Chillicothe

Chillicothe. Capital of the Northwest Territory and First Capital of Ohio. , The state of Ohio was made possible by the treaty of Paris, 1783, which made the great lakes the northern boundary of the new United States. In 1787 congress established the Northwest Territory, dedicated to freedom and public education, with General Arthur St. Clair its first governor. In 1800 congress made Chillicothe the seat of government of the Northwest Territory., Here met the territorial legislature in 1800 and 1801 upon this site was built in 1800 the first state house of Ohio. Here met in November 1802 the convention that framed and adopted the first constitution of Ohio. Here began the state government of Ohio on March 1, 1803. Edward Tiffin of Chillicothe was Ohio's first governor, other Ohio governors from Chillicothe were Thomas Worthington, Duncan McArthur, and William Allen., Chillicothe was platted by Nathaniel Massie in 1796. Presbyterians from Kentucky with their freed slaves, led by Rev. Robert Finley were its first settlers. Its first church was organized by them in 1797. The first Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met in Chillicothe in 1812. St. Paul's P. E. Church was dedicated in 1821. An A.M.E. Church was established here in 1821; and an African Baptist Church in 1824. The circuit riders travelled here through the wilderness. Chillicothe was the birth place of Lucy Webb Hayes and of many of Ohio's distinguished sons and daughters., Near Chillicothe are 450 prehistoric sites, relics of the mound builders. To the east rises Mt. Logan, inspiration for the state seal of Ohio. Nearby is Camp Bull, a stockade of the War of 18 12, a drill ground of the Civil and Spanish-American Wars, and now a part of Camp Sherman British prisoners were confined here in the War of 18 12.