The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1947-01-23

ties. It placed it's own dividing line
as going as far north as the cape OF
Maumee Bay and running west to the
southern tip Of Lake Michigan. Under
that constitution Ohio was admitted
into the Union.
While Michigan claimed the strip
under the Ordinance Of 1877 and O.
hio claimed it under its own consti-
tuition, some persons living IN it
wanted to live in Michigan, and
Others, in Ohio. So a double set Of of
ficials were elected and the war was
Ion.
In congress, 1896, John Quincy Adj
ans made an elaborate decision a.
gainst the claims of Ohio. Despite
that ruling, the Ohio legislature pass
ed resolution extending Ohio laws
into the disputed territory. Then a
sheriff's posse from Monroe, Mich,
moved into the strip and carried off
some of the Ohio officials as prison
ers OF war.
That brought on the raising of
troops In Ohio and the mastering in
of soldiers in Michigan-all for bor-
der warfare. Both armies moved to
the scene of conflict
While Governor Lucas and his Ohio
soldiers were encamped at Old Ft.
Miami, eight miles above Toledo and
four miles from no-man's land, Gov
ernor Mason, with his troops, moved
into Toledo, overran the watermelon
patches, looted the chicken coops and
tore down an ice house. More Ohioans
were carried off prisoners of war, the
door of one home being broken in and
the occupant taken to Monroe.
Toledo in 1887 was not much of a
town, It's trampled melon patches and
stolen chickens meant much loss. The
demolished ice house was the city's
only one. After the war had been over
10 years Toledo had only 1922 popu-
lation, five churches, 81 stores, two
banks and hope that the steamboat
line from Buffalo would do enough
business to stay in operation,
While all the raiding was going on
Lucas and his army remained in
Camp Miami, eight miles away from
Michigan's objective. If the hostilities
could have been decided on points, as
in prize fight, Michigan won the
war. But it was Ohio that got the dis
puted territory.
Richard Rush, Pennsylvania, and
Colonel Howard, Maryland, were sent
from the White House to arbitrate
the fuss. Old newspapers relate that
they were successful chiefly because
Michigan was satisfied with the Iaur-
els she had won and Ohio was will
ing to stand on her dignity.
At the next session of Wood
County court, bills of indictment a.
gainst Governor Mason and all his
army We're presented, but were
thrown by a grand jury. And thereby
Ohio also lost its legal battle against
Michigan, just as it had the passage
at arms.
In its next session congress again
took up the dispute and after able
arguments for the state were made
by Samuel f. Vinton and Thomas
Ewing, Ohio won.
| Michigan, instead of the narrow
strip of land at its southern border
was given the large peninsula be-
tween Lakes Huron, Michigan and
Superior. Later it was found to con
tain rich deposits of copper and other
minerals.
| The most value Ohio ever received
| from the territory the states had
fought over was the harbor at Tole-
do, formed by the mouth of the Mau.
NEE River. For a time it was essen.
tial to the state in reaping the rich
harvest of canal boat freight traffic
between Cincinnati and the Great
Lakes. ."s','t
This, until the coming of the rail.
roads, made Toledo the most import.
ant point where north and south lake
traffic and canal transportation met
| Now, with trunk line railroads en-
tering the city from every direction
and great lake freighters moving out
of the Toledo harbor laden with every
kind of commodity, Ohio eyes Michi.
gan's rich peninsula and wonders if
after all, if the spoils did not go tc
the vanquished-that is, if, which the
state never has admitted, it lost the
war.