Editing Ohio (section)

====Rufus Putnam, the "Father of Ohio"====
[[File:LandingOfThePioneers.jpg|thumb|The landing of [[Rufus Putnam]] and the first settlers at [[Marietta, Ohio]] in 1788.]]

[[Rufus Putnam]] served in important military capacities in both the [[French and Indian War]] and the [[American Revolutionary War]]. He was one of the most highly respected men in the early years of the United States.<ref>Hubbard, Robert Ernest.  ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' pp. 1–4, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.  {{ISBN|978-1-4766-7862-7}}.</ref>

In 1776, Putnam created a method of building portable fortifications, which enabled the [[Continental Army]] to drive the British from Boston. [[George Washington]] was so impressed that he made Putnam his chief engineer. After the war, Putnam and [[Manasseh Cutler]] were instrumental in creating the [[Northwest Ordinance]], which opened up the [[Northwest Territory]] for settlement. This land was used to serve as compensation for what was owed to Revolutionary War veterans. Putnam organized and led the [[Ohio Company of Associates]], who settled at [[Marietta, Ohio]], where they built a large fort, [[Campus Martius (Ohio)|Campus Martius]].<ref>Hubbard, Robert Ernest.  ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' pp. 2–4, 45–8,105–18, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.  {{ISBN|978-1-4766-7862-7}}.</ref><ref>Hildreth, Samuel Prescott.  ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio,'' pp. 34–7, 63–74, Badgley Publishing Company, 2011.  {{ISBN|978-0-615-50189-5}}.</ref><ref>McCullough, David.  ''The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West,'' pp. 46–7, Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, New York, 2019.  {{ISBN|978-1-5011-6870-3}}.</ref> He set substantial amounts of land aside for schools. In 1798, he created the plan for the construction of the Muskingum Academy (now [[Marietta College]]). In 1780, the directors of the Ohio Company appointed him superintendent of all its affairs relating to the settlement north of the Ohio River. In 1796, President George Washington commissioned him as Surveyor-General of United States Lands. In 1788, he served as a judge in the Northwest Territory's first court. In 1802, he served in the convention to form a constitution for the State of Ohio.<ref>Hubbard, Robert Ernest.  ''General Rufus Putnam: George Washington's Chief Military Engineer and the "Father of Ohio,"'' pp. 127–50, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.  {{ISBN|978-1-4766-7862-7}}.</ref><ref>Hildreth, Samuel Prescott.  ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio,'' pp. 69, 71, 81, 82, Badgley Publishing Company, 2011.  {{ISBN|978-0-615-50189-5}}.</ref><ref>McCullough, David.  ''The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West,'' pp. 143–7, Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, New York, 2019.  {{ISBN|978-1-5011-6870-3}}.</ref>