Ohio
Ohio grew into a highly industrialized state in large part due to its geography.
(Location, location, location...) With ports along Lake Erie, major rivers, and
rolling plains, Ohio was perfectly situated to grow as America grew, and to provide
what America (and the world) needed. Ohio's industrial might has encompassed steel,
automobiles, rubber products, chemicals, machine tools, and building materials.
The state is also the eastern end of the corn and meat belts, with agriculture
contributing to Ohio's economic strength.
The Buckeye State: (Official) A buck's
eye; this is what the fruit, or nut, of the buckeye tree is said to resemble.
The buckeye's association with Ohio dates back to 1788, but may have been fixed
forever in Ohio history during the election of William Henry Harrison as President
of the United States in 1840.
Certainly, the abundant presence
of buckeye trees in Ohio gave root to the term but it's thought that the first
use of "Buckeye" to refer to an Ohioan was back in 1788 in Marietta
at Campus Martius. Campus Martius was a fort that served as home for early settlers.
Located at the fort was the first court conducted by those early settlers. The
story goes, that on September 2, 1788, a certain Colonel Sproat lead a procession
of judges to the court. His posture was erect and he stood six feet, four inches
tall. As he lead the procession, glittering sword in hand, onlooking Indians shouted
out "Hetuck, hetuck, hetuck" meaning "Big Buckeye."
William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, but he settled along the Ohio River
west of Cincinnati. He entered the race for President as a candidate of the Whig
party. An opposition newspaper said Mr. Harrison "...was better fitted to
sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider than rule in the White House." Harrison
capitalized on this image by issuing an engraving of himself seated in a rustic
buckeye wood cabin with a barrel of cider and rows of buckeyes hanging from pegs.
Buckeye cabins and buckeye canes carried by Harrison supporters ensured that the
buckeye would be forever associated with the state of Ohio.
The Ohio State Flag, adopted in 1902,
displays a white circle with a red center, representing the "O" in Ohio
and the Ohio "Buckeye." In 1953, the Ohio Buckeye, (Aesculus globra),
was made the official State Tree of Ohio and "The Buckeye State" was
made the official State Nickname. |
