Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/163

 HISTORY OF OHIO.

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��from certain fines and licenses paid to either county or township treasurers for the use of schools; from the sale of swamp lands ($25,720.07 allotted to the State in 1850), and from personal property escheated to the State.

Aside from the funds, a State school tax is fixed by statute. Local taxes vary with the needs of localities, are limited by law, and are contingent on the liberality and public spirit of diiFerent com- munities.

The State contains more than twenty colleges and universities, more than the same number of female seminaries, and about thirty normal schools and academies. The amount of property invested in these ife more than $6,000,000. The Miami University is the oldest college in the State.

In addition to the regular colleges, the State controls the Ohio State University, formerly the Agricultural and Mechanical College, established from the proceeds of the land scrip voted by Con- gress to Ohio for such purposes. The amount realized from the sale was nearly $500,000. This is to constitute a permanent fund, the interest only to be used. In addition, the sum of $300,000 was voted by the citizens of Franklin County, in consideration of the location of the college in that county. Of this sum $111,000 was paid for three hundred and fifteen acres of land near the city of Columbus, and $112,000 for a college building,

��the balance being expended as circumstances re- quired, for additional buildings, laboratory, appa- ratus, etc. Thorough instruction is given in all branches relating to agriculture and the mechanical arts. Already excellent results are attained.

By the provisions of the act of March 14, 1853, township boards are made bodies politic and cor- porate in law, and are invested with the title, care and custody of all school property belonging to the school district or township. They have control of the central or high schools of their townships ; prescribe rules for the district schools ; may appoint one of their number manager of the schools of the township, and allow him reasonable pay for his services ; determine the text-books to be used ; fix the boundaries of districts and locate schoolhouse sites ; make estimates of the amount of money re- quired ; apportion the money among the districts, and are recjuired to make an annual report to the County Auditor, who incorporates the same in his report to the State Commissioner, by whom it reaches the Legislature.

Local directors control the subdistricts. They enumerate the children of school age, employ and dismiss teachers, make contracts for building and furnishing schoolhouses, and make all necessary provision for the convenience of the district schools. Practically, the entire management rests with them.

��CHAPTER XV.

��" Oft did the harvest to their sickles yield,

Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke ;

How jocund did they drive their teams afield !

How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke."

THE majority of the readers of these pages are farmers, hence a resume of agriculture in the State, would not only be appropriate, but valuable as a matter of history. It is the true basis of national prosperity, and, therefore, justly occupies a foremost place.

In the year 1800, the Territory of Ohio con- tained a population of 45,365 inhabitants, or a little more than one person to the square mile. At

��AGRICULTURE— AREA OF THE STATE— EARLY AGRICULTURE IN THE WEST— MARKETS— LIVE

STOCK — NURSERIES, FRUITS, ETC. — CEREALS — ROOT AND CUCURBITACEOUS

CROPS— AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS— AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES—

POMOLOGICAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

��this date, the admission of the Territory into the Union as a State began to be agitated. When the census was made to ascertain the legality of the act, in conformity to the '-Compact of 1787," no endeavor was made to asceitain additional statis- tics, as now ; hence, the cultivated land was not returned, and no account remains to tell how much existed. In 1805, three years after the ad- mission of the State into the Union, 7,252,856 acres had been purchased from the General Gov- ernment. Still no returns of the cultivated lands were made. In 1810, the population of Ohiowa.s 230,760, and the land purchased from the Gov-

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