Present at the Creation

The exhibit on the creation and early history of Ohio University, from the passage of the Northwest Territory Ordinance in 1787 until the mid-19th century, examines a number of topics. The topics cover

• co-founders Manasseh Cutler and Rufus Putnam
• the role the ordinance played for the university
• the establishment of the university
• 1815 first graduate Thomas Ewing
• student culture ("Boys Will Be Boys")
• the mixture of religion and state in the first decades
• town and gown tensions in the first decades, and
• the temporary closure and re-opening of the university in the 1840s.

The gallery features items selected from this exhibit.

The Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston served as the meeting place for the group of men who established the Ohio Company of Associates in 1786.

This letter patent obtained by Israel Stone in 1794 served as his deed for land in Range 9 Township 3 of the Ohio Company lands. It is in present day Washington County near the Muskingum River northward (or upriver) from Marietta.

Ohio University's initial endowment came through lease payments from lands in two townships -- present day Athens and Alexander townships -- in Athens County. This 1822 record for John Abbott was for land in Athens Township (Range 14 Township 8 Section 1) near the southeast edge of the city, close to the top of Morrison Brown Hill (current US Route 33 going toward Pomeroy).

Following the legislation that created Ohio University on February 18, 1804, the trustees first met in June. These two pages are the first in the earliest volume of records from the trustees.

Benjamin Corp of Marietta was the contractor for the college edifice, today's Cutler Hall, that was completed in 1818. These pages tell of a lightning strike shortly before its completion that threatened to destroy the new building.

Thomas Ewing was one of Ohio University's first two graduates in 1815, the first collegiate graduates in the Northwest Territory. Ewing, who spent his formative years in nearby Amesville, was later a US Senator from Ohio and twice a member of the presidential cabinet.

This cover for a document from a short-lived student group in 1830 shows the tendency of an unknown student to doodle even then.

This sheet from about 1840 outlines the basic rules and regulations for Ohio University students of the time. To what extent are things today the same and how much do they differ? Compare these rules with the current Student Code of Conduct.

Over the first decades of the University's existence the Presbyterian clergy dominated the administration and faculty. The Methodists were the closest competition; they assumed leadership at mid-century but exercised control for a shorter period that concluded shortly after the Civil War. This letter from a Baptist writer in 1836 sought (unsuccessfully) to nominate a professor from that denomination.

William Holmes McGuffey, who developed the highly successful readers that bore his name, served as the fourth president of Ohio University (1839-1843). This document has the program for his inauguration.

The 1840s marked a time of conflict between the University and the Town of Athens regarding the use of the land at the north edge of the Campus Green. During his presidency, McGuffey planted elm trees that were later know by his name. This 1925 photo shows the majestic look of the McGuffey Elms which later died from Dutch Elm disease. The view looks westward toward Court Street near the intersection with Union Street.