Ohio History

May 9: Ohio’s Iconic Symbol

What’s red white and blue, sometimes it is hoisted up one or two of the flag poles on the roof of Ohio’s statehouse, and oh yes, it’s not a flag?

On this day in 1902 the Ohio General Assembly enacted a bill authorizing the adoption of a new state flag. Till this day in Ohio history, Ohio did not have a state flag. Ohio had been a state for almost 100 years, but we had never taken the step of creating a state flag. But a year before this date, several historic events came together in such a way that the General Assembly felt compelled enough to adopt a new symbol for the Buckeye State – and those events happened in another state.

That state was New York where in 1901 the Pan-American Exposition was being held in Buffalo. The Exposition was a show place for countries from both North and South America. It also included exhibits from many states including Ohio. As part of the Ohio Exposition building, flew a new pennant designed by a Cleveland architect that he felt help draw attention to the building.

In 1900 Cleveland architect, John Eisemann, was the winning bidder for designing the Ohio Building for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Realizing that Ohio did not have an official flag, Eisemann went about creating a special flag to fly over the Ohio Building. It’s not clear whether Eisemann intended his creation to become Ohio’s flag or not. What he did want was something unique to fly over his building design. He even patented the flag with the U.S. Patent Office on July 23, 1901.

In 1900 Cleveland architect, John Eisemann, was the winning bidder for designing the Ohio Building for the 1901 World’s Fair called the Pan-American Exposition. Realizing that Ohio did not have an official flag, Eisemann went about creating a special flag to fly over the Ohio Building. It’s not clear whether Eisemann intended his creation to become Ohio’s flag or not. What he did want was something unique to fly over his building design. He even patented the flag with the U.S. Patent Office on July 23, 1901.

The Pan-American Exposition ran from May 1, 1901 to November 1, 1901. During those 6 months more than 8,000,000 visitors would pass through the gates each paying 25 cents for admission. Besides the debut of what would later become Ohio’s state flag, the fair also had a more tragic Ohio connection.

On September 6, 1901, former Ohio Governor, former Ohio Representative, and current 2nd term President of the United States, William McKinley, was assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition. He would die just 8 days later.
In the following months and years after McKinley’s death, Ohio pay tribute to the fallen leader in various ways. One of those was the adoption of a special scarlet carnation worn by McKinley throughout his political career. Known as the Lamborn Carnation, the carnation became known as the “scarlet carnation” and three years later it became the official state flower as a “token of love and reverence to the memory of William McKinley”.

Original flag that flew over the Ohio Building at the Pan American Exposition.

The other was the adoption of the flag that was flying over the Ohio Building when the president was shot. Less than 8 months later, that flag would officially be adopted as Ohio’s flag which has been flying over public buildings since this day in 1902.

The Ohio state flag is the only “flag” of all the 50 state flags, that is not an actual flag. It’s really a swallow tail burgee, which means it is tapered like a pennant, but has the tip notched with a v-shaped cut out. The only other place the swallow tail burgee is commonly seen is on sailing ships, commonly seen on Lake Erie.

Ohio Statehouse with William McKinley Statue. The flag was used as a “communication tool” long before telephones, email and mobile devices, the Ohio flag is raised over the Statehouse when the corresponding legislative chamber is in session – raised on the north flag pole during Ohio Senate sessions and on the south flag pole during Ohio House of Representatives sessions. In the above photograph, the House of Representatives would be in session.

Nov. 11: The Great Lakes Huricane

By John Merrill

The year 1913 was a really bad year weather-wise. Earlier in March Ohioans experienced the worst flood in Ohio’s recorded history. That event cost the lives of over 400 people and cost more than $1,000,000, 000 in 1913 dollars. On this day in November, an immense storm struck the Great Lakes and became known as the Great Lakes Hurricane.

