Posted January 2, 200619 yr VMD for short. Exploring the region east of Dayton... most of the pix will be from Highland and Fayette Counties "Virginia settlers gave this area a strong Southern flavor, down to the metes and bounds survey technique." "Although Virginia gave up most of its claim to western lands before passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, the state had kept an area of land in the Northwest Territory called the Virginia Military District. The territory was bordered by the Ohio River to the South, the Little Miami River to the west, and the Scioto River on the east and north. The state used these lands as payment to Virginia's Revolutionary War veterans. The first settlement in the Virginia Military District was Massie's Station, but the community of Chillicothe was also organized quickly. Many Virginians settled in the region, in some cases having to give up slaves in order to move to Ohio. The Northwest Ordinance did not allow slavery in the territory. George Washington was eligible for land in the district but never applied for a land patent. Virginia eventually gave back to the United States government any lands that had not been claimed by veterans. The government then gave the land to the state of Ohio. In 1872, the Ohio legislature used this land to create an endowment for The Ohio State University." Xenia...Greene County Courthouse Xenia Grit Washington Court House (or Washington CH) More Washington CH "Washington Court House is the county seat of Fayette County, Ohio. Benjamin Temple established the town in 1810. Residents named the community in honor of former President of the United States George Washington. Washington Court House has served as the county seat since the founding of Fayette County in 1810.... ..Washington Court House continued to grow during the twentieth century. With a population of 13,524 people, the village was the county’s largest community in 2000. The town still serves as a destination point for farmers and their families to purchase needed supplies and to sell their crops. VMD landscape. The farms here seem larger than the areas west & south of Dayton..maybe.not that many woodlots, and fewer small towns or villiages....and the roads and land is in not in the checkboard.grid pattern Greenfield... Greenfield scenes.... Leesburg & Samantha More landscape Hillsboro, seat of Highland County..heart of the VMD.... Hillsboro is the county seat of Highland County, Ohio. Founded in 1807, Hillsboro was constructed to be the county seat. Before this community’s establishment, New Market served as the Highland County seat of government. Hillsboro grew relatively quickly, having 868 inhabitants in 1840. By 1846, the community contained three churches, two newspaper offices, fourteen stores, and an academy for men and another school for women. The town continued to grow over the next four decades....During the twentieth century, Hillsboro continued to serve as Highland County’s urban center. Farmers continued to rely upon Hillsboro’s businesses to meet their needs. In 2000, Hillsboro had a population of 6,368 people, making it the largest town in Highland County. " oldest courthouse in Ohio in cont. operation..from the 1830s... antebellum commercial block. Bell's opera house street scenes..1830s & 1840s....some of this is on the National Register.... Low sun over the plains of Ohio... New Vienna, a railroad town the waning New Years Day under a pale sky....
January 2, 200619 yr It's amazing what dots Ohio's landscapes. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 2, 200619 yr Wonderful off-the-beaten-path tour; some of those places are loaded with historic charm. Thanks for the history lesson!
January 4, 200619 yr What website did you get your VMD information from? Does it have info on Ohio's other land surveys?
January 4, 200619 yr The Ohio Geological Survey has a bunch of cool stuff in its Publications section, including this massive map of its earlier divisions...though it's just a plain old map - Jeff had history and all that! Fun tour, Jeff, thank you!
January 4, 200619 yr wow jeff that is interesting, i had no idea ohio had ties to virginia like that. west virginia yes lol! you can almost see it in your shots. ohio has lots of varied history.
January 4, 200619 yr The site for the intro info (one of them) is Evolution of Ohio (I have the map that RiverViewer mentioned...it comes with a small book explaining the various surveys and some of the peculiarities with them)
January 20, 200619 yr I have the poster size version of that map. It was originally published around 1920. Notice that all of Ohio was laid out in some version of a rectangular, checkerboard pattern except the Virginia Military District.
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