is the board of trustees of three members, elected by popular vote for two years. In the parts of the state settled by people from New England township meetings were held in the early days, but their functions were gradually transferred ,, to the trustees, and by 1820 the meetings had been given up almost entirely. The other township officials are the clerk, treasurer, assessor, supervisor of roads, justices of the peace, constables, board of education and board of health. Under the constitution of 1802, municipal corporations were established by special legislation. The constitution of 1851, however, provided for a general law, and the legislature in 1852 enacted a "general municipal corporations act," the first of its kind in the United States. The system of classification adopted in time became so elaborate that many municipalities became isolated, each in a separate class, and the evils of special legislation were revived. Of the two chief cities, Cleveland (under a special act providing for the government of Columbus and Toledo, also) in1892-1902was governed under the federal plan, which centralized power in the hands of the mayor; in Cincinnati there was an almost hopeless diffusion of responsibility among the council and various executive boards. The supreme court in June 1902 decided that practically all the existing municipal legislation was special in character and was therefore unconstitutional. (State ex. rel. Kniseley vs. Jones, 66 Ohio State Reports, 453. See also 66 Ohio State Reports, 491.) A special session of the legislature was called, and a new municipal code was adopted on the 22nd of October which went into effect in April 1903; it was a compromise between the Cleveland and the Cincinnati plans, with some additional features necessary to meet the conditions existing in the smaller cities. In order to comply with the court's interpretation of the constitution, municipalities were divided into only two classes, cities and villages, the former having a population of five thousand or more; the chief officials in both cities and villages were the mayor, council, treasurer and numerous boards of commissions. This was an attempt to devise a system of government that would apply to Cleveland, a city of 400,000 inhabitants, and to Painesville with its 5000 inhabitants. The code was replaced by the Paine Law of 1909, which provided for a board of control (something like that under the "federal plan" in Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo) of three members: the mayor and the directors (appointed and removable by the mayor) of two municipal departments - public service and public safety, the former including public works and parks, and the latter police, fire, charities, correction and buildings. The mayor's appointments are many, and are seldom dependent on the consent of the - council. A municipal civil service commission of three members (holding office for three years) is chosen by the president of the board of education, the president of the city council, and the president of the board of sinking fund commissioners; the pay (if any) of these commissioners is set by each city. The city auditor, treasurer and solicitor are elected, as under the code.

In 1908 a direct primary law was passed providing for party primaries, those of all parties in each district to be held at the same time (annually) and place, before the same election board, and at public expense, to nominate candidates for township and municipal offices and members of the school board; nominations to be by petition signed by at least 2% of the party voters of the political division, except that for United States senators a of 1% is the minimum. The law does not make the nomination of candidates for the United States Senate by this method mandatory nor such choice binding upon the General Assembly.

Laws

The property rights of husband and wife are nearly equal; a wife may hold her property the same as if single, and a widower or a widow is entitled to the use for life of one-third of the real estate of which his or her deceased consort was seized at the time of his or her death. Among the grounds on which a divorce may be obtained are adultery, extreme cruelty, fraud, abandonment for three years, gross neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, a former existing marriage, procurement of divorce without the state by one party, which continues marriage binding on the other, and imprisonment in a penitentiary. For every family in which there is a wife, a minor son, or an unmarried daughter, a homestead not exceeding $loon in value, or personal property not exceeding $500-in value, is exempt from sale for the satisfaction of debts.

In 1908 an act was passed providing for local option in regard to the sale of intoxicating liquors, by an election to be called an initiative petition, signed by at least 35% of the electors of a county.

