Ohio becomes the 17th state

Year

1803

Place

Chillicothe (first capital), Ross County ZIP 45601 · Chillicothe · Ross County

The land that became Ohio was part of the Northwest Territory, set up in 1787 under the Northwest Ordinance, which made it free territory. The Treaty of Greenville in 1795 secured land from Native Americans after years of war, opening the way to settlement.

The Enabling Act of 1802 set out how Ohio could enter the Union. Residents held a constitutional convention and wrote a constitution that rejected slavery. Ohio became the 17th state, with admission dated March 1, 1803.

There is a legal oddity. Congress had never formally voted to admit Ohio, and this was not noticed until 1953, when Congressman George H. Bender introduced a bill to admit the state retroactively, effective March 1, 1803.

Chillicothe was the first capital, from 1803 to 1810, followed by Zanesville from 1810 to 1812, then Chillicothe again, until the capital moved to Columbus in 1816 for its central location.

• 1787: The Northwest Ordinance makes the Northwest Territory free. source
• 1795: The Treaty of Greenville secures land from Native Americans. (Greenville, OH) source
• 1802: The Enabling Act sets out the path to statehood; a constitution rejecting slavery is written. (Ohio) source
• 1803-03-01: Ohio becomes the 17th state. (Chillicothe, OH) source
• 1816: The capital moves to Columbus. (Columbus, OH) source
• 1953: Congress retroactively admits Ohio effective March 1, 1803. (Washington, D.C.) source

• The state's constitution outlawed slavery.
• Statehood was formally recorded only in 1953.

Birth of the first Northwest Ordinance state.

• Wikipedia: History of Ohio

• Wikipedia: Ohio
• Wikipedia: History of Ohio