Category:Early Statehood

Tremendous growth and development marked Ohio's first fifty years as a state. In 1803, Ohio was still very much the frontier. At the beginning of this era, towns were still forming; schools and churches were few; American Indians still fought to keep their dwindling land; and tensions continued to rage between Great Britain and the United States of America. Over the next five decades, Ohio emerged as an agricultural leader. Factories, turnpikes, canals, and railroads formed, helping the state to become more economically diverse and better connected to the rest of the nation. The Americans triumphed over the British in the War of 1812, and the threat of American-Indian attack subsided. Politically, Ohio refined and formalized its political institutions. Socially, many residents increasingly sought to better their state and nation, actively participating in such reform movements as temperance and abolition. Ohio's population increased dramatically, from 45,365 people in 1800 to over 2.3 million residents in 1860. By 1859, Ohio was a well-developed and advanced entity. It was no longer the frontier.

To learn more about this pivotal era in Ohio's history, please browse these entries at your leisure.