Charitable and Penal Institutions

The state charitable and penal institutions are supervised by the board of charities of six members ("not more than three ... from the same political party") appointed by the governor, and local institutions by boards of county visitors of six members appointed by the probate judge. Each state institution in addition has its own board of trustees appointed by the governor, and each county infirmary is under the charge of three infirmary directors chosen by popular vote. There are hospitals for the insane at Athens, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, Carthage (to m. from Cincinnati; Longview Hospital), Massillon, Toledo and Lima; a hospital for epileptics at Gallipolis, opened in 1893; institutions for feeble-minded, for the blind (opened 1839) and for the deaf (opened 1829) at Columbus; a state sanatorium for tuberculous patients at Mt. Vernon (opened 1909); an institution for crippled and deformed children (authorized in 1907); a soldiers' and sailors' orphans' home at Xenia (organized in 1869 by the Grand Army of the Republic); a home for soldiers, sailors, marines, their wives, mothers and widows, and army nurses at Madison (established by the National Women's Relief Corps; taken over by the state, 1904); and soldiers' and sailors' homes at Sandusky (opened 1888), supported by the state, and at Dayton, supported by the United States. The state penal institutions are the boys' industrial school near Lancaster (established in 1854 as a Reform Farm), the girls' industrial home (1869) at Rathbone near Delaware, the reformatory at Mansfield (authorized 1884, opened 1896) and the penitentiary at Columbus (1816).

Education

Congress in 1785 set apart 1 sq. m. in each township of 36 sq. m. for the support of education. The public school system, however, was not established until 1825, and then it developed very slowly. The office of state commissioner of common schools was created in 1837, abolished in 1840 and revived in 1843. School districts fall into four classes - cities, villages, townships and special districts - each of which has its own board of education elected by popular vote. Laws passed in 1877, 1890, 1893 and 1902 have made education compulsory for children between the ages of eight and fourteen. The school revenues are derived from the sale and rental of public lands granted by Congress, and of the salt and swamp lands devoted by the state to such purposes, from a uniform levy of one mill on each dollar of taxable property in the state, from local levies (averaging 7.2 mills in township districts and 10.07 mills in separate districts in 1908), from certain fines and licences, and from tuition fees paid by non-resident pupils. The total receipts from all sources in 1908 amounted to $25,987,021; the balance from the preceding year was $11,714,135, and the total expenditures were $24,695,157. Three institutions for higher education are supported in large measure by the state: Ohio University at Athens, founded in 1804 on the proceeds derived from two townships granted by Congress to the Ohio Company; Miami University (chartered in 1809) at Oxford, which received the proceeds from a township granted by Congress in the Symmes purchase; and Ohio State University (1873) at Columbus, which received the proceeds from the lands granted by Congress under the act of 1862 for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges, and reorganized as a university in 1878. Wilberforce University (1856), for negroes, near Xenia, is under the control of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; but the state established a normal and industrial department in 1888, and has since contributed to its maintenance. Under an act of 1902 normal colleges, supported by the state, have also been created in connexion with Ohio and Miami universities. Among the numerous other colleges and universities in the state are Western Reserve University (1826) at Cleveland, the university of Cincinnati (opened 1873) at Cincinnati, and Oberlin College (1833) at Oberlin.

Finance

The revenues of the state are classified into four funds; the general revenue fund, the sinking fund, the state common school fund and the university fund. The chief sources of the general revenue fund are taxes on real and personal property, on liquors and cigarettes, on corporations and on inheritances; in 1909 the net receipts for this fund were $8,043,257, the disbursements $9,103,301, and the cash balance at the end of the fiscal year $3,428,705. There is a tendency to reduce the rate on real property, leaving it as a basis for local taxation. The rate on collateral inheritances is 5%, on direct inheritances 2%, on the excess above $3000. There are state, county and municipal boards of equalization. A special tax is levied for the benefit of the sinking fund - one-tenth of a mill in 1909. The commissioners of 'the fund are the auditor, the secretary of state and the attorney-general. The public debt, which began to accumulate in 1825, was increased by the canal expenditures to $16,880,000 in 1843. The constitution of 1851 practically deprived the legislature of the power to create new obligations. The funded debt was then gradually reduced until the last installment was paid in 1903. There still remains, however, an irredeemable debt due to the common schools, Ohio University and Ohio State University, in return for their public lands. About one-half of the annual common school fund is derived from local taxes; the state levy for this fund in 1909 was one mill, and the total receipts were $2,382,353. The university fund is derived from special taxes levied for the four institutions which receive aid from the state; in 1909 the levy was 0.245 mills and the total receipts were $582,843. Several banks and trading houses with banking privileges were incorporated by special statutes between 1803 and 1817. Resentment was aroused by the establishment of branches of the Bank of the United States at Chillicothe and Cincinnati in 1817, and an attempt was made to tax them out of existence. State officials broke into the vaults of the Chillicothe branch in 1819 and took out $100,000 due for taxes. The Federal courts compelled a restoration of the money and pronounced the taxing law unconstitutional. In 1845 the legislature chartered for twenty years the State Bank of Ohio, based on the model of the State Bank of Indiana of 1834. It became a guarantee of conservative banking, and was highly successful. There were at one time thirtysix branches. Most of the state institutions secured Federal charters after the establishments of the national banking system (1863-1864), but the high price of government bonds and the large amount of capital required led to a reaction, which was only partially checked by the reduction of the minimum capital to $25,000 under the currency act of the 14th of March 1900.

