Donation Tract facts for kids
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The Donation Tract was a special area of land in southern Ohio. It was created in the late 1700s by the U.S. Congress. Its main purpose was to act as a buffer, or protective zone, for lands owned by the Ohio Company against Native American attacks. Congress gave away 100-acre (about 0.4 square kilometer) plots of this land for free to men who agreed to settle there. This was the first time the federal government gave land away without charge to specific settlers. It happened seventy years before the more famous Homestead Act of 1862.
Why the Donation Tract Was Needed
The Ohio Company was a group of people who wanted to buy and settle land near the Ohio River. They formed on March 3, 1786. Important leaders like General Rufus Putnam and Manasseh Cutler were part of this group. They met in Boston, Massachusetts, to plan their settlements.
They convinced Congress to sell them a large area of land where the Muskingum River meets the Ohio River. Settlement began in April 1788 at the newly formed town of Marietta, Ohio.
However, this land was also home to Native American tribes. They didn't want settlers moving onto their traditional lands, which led to fighting. This conflict is sometimes called the War of 1790. Many soldiers from Fort Harmar, near Marietta, were moved to Fort Washington to protect Cincinnati. This meant the settlers in Marietta often had to defend themselves. For example, Wyandot warriors attacked settlers in the Big Bottom massacre on January 2, 1791, in what is now Morgan County. This event showed how dangerous it was for the settlers.
Congress Helps Out
Because of the dangers, the Ohio Company asked Congress for help in March 1792. They suggested that Congress donate some land along the northern edge of their settlements. This land would create a protective buffer against further attacks.
Congress agreed with the Act of April 21, 1792. They donated 100,000 acres (about 400 square kilometers) to the Ohio Company. This land was to be given in 100-acre (about 0.4 square kilometer) lots, free of charge, to any male settler at least 18 years old who agreed to live there.
The Donation Tract is located in parts of modern-day Washington County and Morgan County. These areas include places like Adams, Fearing, Salem, Muskingum, Palmer, Waterford, and Watertown Township in Washington County, and Windsor Township in Morgan County.
The land was divided into "allotments," and each allotment was then split into 100-acre lots. These lots were not laid out in the usual way that American land was surveyed, which often used square-mile sections.
The agreement stated that any land not given to settlers by the Ohio Company within five years would be returned to the federal government. However, nothing happened with the unsold lots until an act in 1818. At that time, Congress required these unsold lots to be returned so they could be sold by the Marietta Land Office. After the Donation Tract was settled, the Ohio Company's lands did not experience another large attack like the Big Bottom Massacre.
