A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

IntroductionHundreds of years ago this area of Hamilton County was occupied by Indians but their ways cameinto conflict with the influx of pioneers arriving to settle these lands after the Revolutionary War. Sincethis area abounded with game and stands of primal woods, the Indians used this as a hunting ground. AnyIndian camps would have been temporary. Years later, as the forests were cleared for the plow, Indianarrowheads and other relics were frequently uncovered.In the Centinel of the Northwest Territory, December 18, 1793 was the following: “Goodencouragement will be given to a number of settlers at Mt. Pleasant, 2 miles from Ludlow’s Station on themain road to Ft. Hamilton. (signed) John Ludlow.”An early trail followed the ridge that is now a bit east of today’s Hamilton Avenue, where theHammond North Condominiums now stand. It was this track that a company of soldiers followed on anorthern expedition from Fort Washington in 1792. One of the soldiers was a young ensign, WilliamHenry Harrison. The soldiers camped on the land that Farmers’ College would later occupy.The last actual Indian camp was more than one hundred and fifty years ago on the site of theintersection of Belmont and Hamilton Avenues. These were of the Miami (Te-wighte-wa) tribe. The namerefers to the cry of the crane, the symbol of their tribe. An undated newspaper article recalls the life ofJames La Rue who gave a final glimpse of Indian life. “When a young man Mr. La Rue saw 1,600Wyandottes pass his door in a single file. They had sold their reservation, which was a little north ofDayton, to the Government, and tramped down the old Winton trail to the fort on the river (Ft.Washington). They walked the 60 miles in 24 hours, resting by the roadside whenever they wished.Having been paid their pittance, they marched back the same way, leaving Hamilton County forever.Their line stretched seven miles, while the same number of white men would have marched in one.”The only other reference we have to Indians in the vicinity of College Hill is from Etsu Sugimoto 1recalling what she had learned from General Samuel Fenton Cary. She would “…sit with the General andhis invalid wife listening by the hour while he told stories of early American life. Knowing that incidentsof personal history especially appealed to me, he once told me that his own large estate was bought froman Indian chief in exchange for one chair, a gun and a pouch of tobacco; and that Mother’s large home(the Obed J. Wilson house) was once an Indian village of bark tents and was purchased for a half-a-dozensplit seated kitchen chairs.”1 Source: A Daughter of the Samurai, Etsu Inagski Sugimoto, p. 119, Doubleday, 1936.vi