Refugee Tract

The Refugee Tract was one of the early land divisions in Ohio during the late eighteenth century.

After enacting the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, the Confederation Congress began organizing the territory north and west of the Ohio River for settlement. In 1798, the American government agreed to provide land as compensation to Canadians who had lost property because of their loyalty to American revolutionaries during the American Revolution. In order to obtain land in the Refugee Tract, applicants had to have left Canada for the duration of the war and supported the American war effort. In 1801, the United States government set aside approximately sixty thousand acres as the Refugee Tract. This land was divided among sixty-seven Canadian refugees. The Refugee Tract was located in central Ohio, including parts of modern-day Franklin, Licking, Fairfield, and Perry Counties.

See Also

• Northwest Ordinance
• Northwest Territory
• American Revolution
• Ohio
• Land Grants and Sales

References

1. Carter, Clarence Edwin, ed. The Territorial Papers of the United States. Vol. I-III. New York, NY: AMS Press, 1973.
2. Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio in Two Volumes. Vol. II. Cincinnati, OH: C.J. Krehbiel & Co., Printers and Binders, 1902.
3. Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996.
4. Onuf, Peter S. Statehood and Union: A History of the Northwest Ordinance. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987.