College Lands facts for kids
The College Lands were special areas of land in the Northwest Territory, which is now the state of Ohio. The United States government, through the Congress, gave these lands to help start a university. Ohio University was the first college built northwest of the Ohio River, and it was able to start because of these lands.
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How the College Lands Started
In 1787, a man named Manasseh Cutler asked Congress to buy a large piece of land for a group called the Ohio Company of Associates. He insisted that two areas of land should be set aside to support a university.
Congress agreed to this idea on October 23, 1787. They decided that "not more than two complete townships" (a township is about 36 square miles) would be given forever for a university. These lands were to be located near the center of the land the Ohio Company bought. The state government would then use these lands for the university.
Where the Lands Were Located
On December 16, 1795, the leaders of the Ohio Company chose the specific areas for the university. These were called townships 8 and 9 of the 14th range. Today, these areas are known as Alexander Township and Athens Township in Athens County, Ohio.
The First University Idea
Manasseh Cutler helped create a law for a university. His son, Ephraim Cutler, introduced this law. On January 9, 1802, the government of the Northwest Territory passed a law to create a university in the town of Athens.
This law established the American Western University. It gave the two townships of land to the group in charge of the university. This group, called the trustees, could lease out the land for up to 21 years. However, the American Western University never actually opened. Some people believe it failed because no one wanted to lease wild land for such a short time. Others say bad roads and trustees living far apart made it too difficult.
Ohio University Is Created
The law that created American Western University was never officially cancelled. In 1803, the state of Ohio had the College Townships valued. Then, on February 18, 1804, the Ohio government passed a new law. This law created a university in Athens and named it "Ohio University."
This new law allowed the trustees to lease the land for 90 years, and the leases could be renewed forever. The yearly rent was set at six percent of the land's value. The land's value could be checked again after 35 and 60 years, which meant the rent could change.
Still, no one wanted to lease the land. This was because land in nearby areas could be bought outright for a very low price, sometimes less than one dollar per acre. People didn't want to risk the rent going up after the land was re-evaluated.
In February 1805, the state changed the rules again. Leases would now run for 99 years, renewable forever, with a fixed rent of six percent of the original value. In 1826, the university was allowed to sell some of the lands within the townships. However, for the lands that were already leased, the rent set in 1805 is still used today.