History

Ohio was the pioneer state of the old North-West Territory, which embraced also what are now the states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and the N.E. corner of Minnesota. When discovered by Europeans, late in the first half of the 17th century, the territory included within what is now Ohio was mainly a battle-ground of numerous Indian tribes and the fixed abode of none except the Eries who occupied a strip along the border of Lake Erie. From the middle to the close of the 17th century the French were establishing a claim to the territory between the Great Lakes and the Ohio river by discovery and occupation, and although they 'had provoked the hostility of the Iroquois Indians they had helped the Wyandots, Miamis and Shawnees to banish them from all territory W. of the Muskingum river. Up to this time the English had based their claim to the same territory on the discovery of the Atlantic Coast by the Cabots and upon the Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut charters under which these colonies extended westward to the Pacific Ocean. In 1701, New York, seeking another claim, obtained from the Iroquois a grant to the king of England of this territory which they claimed to have conquered but from which they had subsequently been expelled, and this grant was confirmed in 1726 and again in 1744About 1730 English traders from Pennsylvania and Virginia began to visit the eastern and southern parts of the territory and the crisis approached as a French Canadian expedition under Celeron de Bienville took formal possession of the upper Ohio Valley by planting leaden plates at the mouths of the principal streams. This was in 1749 and in the same year George II. chartered the first Ohio Company, formed by Virginians and London merchants trading with Virginia for the purpose of colonizing the West. This company in 1750 sent Christopher Gist down the Ohio river to explore the country as far as the mouth of the Scioto river; and four years later the erection of a fort was begun in its interest at the forks of the Ohio. The French drove the English away and completed the fort (Fort Duquesne) for themselves. The Seven Years' War was the immediate consequence and this ended in the cession of the entire North-West to Great Britain. The former Indian allies of the French, however, immediately rose up in opposition to British rule in what is known as the Conspiracy of Pontiac (see Pontiac), and the supression of this was not completed until Colonel Henry Bouquet made an expedition (1764) into the valley of the Muskingum and there brought the Shawnees, Wyandots and Delawares to terms. With the North-West won from the French Great Britain no longer recognized those claims of her colonies to this territory which she had asserted against that nation, but in a royal proclamation of the 7th of October 1763 the granting of land W. of the Alleghanies was forbidden and on the 22nd of June 1774 parliament passed the Quebec Act which annexed the region to the province of Quebec. This was one of the grievances which brought on the War of Independence and during that war the North-West was won for the Americans by George Rogers Clark. During that war also, those states which had no claims in the West contended that title to these western lands should pass to the Union and when the Articles of Confederation were submitted for ratification in 1777, Maryland refused to ratify them except on that condition. The result was that New York ceded its claim to the United States in 1780, Virginia in 1784, Massachusetts in 1785 and Connecticut in 1786. Connecticut, however, excepted a strip bordering on Lake Erie for 120 m. and containing 3,250,000 acres. This district, known as the Western Reserve, was ceded in 1800 on condition that Congress would guarantee the titles to land already granted by the state. Virginia reserved a tract between the Little Miami and Scioto rivers, known as the Virginia Military District, for her soldiers in the War of Independence.

