The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-01-28
CrNgrNNATPs EARLY DAY.

I
FOunder-EEIs Expedition to the West
The Early St1rVeys--ATarieffa,s CeHfen.
nAah Anniversary April z, 1SSSs CineIn,
MATHS, December IS, 1ssS.
OF recent date there has been much
controversy going on regarding the early
settlement of Cincinnati, a writer. .
Mrs. B-HcIpKins, well known to Cincin.
nSS.tians, contending in unmistakable
terms that her ancestor, Captain CoValt,
was the original settler. The article
following on this subject contains infor.
nation not heretofore published, and
will doubtless, for its history, be read
with some interest. It is from the pen
of one of Clncinnati's oldest settlers.
After giving the earlier history of Israel
I, LUDLOW, and stating what lead to his ex.
pedition to the West, the writer, in the
Cincinnati Gazette, says:
When twenty-three yeats of age he
received a letter from Gen. Hutchins,
the Surveyor General and Geographer
OF the United States, inclosing an or
| dlnance of Congress for the sale of 8
| large tract of land in the Ohio Terri
tory, which the New Jersey Society
have contracted TO purchase. AS it
will be necessary to survey the bound
ary with all possible speed, / propose
to appoint you for that purpose, being
assured of your ability, diligence, and
| integrity. I hope you will accept it. +"
He did accept the appointment, and
received an order ON the frontier posts
for a sufficient escort to enable him to
prosecute the survey. Accompanied
by party of twenty energetic young
men, he proceeded to the Northwest.
err Territory. - 81
From ~Pittsburg he descended the
Ohio River, stopping at Limestone to
confer with his friend, Matthias Den
man, OF New Jersey, who had purchased
some sections of those lands in Ohio,
anft was waiting there on his return from
! looking at them. While Col. Ludlow
remained at Limestone, he became asso-
| Grated with DIR Denman and Col Rob-
| ert Patterson, of Lexington, KY, in one
third interest in their proposed town on
the Ohio River, opposite the mouth OF
Licking River. The plat of the town
was then made complete, and they
named it Cincinnati.
Col. Ludlow, with his party, reached
the.designated locality on the Ohio side,
opposite the mouth of the Licking
River, on December %, 1888. He sur
veyed the town plat, and the men begun
the work of clearing away from the
streets and public square the forest
trees and the dense underground on that
rich alluvial soil.
While this work was in progress, a
small detachment of soldiers was or
dered from Fort Harmer to protect the
new colony from Indians, and Fort
Washington was located by the erection
of two or three log block houses. Sew
eFal families soon arrived and increased
the nHmter of residents. This begin
ing u this part of Ohio was the open
ID wedge to the food of emigration
from the Eastern States.
The first settlement in Ohio Territory
was at Marietta, April z, 1888. 1t was
led by Gen. Rufus Putnam, of COnneo-
ticut. The founders of the three set
Elements between the Miamis were,
first, by Major Styles and Gen. John T.
GanO and others at Columbia, on the
Little Miami, in 1888; the second by
Col. Israel Ludlow, at Cincinnati, on
the Ohio River, opposite to the mouth
of Licking River, in December %,
1888; the third by Judge John Cleves
Symmes, at North Bend. in 1889.
The first log cabin ever constructed
in Cincinnati was for Col. Ludlow's use !;
the first frame house there, in 1871, was
built for his residence. The first i'm
prOvement out of the city was Col.
LudlOw's farm five miles north of the
river, where a fort was made, and
United States soldiers stationed there
Co b -
Station and Whites Station were also
important posts for refuge when the
people felt alarmed by the approach of
Indians. Col. Ludlow built a large,
cOmmodieus dwelling on this extensive
farm. Mrs. Ludlow was an accom-
plished, admirable wOmans and it be-
came the home cf their domestic hap
piness and charming hospitality.
This vast country, from the Ohio
River to the Pacific Ocean, was at these
earliest dates an unknown wilderness to
the white man. The Ohio Territory
was the hunting ground of the Wyan-
dots of the North and the numerous
tribes of the Miami. The Pottawat-
omies and DelaWares ranged from the
Miami Valley to the plains of Sandusky,
While the DeIewares inhabited the ex-
tensive Scioto Valley. All these tribes
were in excited hostility against the
whites. aaVTsslfrE = tE g.
With great exposure of life and count
less fatigues, Col. Ludlow succeeded in
the Miami survey to the satisfaction of
the Government. He was again COM
missioned by the United States to sur
vey and determine the boundary be-
tween the United States and the In
dians, agreeably to the treaty of Green
vile, made by Gen. Wayne in 1875.
These duties were attended with i'm
minent peril from savage treachery and
scarcity of provision for men and
horses.
His solicitude in the success of the
town continued increasingly, and his ef-
forts unabated in assisting the fast COM
ing population in their selection of
town lots and farms, and giving them
remunerative labor, by clearing the
forests preparatory to cultivation. To
sim they locked in confidence for ad-
vice, material aid, and sympathy, after
their wearisome journey and exhausted
finances. His short life was illustrated
by series of practical benevolences.
Col. Ludlow was not permitted to
witness the wonderful result of the EN-.
terprise which MS antiring industry wes
forwarding. He died when quite a
young man.
A Good Place to Live