The Crown had many debts, accrued by war and gambling, and very little hard cash to pay those debts. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 assigned all of the 'Great West' to the English.

It became a matter of dispute between the French and English until the end of the so called French and Indian War in 1763. Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, who explored the Great Lakes area and the Ohio River in late 1669 and early 1670, claimed the territory for France. The French were the first to actually explore the area that is now Ohio. The vastness of the land, difficulty of communication, and lack of creditable geographic information compounded the problems facing the Crown and the absentee landowners.

Most of the landowners were in England and had never seen the Americas. In the 1600s, the English Crown believed it owned all of North America by right of either discovery or conquest. We have it all.Īny discussion of Ohio Lands must start with a brief history, so here we go. A 1.262Mb PDF of this article as it appeared in the magazine-complete with images-is available by clicking HEREĪnyone who loves challenging surveys should come to 'Ohio, The Heart of It All.' If you are tired of surveying squares and overworked re-running Colonial surveys, come to Ohio.

Township and range survey method