Ohio Off the Beaten Path® by Jackie Sheckler Finch

Author:Jackie Sheckler Finch
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781493037605
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

Where’s the Capital?

Congress divided the Northwest Territory in 1800 and designated Chillicothe as the capital of the eastern half. The territorial legislature met here in November 1800 in Abrams’s Big House, a two-story log cabin and one of the few buildings in the four-year-old village large enough to accommodate the group. The main floor, where the legislature met, also was used for singing schools, dances, and religious services. Upstairs was a bar. Construction began on a statehouse built of stone taken from neighboring hills.

In 1802, when the population of the eastern division of the territory reached 45,000, Congress authorized the election of delegates to create a state constitution. Thirty-five delegates met in the new Chillicothe statehouse on November 4, 1802, and drafted the document in 25 days. Ohio’s admission to the Union was in 1803, and the first Ohio General Assembly convened March 1, 1803.

The new constitution called for Chillicothe to remain the capital until 1808, starting an intense competition between towns wanting to be named the permanent capital. Zanesville went as far as building a statehouse and was named the temporary capital in 1809 for its efforts. The brick Zanesville statehouse served as the capital until 1812, when the seat of government was shifted back to Chillicothe.

Meanwhile, Worthington, Lancaster, Newark, Mt. Vernon, Delaware, Dublin, and Pickaway Plains all competed for the permanent site. Dublin was believed to be the front-runner, but legend has it that Dublin lost the favored spot as a result of a card game the night before the legislature was to act on the siting of the permanent capital. The winner was a plot of land across the Scioto River from the town of Franklinton.

The new capital site was heavily wooded and did not even have a name. Though Ohio City was the favorite name with many, the legislature designated the future capital as Columbus. State offices moved from Chillicothe to Columbus on October 1, 1816, and the legislature met for the first time in Columbus that December.

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