The Symmes Purchase, also known as the Miami Purchase, was an area of land totaling roughly
History
In the 1780s,
Benjamin Stites, a friend of Symmes, was visiting Limestone (now Maysville, Kentucky) and lost some of his horses to theft by Native Americans. Pursuing them through the wilderness of southwestern Ohio, he travelled as far north as Xenia, observing the fertility of the country in the process. He was so impressed with the region that he informed Symmes of its prospects upon his return. Symmes gathered a syndicate, known as the
Miami Company, to buy the land.
[ ] The original contract was for , but the company couldn't afford to pay for the land, and paid for and received only in the southwest portion of the original tract. The land was ยข per acre.
Location
The tract is bordered on the south by the
map Symmes Purchase, c. 1789. George C. Crout
Survey
Deeds in this area will refer to the "Between the Miami Rivers Survey", "M.Rs." or "M.R.S." (M.R.S. is also used to describe the "Miami River Survey" a survey west of the Great Miami River).
Unfortunately, Symmes' men committed many errors while performing the survey, including using magnetic north rather than correcting for true north. Further, Symmes sold much land that he did not own, some as far north as Dayton, meaning that some early settlers found themselves on the public domain. Symmes also sold some land that he did own more than once.[http://www.surveyhistory.org/symmes_purchase.htm THE SYMMES PURCHASE by C. Albert White]
Settlement
Three settlements grew up in the area in 1788, all near the Ohio River: Losantiville, North Bend, and Columbia. Losantiville was renamed
Cincinnati in 1789 by Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory. They were among the earliest settlements in Ohio and the Northwest Territory. In 1789, Fort Washington was built in the reserved portion of the Purchase to protect the fledgling settlements.
See also
-
Ohio Company Purchase
-
Ohio lands
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Land Ordinance of 1785
