Manchester in Adams County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Manchester, Ohio

First Settlement, Virginia Military District

Virginia Military District Marker image. Click for full size.

By J. J. Prats, June 13, 2019

1. Virginia Military District Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

In 1784, the state of Virginia ceded all of its Northwest Territory to the federal government except for this tract to satisfy the land bounties owed to its Revolutionary War soldiers. The Virginia Military District extended from the Scioto River in the east to the Little Miami River in the west, and from the Ohio River on the south to the town of Kenton in the north. The District contained over 4 million acres of 1and. Nathaniel Massie founded Manchester, which is the fourth oldest settlement in Ohio, as a base for his surveying operations. Manchester, sometimes called Massie’s Station was founded in 1791, populated largely by settlers coming from Kentucky and Virginia.

Erected 2001 by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, the Longaberger Company, Village of Manchester, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 11-1.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 38° 41.145′ N, 83° 36.59′ W. Marker is in Manchester, Ohio, in Adams County. Marker is at the intersection of West Front Street and Pearl Street, on the right when traveling west on West Front Street. It is next to the picnic pavilion and observation tower. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Manchester OH 45144, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

By J. J. Prats, June 13, 2019

2. Virginia Military District Marker

The Ohio River is in the background with Kentucky hills in the distance.

are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. A different marker also named Manchester (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Israel Donalson / Manchester Founders Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away); Massie’s Station (approx. 0.8 miles away); Buckeye Station (approx. 4.2 miles away); Bentonville Anti-Horse Thief Society (approx. 4½ miles away); Lafferty Funeral Collection (approx. 8.1 miles away); Pioneer County Seat / Camp Hamer (approx. 8.1 miles away); First Presbyterian Church (approx. 8.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manchester.

Also see . . . Virginia Military District. “Virginia had historic claims to much of the Northwest Territory, which included Ohio, dating from its colonial charter. Virginia and the other states ceded their claims over western lands to overcome other states' objections to ratifying the Articles of Confederation. In return for ceding its claims in 1784, Virginia was granted this area to provide military bounty land grants. The Ohio district was a surplus reserve, in that military land grants were first made in an area southeast of the Ohio River, in what is now Kentucky. The Ohio land was to be used only after the land southeast of the river was exhausted.” (Submitted on July 11, 2019.)

Virginia Military Tract of the historic Ohio Lands image. Click for full size.

By William E. Peters Ohio Lands and Their Subdivisions, p 107, 1918

3. Virginia Military Tract of the historic Ohio Lands

Superimposed on this map are Ohio’s present-day counties.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 11, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 11, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 130 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 11, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.