When the war was over and these cessions had been made a great number of war veterans wished an opportunity to repair their broken fortunes in the West, and Congress, hopeful of receiving a large revenue from the sale of lands here, passed an ordinance on the 20th of May 1785 by which the present national system of land-surveys into townships 6 In. sq. was inaugurated in what is now S.W. Ohio in the summer of 1786. In March 1786 the second Ohio Company (q.v.), composed chiefly of New England officers and soldiers, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, with a view to founding a new state between Lake Erie and the Ohio river. The famous North-West Ordinance was passed by Congress on the 13th of July 1787. This instrument provided a temporary government for the Territory with the understanding that, as soon as the population was sufficient, the representative system should be adopted, and later that states should be formed and admitted into the Union. There were to be not. less than three nor more than five states. Of' these the easternmost (Ohio) was to be bounded on the N., E. and S. by the Lakes, Pennsylvania and the Ohio river, and on the W. by a line drawn due N. from the mouth of the Great Miami river to the Canadian boundary, if there were to be three states, or to its intersection with an E. and W. line drawn through the extreme S. bend of Lake Michigan, if there were to be five. Slavery was forbidden by the sixth article of the ordinance; and the third article read: "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall for ever be encouraged." After the adoption of the North-West Ordinance the work of settlement made rapid progress. There were four main centres. The Ohio Company founded Marietta at the mouth of the Muskingum in 1788, and this is regarded as the oldest permanent settlement in the state. An association of New Jerseymen, organized by John Cleves Symmes, secured a grant from Congress in1788-1792to a strip of 248,540 acres on the Ohio between the Great Miami and the Little Miami, which came to be known as the Symmes Purchase. Their chief settlements were Columbia (1788) and Cincinnati (1789). The Virginia Military District, between the Scioto and the Little Miami, reserved in 1784 for bounties to Virginia continental troops, was colonized in large measure by people from that state. Their chief towns were Massieville or Manchester (17 9 o) and Chillicothe (1796). A small company of Connecticut people under Moses Cleaveland founded Cleveland in 17 9 6 and Youngstown was begun a few years later, but that portion of the state made very slow progress until after the opening of the Ohio & Erie Canal in 1832.

During the Territorial period (1787-1803) Ohio was first a part of the unorganized North-West Territory (1787-1799), then a part of the organized North-West Territory (1799-1800), and then the organized North-West Territory (1800-1803), Indiana Territory having been detached from it on the W. in 1800. The first Territorial government was established at Marietta in October 1787, and General Arthur St Clair (1734-1818), the governor, arrived in the summer of 1788. His administration was characterized by the final struggle with the Indians and by a bitter conflict between the executive and the legislature, which greatly influenced the constitutional history of the state. The War of Independence was succeeded by a series of Indian uprisings. Two campaigns, the first under General Josiah Harmar (1753-1813) in 17 9 0, and the second under General St Clair in 17 9 1, failed on account of bad management and ignorance of Indian methods of warfare, and in 1793 General Anthony Wayne was sent out in command of a large force of regulars and volunteers. The decisive conflict, fought on the 20th of August 1794, near the rapids of the Maumee, is called the battle of Fallen Timbers, because the Indians concealed themselves behind the trunks of trees which had been felled by a storm. Wayne's dragoons broke through the brushwood, attacked the left flank of the Indians and soon put them to flight. In the treaty of Greenville (3rd August 1795) the Indians ceded their claims to the territory E. and S. of the Cuyahoga, the Tuscarawas, and an irregular line from Fort Laurens (Bolivar) in Tuscarawas county to Fort Recovery in Mercer county, practically the whole E. and S. Ohio. The Jay Treaty was ratified in the same year, and in 1796 the British finally evacuated Detroit and the Maumee and Sandusky forts. By cessions and purchases in 1804, 1808 and1817-1818the state secured all of the lands of the Indians except their immediate homes, and these were finally exchanged for territory W. of the Mississippi. The last remnant migrated in 1841. General Wayne's victory was followed by an extensive immigration of New Englanders, of Germans, Scotch-Irish and Quakers from Pennsylvania, and of settlers from Virginia and Kentucky, many of whom came to escape the evils of slavery. This rapid increase of population led to the establishment of the organized Territorial government in 17 99, to the restriction of that government in Ohio in 1800, and to the admission of the state into the Union in 1803.