The Big Blow as it was known around the Great Lakes became one of the greatest winter storms in Cleveland’s history. All communication between Cleveland and eastern Ohio was gone. Food shortages became rampant. People died.

A massive low pressure system formed along the Appalachian Mountains. The counter-clockwise spin of the system pulled massive amounts of arctic gales into the eastern Great Lakes region.

The storm began as two separate systems that tracked across the southern U.S. This system combined with a low pressure area in the Arctic and was pulled out of Canada dropping temperatures quickly into the single digits and wind gusts around 90 mph. Waves cresting more than 35 feet, and snow squalls that visibility to just a few feet. The storm system straddling the mountains began a slow, but stead move northwest towards Lake Erie. As it did, the two system merged. Barometric pressure dropped to 28.50 inches.

Frozen Cleveland streetcar after the Hurricane of 1913.

Because the Lake Erie had not yet frozen, the arctic gales picked up large amounts of moisture that was then dropped as several feet of snow along Ohio’s north coast. The high winds created massive snow drifts, knocked out power everywhere. The hurricane force storms lasted for 16 hours before it began to ease.

More than 230 people lost their lives in the storm mostly from lost ships on the lake. Days later bodies would turn up along the shore often in clusters of bodies frozen in each others arms. So many bodies came a shore that looting of the corpses became a problem requiring additional police to protect the grotesque site until the bodies could be removed.

As a result of this storm system, the USDA Weather Bureau began a major effort at making more accurate forecasts. The large Great Lakes ship designs were changed to make them more stable in unstable weather conditions. And in Cleveland, as a result of this storm, all utility cables were buried underground.

July 29: First School House in the Ohio Country

By John Merrill

School sessions among the Delaware had already commenced beginning in February of 1773, but on this day of that year Moravian Missionaries completed the first school house west of the Allegheny Mountains. This school house was located in Schoenbrunn Village, one of several Moravian settlements created in the Tuscarawas Valley that also included Gnadenhutten, Lichtenau, Salem and Goshen. Eight years later a brutal massacre occurred at Gnadenhutten.

Recreated school house room at Schoenbrunn Village.

The Moravians were eastern European Christian missionaries that sought to bring Christianity to Native groups originally in Pennsylvania, but they also moved into Ohio. One of their distinctions from other missionary groups in North America, is the fact that all of the missionaries in the field had to learn the Native American’s language, teaching them in that language.

Three years after building the schoolhouse, David Zeisberger published a spelling book for his Delaware pupils. In time Zeisberger translated the dictionary, sermons, hymn books and liturgies into the Delaware language. Part of his educational program included teaching the Delaware children personal hygiene.

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May 26: Colonel Crawford Moves Toward Ohio Country

By John Merrill

We were in the final years of the long drawn out American Revolutionary War. General Washington was afraid the British and their Native American allies would soon open a third front to the west of the American colonies. To prevent this he asked his long-time friend retired Colonel William Crawford who had only retired from active military service the year before to head a group of 500 volunteers into the Ohio Country.

Crawford was familiar with the Ohio Country. He had accompanied the younger George Washington many years before down the Ohio River on a survey expedition. Many years later he helped build Fort Laurens in northeast Ohio.

Sandusky Plains Battle Site Memorial — Sandusky Plains Crawford Capture Site Memorial

Crawford’s Expedition into the Ohio Country was to suppress a suspected stronghold of Wyandots along the Sandusky River using a surprise attack that he hoped would catch them off-guard. Unfortunately, British spies hand informed the British of the large expedition marching west from Fort Pitt and Native Americans from around Detroit moved south to reinforce the Wyandots. To complicate this expedition, many of the volunteers making up Crawford’s expedition had taken part in a massacre of Christian Delaware that had returned to their Moravian village where the militia captured them thinking they were part of a raiding party that had killed a young girl of a pioneer family. Although the massacre included killing all of the Delaware, one young man escaped the carnage by slipping out of the cabin and into the woods during the night. He would later identified some of the men involved in the massacre.

