b'to disturb the native mounds that they Far west of Marietta, in 1785-86found. A large mound can still be seen Major Benjamin Stites and some soldierstoday in Mariettas Mound Cemetery. were led into Ohio by Simon Kenton toLater, in 1792, another tract of get back some horses that had beenland was granted (given) to the Ohio stolen in Kentucky by Shawnee natives.Company. It was called the Donation While there, Stites was impressed byTract and consisted of about 100,000 the land he saw. He knew it would be aacres. The purpose of this was to make a good place to establish a settlement.buffer (land that serves as a protective Today this area is in Hamilton County. area) between the settlers and the After returning home to Newnatives. This land was given away in 100- Jersey, Stites eagerly told hisacre parcels to any white male who would Congressman, Judge John Clevessettle on the land as soon as he received Symmes, about the land. Symmes decidedthe deed to it. Many years later, in 1862, to go see the land for himself. Locatedthis model was used in a similar offer between the Great Miami and Little(free land given to the person who was Miami Rivers, this area was rich withgoing to settle on it) that was made to potential. Symmes met with some friendssettlers heading west into the Plains. It back in New Jersey to discuss setting upwas called the Homestead Act. a company to buy this land. Among thesemen was Jonathan Dayton. In1788, these men decided toask for 1 million acres to besold to their company.Congress agreed to sell themabout 330,000 acres insteadbecause of concern overanother territory and itsboundaries. The SymmesPurchase, which is also calledthe Miami Purchase, wasgranted in 1788 and modifiedin 1792.After following all thenecessary steps, the U.S.patent on this purchase wassigned by President GeorgeGraphic (WW) Washington in 1794. Thesame requirements werepage 48'