The Congressional Enabling Act of the 30th of April 1802 followed that alternative of the North-West Ordinance which provided for five states in determining the boundaries, and in consequence the Indiana and Michigan districts were detached. A rigid adherence to the boundary authorized in 1787, however, would have resulted in the loss to Ohio of 470 sq. m. of territory in the N.W. part of the state, including the lake port of Toledo. After a long and bitter dispute - the Toledo War (see Toledo)- the present line, which is several miles N. of the S. bend of Lake Michigan, was definitely fixed in 1837, when Michigan came into the Union. (For the settlement of the eastern boundary, see Pennsylvania.) After having been temporarily at Marietta, Cincinnati, Chillicothe and Zanesville the capital was established at Columbus in 1816.

Since Congress did not pass any formal act of admission there has been some controversy as to when Ohio became a state. The Enabling Act was passed on the 30th of April 1802, the first state legislature met on the 1st of March 1803, the Territorial judges gave up their offices on the 15th of April 1803, and the Federal senators and representatives took their seats in Congress on the 17th of October 1803. Congress decided in 1806 in connexion with the payment of salaries to Territorial officials that the 1st of March 1803 was the date when state government began. During the War of 1812 the Indians under the lead of Tecumseh were again on the side of the British. Battles were fought at Fort Meigs (1813) and Fort Stephenson (Fremont, 1813) and Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's naval victory on Lake Erie in 1813 was on the Ohio side of the boundary line.

Owing to the prohibition of slavery the vast majority of the early immigrants to Ohio came from the North, but, until the Mexican War forced the slavery question into the foreground, the Democrats usually controlled the state, because the principles of that party were more in harmony with frontier ideas of equality. The Whigs were successful in the presidential elections of 1836 and 1840, partly because of the financial panic and partly because their candidate, William Henry Harrison, was a "favourite son," and in the election of 1844, because of the unpopularity of the Texas issue. Victory was with the Democrats in 1848 and 1852, but since the organization of the Republican party in 1854 the state has uniformly given to the Republican presidential candidates its electoral votes. In the Civil War Ohio loyally supported the Union, furnishing 319,659 men for the army. Dissatisfaction with the President's emancipation programme resulted in the election of a Democratic Congressional delegation in 1862, but the tide turned again after Gettysburg and Vicksburg; Clement L. Vallandigham, the Democratic leader, was deported from the state by military order, and the Republicans were successful in the elections of 1863 and 1864. A detachment of the Confederate cavalry under General John Morgan invaded the state in 1863, but was badly defeated in the battle of Buffington's Island (July 18th). Democratic governors were elected in 1873, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1905, 1908 and 1910. Five presidents have come from Ohio, William Henry Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Jr., and William Howard Taft.

Territorial Period (1787-1803).

Arthur St Clair..1787-1802Federalist Charles W. Byrd (Acting)..1802-1803Dem.-Repub. Period of Statehood. Edward Tiffin..1803-1807Dem.-Repub.

Thomas Kirker (Acting).1807-1809Samuel Huntington.1809-1811Return Jonathan Meigs.1811-1814Othniel Looker (Acting).1814-1815Thomas Worthington..1815-1819Ethan Allen Brown.1819-1822Allen Trimble (Acting).1822-1823Jeremiah Morrow..1823-1827Allen Trimble.1827-1831Duncan McArthur1831-1833Robert Lucas.1833-1837Joseph Vance.1837-1839Wilson Shannon.1839-1841Thomas Corwin.1841-1843Wilson Shannon1843-1844Thomas W. Bartley (Acting)1844-1845Mordecai Bartley..1845-1847William Bebb.1847-1849Seabury Ford.1849-1851Reuben Wood.1851-1853William Medill (Acting, 1853)1853-1856Salmon P. Chase..1856-1860William Dennison, Jr..1860-1862David Tod..1862-1864John Brough.1864-1865Charles Anderson (Acting).1865-1866Jacob D. Cox.1866-1868Rutherford B. Hayes.1868-1872Edward F. Noyes..1872-1874William Allen.1874-1876Rutherford B. Hayes.1876-1877Thomas L. Young (Acting).1877-1878Richard M. Bishop1878-1880Charles Foster.1880-1884George Hoadley.1884-1886Joseph B. Foraker.1886-1890James E. Campbell .

