Ohio Company Land Office Explained

Ohio Company Land Office
Nrhp Type:cp
Nocat:yes
Partof:Marietta Historic District
Partof Refnum:70000523
Designated Other1 Name:Campus Martius State Memorial
Location:Washington and 2nd Sts., Campus Martius Museum, Marietta, Ohio
Coordinates:39.4213°N -81.4615°W
Built:1788
Architect:Ohio Company of Associates
Architecture:Log office building
Added:November 10, 1970
Designated Nrhp Type:1974
Area:less than one acre
Refnum:70000523

The Ohio Company Land Office is one of the original buildings of the city of Marietta, Ohio, United States. The Office is listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places and as a contributing property to the Marietta Historic District.The Land Office was built after Ohio Company of Associates landed at Marietta in 1788. The Office was built at approximately . In 1791 the building was moved away from the Muskingum River so it could be protected by the guns of Campus Martius.[1] From this location, Ohio Company surveyors plotted the company's entire purchase in southeastern Ohio, more than in total, under the direction of Rufus Putnam as the company's chief.[2] The building is a simple log structure with a gabled roof, pierced by a single chimney; one window is set into the side, and the front has space for just one window and the main entrance. Its location on a slope permits the slight exposure of the foundation on one side. Smaller elements include shutters for the windows and a pair of steps that provide access to the main entrance.[3] As the oldest extant building anywhere in Ohio, the land office had become the focus of significant attention by the opening years of the twentieth century, with organizations such as Marietta's historical society devoting extensive effort to ensure its preservation.

The building is now part of the Campus Martius Museum complex.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Knepper, George W. . The Official Ohio Lands Book . The Auditor of State . 2002 . 29 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716151950/http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/Publications/General/OhioLandsBook.pdf . 2011-07-16 .
  2. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1397.
  3. , Ohio History Connection, 2015. Accessed 2016-01-03.