Ohio, the fourth in population of the states of the American Union, lies between 38° 25' and 42° N. lat. and 80° 30' and 84° 50' W. long. It stretches from north to south 210 miles, and from east to west 220 miles; the northern and southern and much of the eastern boundaries are irregular. Area, 39,964 sq. m., or equal to that of Ireland and Wales together. Ohio is a part of the original North-west Territory, chiefly claimed by Virginia under charters granted by the English kings, which territory became a corporate body soon after the formation of the Virginia colony; and when that colony became a state, the territory, with undefined northern limits, became a county. Ohio was the first state created within the territory, of which it comprises much of the best part. It is watered on the north by Lake Erie, and on much of the east and all of its southern boundary by the Ohio River, from which it derives its name.
The face of Ohio, taken as a whole, presents the appearance of an extensive, monotonous plain. It is moderately undulating, but not mountainous; in many places streams have forced a way through bold cliffs of sandstone. A low ridge enters the state near the north-east corner and crosses it in a south-westerly direction. This 'divide' separates the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio River, and maintains an average elevation of a little over 1300 feet above sea-level. North of this ridge the surface of the country is generally level, gently declining toward the lake. The central part of Ohio is almost a level plain, about 1000 feet above the sea, slightly inclining southward. The southern part is somewhat hilly, the valleys growing deeper as they approach the Ohio River, whose tributaries here water many extensive and fertile
Copyright 1891 in U.S.
by J. B. Lippincott
Company. valleys. There are a few prairies or plains in the north-western parts of the state, but over its greater portion originally existed immense quantities of timber. The principal rivers draining southward to the Ohio are the Muskingum, Scioto, Great Miami, and Little Miami. Northward to the lake are the Tuscarawas, Cuyahoga, Sandusky, Huron, and Maumee, all but the last named being entirely in the state.
The rocks underlying Ohio belong to the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous systems. The general arrangement of the geological formation shows a layer of sheets resting in the form of an arch from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. The limestone (No. 4) midway in the state is unbroken, and stretches from side to side; the Oriskany, the Corniferous, the Hamilton, and Huron formations, though generally removed from the crown of the arch, still remain over a limited area near the central portion. On the side of the great anticlinal axis the rocks dip downward into a basin, which for several hundred miles, north and south, occupies the interval between the Nashville and Cincinnati ridge and the first fold of the Alleghany Mountains. As they dip toward the centre of this trough, on the eastern and southern border of the state, the older rocks are deeply buried, and the surface is here underlaid by the Alleghany coal-measures; while in the north-western part of the state the strata dip northward and pass in the same way under the Michigan coal-basin. The coalfields of Ohio cover over 12,000 sq. m., the beds estimated to average 15 feet in thickness. Immense deposits of limestone, freestone, and mill-stones abound.
Archæologically Ohio is the richest field in America. In no other state have been found so many evidences of man's antiquity exemplified in implements of stone, bone, copper, and clay; while the most extensive and elaborate systems of earthworks in America are at Newark, near Chillicothe, and on the Miami bluffs near Waynesville. See MOUND-BUILDERS.
Ohio is one of the chief manufacturing states in the Union, leading all others in the manufacture of farm machinery, carriages and wagons, woollen and cotton goods, furniture, and wine and spirits. It has also great rolling-mills and iron-factories, glass-factories, potteries, and oil-works. In agriculture the state is first in the Union in many regards. Its annual production of maize is some 90,000,000 bushels, of wheat 40,000,000, of wool over 20,000,000 lb. Cattle and hogs are reared in large numbers. Ohio is a leading pork-producing state. The oil-fields, prevailing largely in the north-west, are being rapidly developed, and already the output is second only to that of Pennsylvania. Natural gas has been found in immense quantities, but at the present rate of consumption is soon exhausted.
History.—In 1787 the Ohio Company of Associates was organised in New England by those who had served in the war of the revolution, and under their auspices a large tract of land was purchased from the government in the territory north-west of the Ohio River, payment being made in 'Continental Certificates' issued to the soldiers for their services. This was the first public sale of land by the United States government. In connection with its sale the famous 'Compact' or 'Ordinance of 1787' was passed, guaranteeing for ever in the territory civil and religious freedom, the system of common schools, trial by jury, and the right of inheritance. In 1788 Marietta and Cincinnati were founded, and till 1791 settlements in the southern part of the territory increased rapidly. In that year the Indians became troublesome, owing to the continual encroachments of the whites, and an army under the governor suffered a disastrous defeat. In November 1794 a signal victory was gained by General Anthony Wayne over the Indians at 'Fallen Timbers' on the Maumee River. The year after a treaty of peace was concluded at Fort Greenville, the Indians ceding a great portion of territory, which settlers began at once to fill, and the towns of Xenia, Dayton, Hamilton, Chillicothe, Zanesville, Franklinton, and others were established. Chillicothe was made the seat of government for the territory, and a capitol building erected. In 1802 a constitution was adopted for the 'Eastern Division of the Territory North-west of the Ohio,' to be known as 'Ohio,' and on 19th February 1803 Ohio was formally admitted into the Union. By 1810 its population was 230,760, and the increase from that period was rapid. As early as 1812 steamboat navigation up and down the Ohio River was accomplished; by 1834 there were, as now, 709 miles of canal in operation; and the Mad River Railroad, begun in 1837, was opened for traffic in 1842, and completed to the lakes by 1848; in 1890, 7797 miles of railway traversed the state, not counting double tracks, &c. Ohio has given four presidents to the Union—Grant, Hayes, Garfield, and Benjamin Harrison.
Ohio is divided into 88 counties, and returns 21 members to congress. The justices of the supreme court are elected for terms of five years by the people. There are now 18,751 elementary and high schools, 44 academies of various kinds, 19 professional and art schools, and 34 colleges and universities. The ratio of illiteracy is less than the average of other states. The largest cities are Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus (the capital), Toledo, Sandusky, Dayton, Springfield, Steubenville, Portsmouth, Akron, Youngstown, and Canton. The total taxable value of real and personal property in 1890 was $1,778,138,477. Pop. (1850) 1,980,329; (1870) 2,665,260; (1880) 3,198,062; (1890) 3,672,316.