Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-12-23
OhlO'S FIRST Capital.

here that the first State northwest OF
the Ohio was usLored into organic
being; and up0n the heights of Gene
terry Hill repose the mortal remains Of
four famous men who have been it,
Chief Executives. Two historic houses
ricu in associations which recall the
bravest OF ri. naeys, men who were
among the founders of the State, stand
stately aud scn:inel-like upon g high
plateau overlooking the old town. The
academy, which was the alma mater Of
u generation of men who have grown
gray s.rce they passed over its thresb
Old, is sill place OF learning for the
youth OF the town. Famous OHIO
statesmcn. men who have made their
mark il high places. have been school
boys here. Not far away, in quiel
street, is plain old house which is
pointed out as the birth place Of the
wife CT al Ohio President, and seat-
tered through tho town are several
humble places which have been the
homes Of men whose names were widely
known in literature, politics, and Law.
CuillicotLe is charmipgly enyironed.
The broad valley through which the
Scioto flows southwark to the Ohio is
bordered by high blaf banks upon the
west, and by a chain of mountain like
bills upon the esst, the highest OF
which lifts its timbered crest six hun
dred fec. above the river which washes
its base. The lover of the beautiful
can here find elements of the rugged,
wild, and picturesque in PERCEPTIONS
heights and rocky formations; or if he
more admire the gentler aspects of
nature, his eye may be guided along
the la-syeeping slopes of green
pasture-land, or from the crest of the
valley wall he may let his vision
wander from oEe fair feature of the
landscape to another, through an ihiii-
lite variety Of form and wealth of
color, to the dim blue hills miles away,
or the valley fading to the horiz IN.
This valley was tho center of densest
population of the prehistoric race. ard
perhaps the seat of empire. for no
where else do memorial mounds exist
i'll such numbers as upon its bottoms
aud uplands; nowhere else do SO many
defensive works appear, or such mum
Der and variety of sacred Enclosures.
The Indians, too, regarded this as a
favored land, and il was undoubtedly
for centuries tho abode of either the
Delaware or Shawnese nation. The
river was the wsr-way down which the
braves Of these tribes iioated silently
and stealthily to strike their implacable
enemy the Greeks, and in later years
the isolated stations of the whites in
Kentucky. Logan, the Mingo, whose
pathetic eloquence and sad story
have stirred the hearts of 80 many
modern sympathizsrs with his woe,
delivered the impassioned speech upon
which his fame rests, before Lord Dun
more's Interpreter, only few miles
north of the site of Chillicothe, and
his name has been horored, not by the
rearing Of any memorial, but by its
application to the grandest Of natures
monuments upon the Scioto-Mount
Logan. The country is rich in legend
of the dusky race. and history has pre-
served the annals of many battle and
skirmisb in which the Indian sought to
preserve "a favorite hunting ground
from the encroachments of his pale.
faced brother.
Virginia, it is notable fact, was the
second one OF the original colonies to
cede to the United States its claim upon
the territory northwest Of the Ohio,
doing so in 1854. preceded only by New
York, while Connecticut was the latest
communicating a similar measure ir
1856. "the last tardy and reluctant
sacrifice Of State pretensions to the
common good" VIrginis's act of ces
sion contained u clause, reserving upon
certain conditions tract of land lyine
north Of the Ohio, and between the
Scioto and Little Miami rivers, for the
payment Of the bounty awards due hel
Revolutionary soldiers of the Cont
mental line. This reservation, known
as the Virginia Military District, war
almost entirely settled by families from
the Old Dominion, and thus Virgins
was formed in the Northwestern Terri
tory. Chillicothe soon after it was
founded became the place of location
for the land office of this district, and
situated near the center, north ani
south. Of the enormous territorial
county Of Ross, which included nearl,
the whole of the reservation, it becam,
its seat. 1t thus occupied a position
which entitled it to the name (if it dit
not receive i'll Of the capital Of New
, Virginia. As Marietta (more properl.
than ConneauD may be called the Ply
mouth of the west, so can Chillicoth
be termed the jamestown Of this New
Virginia; and as the daughter of tn
! Mother of Presidents, Chillicothe nobl
maintained the family prominence AM
honor by becoming the Mother O
! Governors.
! OF the five men elected Governor
of Ohio whose homes were in Chilli
! cothe one, Nathaniel Massie, neve
, eerved. Three others, Edward Tihir
Thomas Worthington. and Dunca
: Macarthur, we're pioneer statesmen. and
) Rave long since passed away. Tn.
fifth, William Allen. only recentl
died. and his long life linked the Pas
with the present, politically and SC