Ohio

(o-hi'o,) a great river of the U. States, formed by the bifurcation, at Pittsburg, of the Monongahela and Alleghany, and constituting the boundary line between Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois on the N., and W. Virginia and Kentucky on the S., empties into the Mi i ippi at Cairo, after a circuitous course of 950 miles, during which it receives the Scioto, Wabash, Big Beaver, Kanawha, Cumber land, Tenne ee, and other feeders, and supplies water-communication to the cities and towns of Wheeling, Gall i polis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Jeffersonville, ., all seated on its banks. This broad and noble stream was called by the early French pioneers, La Belle Rivière. Ohio, a N.E. State of the Amer. Union, taking its name from the above-mentioned river, which divides it on the S.E. and S.from W. Virginia and Kentucky, is b. W. by Indiana. and N. by Michigan and Lake Erie; bet. N. Lat. 38° 30′-420, W. Lon. 80° 28′-84° 42'. Its length from N. to S. is 200 m.; breadth, 195 m. Area, 39,962 sq. m., or 25,576,900 acres. The surface of this State, forming a considerable portion of the W. slope of the N. Alleghanies, consists generally of a somewhat elevated plateau, the principal declivity of which is found to extend from about its centre to the Lake Erie shore. The more S. section, terminated by the Ohio River, presents a succe ion of diversified tracts, alternating with hills and valleys, and enriched with a soil of remarkable depth and fecundity. A highland belt intersects the N. part from E. to W., and forms the watershed of streams which have their embouchure in Lake Erie and the Ohio respectively. Besides the last-named river, the State is plentifully supplied with water-power by its affluents, and by the Huron, Sandusky, Maumee, and Cuyahoga-all considerable streams having their outlet in Lake Erie. On the coast-line of the latter, 200 m. in length, are the fine and acce ible harbors formed by Sandusky and Maumee bays. The geology of O. is chiefly confined to formations of the secondary epoch, embracing horizontal strata saliferous, ferriferous, lias, and sandstone rocks, graywacke, . Nearly one-third of the State, or from 10,000 to 12,000 sq. m., is underlaid with a portion of the great Alleghany coalfield, the richest measures of which are found in the cos. occupying the S.E. corner of the State. The mining of this carboniferous wealth already averages an annual return of over 60,000,000 bush. Petroleum is also an article of large and lucrative yield, not le than from 85,000 to 90,000 bbls. being produced in the year 1870 alone. Salt, again, is a mineral the working of which engages considerable capital and labor. Iron was manufactured, in 1869, from ore found in the State, to the extent of 211,074 tons of pig. Grindstones, building-stones, various clays and marls are deposited largely in various localities. The soil of O. is, taken throughout, of the most fertile and cereal-producing character. In 1870, the number of acres of land laid down in farms amounted to 21,712,420, the cash value of those under cultivation being $1,054,465, 226, exclusive of $25,692,787 worth of implements and machinery; value of farm products, $198,256,907; of orchard-and garden-stuffs, $7,132,951; of lumber, ., $2,719,140; of live-stock on farms, $120,300,528. Indian corn, wheat, and oats constitute the major crops. The total number of farms within State limits was, in the same year, 195,953, exhibiting an increase of 16,064 on the previous decennial return. The public land system was initiated under the Continental Congre ordinance of 1785. By its provisions, large reservations of Ohioan territory were apportioned off to satisfy national military claims: thus, to Virginia were allotted 4,204,800 acres, to Connecticut 3,800,000 acres; while the so-called United States Military Lands monopolized 2,500,000, and the Ohio Company's Purchase 1,500,000 acres. At the present time, only a few tracts of public lands remain for future disposition. The State of O., as politically divided, embraces 88 cos.; in which the chief centres of wealth, trade, and pop. are the cities and towns of Cincinnati, Columbus (the cap.), Cleveland, Springfield, Chilli cot he Toledo, Dayton, Zanesville, Steubenville, Akron, Mari etta, ., . The present State constitution, adopted in 1851, vests the executive power in a governor and lieut.-governor (both elected for a biennial ter nt), who are a isted by subordinate State officials; the general legislative a embly consists of a senate of 37 members, and a house of 111 representatives, chosen for two years; the judicature is composed of a supreme, common pleas, and district courts - the State being divided into 9 superior judiciary di sts. To the National Congre , O. returns 2 senators, and 20 delegates to the House of Representatives. Financial returns for the year 1870 exhibit the total public State debt (other than national) as being $22,241,988, of which $9,732,078 funded upon bonds in circulation; county deht, secured by bonds other than national, $3,893,000; all other, $3,344,943: total municipal and non-public bonded debt, $8,272,367. Total a e ed value of the State, $1,167,731,697, of which $707,846,836 represented real estate, and the balance personal estate-as against a true value of both real and personal estate standing at $2,235,430,300. These figures show a decennial increase (1860-70) of: total a e ed value, $207,884,596; true value of real and personal estate, $1,041,542,878. Total amount of taxation, $23,526,548; of which State a e ments absorbed $4,727,318; county $6,501,941; municipal $12,297,289; increase over 1860, $13,915,527. Total value of home manu fs. $1,371,409. Among the public works constructed for the facilitation of commercial communication are the Ohio, Miami and Erie, and Mahoning and Beaver canals; besides a magnificently developed railroad system, embracing 32 lines, with an aggregate length of 5,992 m. Educational matters in O. are on a scale of extension and efficiency commensurate with her important position as a State: she po e es the universities of Ohio. Miami, and Urbana, together with that of the Wesley ans at Delaware: besides quite a number of colleges and superior seminaries adapted to all the branches of high-cla education. There are also 11,401 primary and common schools, embodying an amount of property valued at $13,727,052. The religious, charitable, and general social wants of the community are provided for in the amp lest and most perfect manner; and, taken as a whole, the State of O. ranks among the foremost in the Republic in respect of intelligence, progre , and moral and material development. The earliest white exploration of the Ohioan region was made by a French man, La Salle, in 1680. The English followed in his footsteps and established trading settlements, although the French held nominal po e ion of the country till the ce ion of Canada to the English in 1763. In 1788, the first permanent settlement made under the National govt., was founded at Marietta, and the North-West Territory (as it had been called) was ultimately admitted into the sisterhood of States, April 30, 1802. Pop. 2,665,260. [s. 661]