The first exploration by Europeans, in what is now Ohio, was made by the French. Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored the lake area in late 1669 or early 1670, thus claiming all of Ohio for France. The territory was in dispute between the French and English until the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, when the French assigned the "Great West" to the English. This was the result  of the French losing the French and Indian War, 1755-1763.

During the Revolutionary War, George Rogers Clark, operating under the authority of Patrick Henry, Virginia governor, sought to capture the British Forts in the Illinois country. On February 24, 1779, Clark and his men defeated Lt. Col. Henry Hamilton, the Lt. Gov. of Canada, and his troops at Vincennes. Thus, the Americans took control of what was to become the Northwest Territory. Great Britain formally relinquished its right and interest in the Northwest Territory by the Treaty of Paris,  September 3, 1783.
 

As early as 1778, a Congressional Committee proposed that states cede its Western lands to the New Central Government. The states of Virginia, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts all claimed portions of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, based upon charters granted by the kings of England. After much controversy and compromise, these states relinquished their claims. The dates of these cessions were: New York - 1781;
Virginia -1784; Massachusetts -1785; and Connecticut -1786 and 1800.

Some of the provisions contained in the cessions, and accepted by the Continental Congress, were the basis of the Northwest Ordinance. Virginia and Connecticut both reserved lands in Ohio as part of the cession compromise.

Virginia Military District. Virginia Military District (VMD) lands are found in 23 Ohio counties from the Ohio River northward, between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers, as far as 141 miles inland. The irregularly shaped land district was reserved by the state of Virginia to satisfy its military bounty warrants. It is one of the original nine major subdivisions of Ohio lands, and the only one not using a rectangular survey system. The VMD covers 6,570 square miles and contains approximately 4,204,800 acres of land.

More than 16,125 metes and bounds (indiscriminate) original surveys are found in the VMD, thus creating a patchwork of surveys which, from the air, resemble a giant jigsaw puzzle. Because of the number of surveys and the difficulty of finding the physical objects they relied upon, this is probably the most litigated land area in Ohio.

The land bounties given by Virginia to her Revolutionary soldiers were very generous. Due to various Virginia laws, the bounties ranged from 100 acres to 15,000 acres depending upon rank. Length of service over six years also increased the bounty. The heirs of a soldier or officer killed in the war were entitled to the bounty. Virginia issued bounty land warrants for 6,146,950 acres for Revolutionary War service. These were used to claim land in Kentucky and Ohio. Virginia also issued land warrants for French and Indian War services. Virginia Military Warrants could be assigned and transferred and often were. Nearly 25% of the VMD (1,035,408 acres) was patented to 25 individuals.

Claiming Ohio land by a Virginia Military Warrant involved sending the warrant to the principal surveyor of the Virginia District of Ohio. He would give the warrant to a deputy surveyor who would give a general description of the claim (entry) and then run a survey. Virginia permitted a 5% error factor for VMD surveys, but this was often exceeded. Following the acceptance of the survey, the warrant was sent to the federal government and a U.S. Patent issued. For their services, the Deputy Surveyors often received 20% to 50% of the acres called for in the warrant or cash. In Ohio, the entry number and survey number are the same. The first VMD survey was run by John O’Bannon, November 13, 1787, in what is now Clermont County. The first U.S. patent issued for VMD land was on February 20, 1796.

General George Washington never exercised his rights to the 23,333-acre Virginia Military bounty to which he was entitled. Instead, he purchased two warrants totalling 3,100 acres and completed three surveys in 1787. Two surveys were in Clermont County and one in Hamilton County, totalling 3,051 acres. The Virginia patents issued for these surveys were nullified by an Act of Congress, July 17, 1788, and Washington never filed for a U.S. patent under the Congressional Acts of August 10, 1790, and June 9, 1794. He died believing he owned these surveys. In 1806, these surveys were reentered  and allegedly resurveyed, with the proper certificate and warrants being sent to the Secretary of  War. U.S. Patents were issued to the “claim jumpers” and Washington’s heirs lost a valuable part of the estate for which they never received compensation.

By Acts of Congress dated May 30, 1830, and August 31, 1852, Virginia Military Warrants could be exchanged for land scrip. Land scrip could be used to acquire any U.S. public lands open for entry at private sale. The federal government issued land scrip for 1,041,976 acres in exchange for Virginia Military Warrants.

Virginia relinquished and ceded to the federal government its claim to any unlocated land in the VMD on December 9, 1852. In 1871, Congress ceded this land to the state. Ohio set this land aside in 1872 as an endowment for The Ohio State University. At the time, 76,735 acres were believed available for sale by the university. The Ohio State University sold or quit-claimed these lands to individuals until the 1940’s. Copies of the deeds are in the OSU Archives, Columbus, Ohio, 43210.

The State of Ohio Archives has original VMD Entry and Survey records, a card index of entrymen, W.P.A. Plats of 16 of the 23 counties involved, and a list of the entries which were withdrawn. Inquires can be researched by surname, warrant number or survey Number (See Appendix). Additional VMD records can be found at the University of Illinois library at Urbana, Ill. 61801, and the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland. Soldiers applications are filed at the Virginia State Library, Richmond.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY

The Ordinance of July 13, 1787 provided "...there shall be formed in said territory, not less than three nor more than five states..." The original boundaries were defined as: Eastern State (numbers 1,2,3,4); Middle State (numbers 5,6,7,8,9) and Western State (numbers 10,11,12,13,14,15). These divisions are marked by broken lines on the map.

Congress later decided to divide the Northwest Territory into the states of Ohio(1803), Indiana (1816), Illinois (1818), Michigan (1837), Wisconsin (1848) and Minnesota (1858); as shown by the heavy solid lines on the map.