The First American West

For a look at the past in Ohio, try visiting the Library of Congress web site collection called The First American West: the Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820. That time period encompasses the development of the State of Ohio and its government. The project is based on the holdings in the University of Chicago Library and the Filson Historical Society of Louisville, Kentucky.

A search of the collection turns up numerous works by adventurous individuals who traveled the new territory. One title is: A history of the State of Ohio, natural and civil, by Caleb Atwater, published in 1838. Another is: A journal of a tour into the Territory Northwest of the Allegheny Mountains ... made in the spring of the year 1803. It was published in 1805. Each page of these works can be viewed in full, as the original pages have been digitized. Both of these titles include appendices containing copies of important documents, such as the first Constitution of the State, acts of Congress, Indian treaties and maps.