As Crawford’s expedition approached the Sandusky Plains on June 4 they encounter a combined force of Shawnee, Delaware and Wyandot. At the end of the first day of the engagement, the Americans seemed to have control of the field. The next morning a British force of Rangers reinforced the Native Americans. This tipped the scales in favor of the British and their Native American allies. Crawford sensing the balance had shifted, decided to withdraw his force south. A sudden attack by the Native Americans forced Crawford’s men into an unorganized retreat.

During the confusion of the retreat, Crawford’s horse collapsed and he was captured along with a few other men. After several days of extreme torture, Colonel Crawford was burned at the stake.

Crawford County was later named for the executed soldier.

May 19, 1749: Ohio Company Chartered

By John Merrill

On this day in 1749, the King of England granted a charter to the Ohio Company (which is not to be confused with a later company called the Ohio Company of Associates). This charter included several 100 thousand acres of land west and south of where the Ohio River is formed at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers (where Pittsburgh is now located) that could be sold by the company.

Although the King granted this land to the Ohio Company it was land already claimed by the French, and inhabited by 1000s of Native Americans. While the Native Americans had no concept of land ownership, the French did and when the Ohio Company began building trading posts in the area the French didn’t take kindly to these actions. The result of these incursions into their land claims eventually led to armed conflict between France and England.

In Europe this war was known as the Seven Year War. In North America, it was known as the French and Indian War (movie buffs will remember the movie The Last of the Mohicans and the book written by James Fenimore Cooper, was about this war). This conflict pitted many Native Americans against Great Britain and the colonists. Finally in 1763 a treaty between Great Britain and France was signed. This treaty ceded all of the French land claims east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain. France still held claim to the land west of that river. The Native Americans were promised that English colonists would remain east of the Allegheny Mountains.

This war was expensive for both France and England and in response to the cost, England began imposing heavy taxes on the American colonists. This led to claims by the Americans “taxation without representation.” It would later be the cause of a number of riots in Boston, and the famous “Boston Teat Party.” Eventually, it would result in the American Revolution.

After the French and Indian War, the Ohio Company had to be dissolved since the land west of the Allegheny Mountains it was formed to sell, was now off limits. Another company with a similar goal was formed after the American Revolution. This company was called the Ohio Company of Associates which actually set off and laid claim to lands west of the mountains and created the first seat of government in the Northwest Territory at a village they named Marietta after Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France.

May 16: Marie Marries Louis

By John Merrill

May 16: On this day in 1770 Marie Antoinette officially married her husband, Louis Auguste. Four years later when Louis XV died, Louis August and his wife Marie would become the King and Queen of France. As a fan of Ohio history, you might wonder hos this event would influence Ohio. The answer requires a bit of American history.

marie-antoinnette-marriage- — Marriage of Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste on May 16, 1770.

In 1776 American colonies declared their independence from England. A few years after that declaration, France recognized the new United States of America. France began sending supplies and arms to the new country in its revolution and eventually send troops and most important, it sent its navy. Working along with the French, George Washington’s Continental Army and Militia trapped the British General, Lord Cornwallis in Yorktown Virginia which forced the British to eventually withdraw from the United States and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

Now, here is the connection. In 1788, just five years after the Treaty of Paris, a group of east coast businessmen formed the Ohio Company and sent an expedition west and down the Ohio River. At the mouth of the Muskingum River, they established a small settlement becoming the first community of the Northwest Territory.

Several different town names were discussed by the group of 48 men, but in the end they settled upon the name Marietta in honor of the French Queen, who on this day married Louis XV. Today Marietta is the oldest organized municipality in Ohio. Unfortunately, Marie Antoinette did not live many years after receiving this recognition.

Marie Antoinette and her 3 children in 1787

On October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette was executed during the French Revolution that began as a result of the financial crisis France faced after giving so much aid to the United States.

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