William McKinley, Jr...1890-18921892-1896 Asa S. Bushnell..1896-1900George K. Nash.1900-1904Myron T. Herrick..1904-1906John M. Pattison 1 1906 Andrew Lintner Harris1906-1909Judson Harmon.. 1909 - Bibliography. -FOr a brief but admirable treatment of the physiography see Stella S. Wilson, Ohio (New York, 1902), and a great mass of material on this subject is contained in the publications of the Geological Survey of Ohio (1837 et seq.). For the administration see the Constitution of the State of Ohio, adopted June 1851 (Norwalk, Ohio, 1897), and amendments of 1903 and 1905 published separately; the annual reports of the state treasurer, auditor, board of state charities and commissioner of common schools, the Ellis municipal code (1902) and the Harrison school code (1904). The Civil Code, issued 1852, the Criminal Code in 1869 and the Revised Statutes in 1879, have several times been amended and published in new editions. There are two excellent secondary accounts: Samuel P. Orth, The Centralization of Administration in Ohio, in the Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, xvi. No. 3 (New York, 1903); and Wilbur H. Siebert, The Government of Ohio, its History and Administration (New York, 1904). B. A. Hinsdale's History and Civil Government of Ohio (Chicago, 1896) is more elementary. For local government see J. A. Wilgus, "Evolution of Township Government in Ohio," in the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 18 94, pp. 403-412 (Washington, 1895); D. F. Wilcox, Municipal Government in Michigan and Ohio, in the Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, v. No. 3 (New York, 18 95); J. A. Fairlie, "The Municipal Crisis in Ohio," in the Michigan Law Review for February 1903; and Thomas L. Sidlo, "Centralization in Ohio Municipal Government," in the American Political Science Review for November 1909. On education see George B. Germann, National Legislation concerning Education, its Influence and Effect in the Public Lands east of the Mississippi River, admitted prior to 1820 (New York, 1899); J. J. Burns, Educational History of Ohio (Columbus, 1905).

Archaeology and History: P. G. Thomson's Bibliography of Ohio (Cincinnati, 1880) is an excellent guide to the study of Ohio's history. For archaeology see Cyrus Thomas's Catalogue of Prehistoric Works ' Died in office.

East of the Rocky Mountains (Washington, 1891), and his Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology in the 12th Report (1894) of that Bureau, supplementing his earlier bulletins, Problem of the Ohio Mounds and the Circular, Square and Octagonal Earthworks of Ohio (1889); and W. K. Moorehead, Primitive Man in Ohio (New York, 1892). The best history is Rufus King, Ohio; First Fruits of the Ordinance of 1787 (Boston and New York, 1888), in the "American Commonwealths" series. Alexander Black's Story of Ohio (Boston, 1888) is a short popular account. B. A. Hinsdale, The Old North-west (2nd ed., New York, 1899), is good for the period before 1803. Of the older histories Caleb Atwater, History of the State of Ohio, Natural and Civil (Cincinnati, 1838), and James W. Taylor, History of the State of Ohio: First Period 1650-1787 (Cincinnati, 1854), are useful. For the Territorial period, and especially for the Indian wars of 1790-1794, see W. H. Smith (ed.), The St Clair Papers: Life and Services of Arthur St Clair (2 vols., Cincinnati, 1882); Jacob Burnet, Notes on the Early Settlement of the North-Western Territory (Cincinnati, 1847), written from the Federalist point of view, and hence rather favourable to St Clair; C. E. Slocum, Ohio Country between 1783 and 1815 (New York, 1910); and John Armstrong's Life of Anthony Wayne in Sparks' "Library of American Biography" (Boston, 1834-1838), series i. vol. iv. See also F. P. Goodwin, The Growth of Ohio (Cincinnati, 1907) and R. E. Chaddock, Ohio before 1850 (New York, 1908). There is considerable material of value, especially for local history, in the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society Publications (Columbus, 1887), and in Henry Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio (1st ed., Cincinnati, 1847; Centennial edition [enlarged], 2 vols., Columbus, 1889-1891). T. B. Galloway, "The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute," in the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society Publications, vol. iv. pp. 199-230, is a good treatment of that complicated question. W. F. Gephart's Transportation and Industrial Development in the Middle West (New York, 1909), in the Columbia University Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, is a commercial history of Ohio.