Symmes Purchase

In the 1780s, Benjamin Stites, a friend of Symmes, was visiting Limestone (now Maysville, Kentucky) and lost some of his horses to theft by Native Americans.

Pursuing them through the wilderness of southwestern Ohio, he travelled as far north as Xenia, observing the fertility of the country in the process.

The northern boundary runs through Butler and Warren Counties about 25 miles north of the Ohio River.

Further, Symmes sold much land that he did not own, some as far north as Dayton, meaning that some early settlers found themselves squatters on the public domain.

In 1789, Fort Washington was built in the reserved portion of the Purchase to protect the fledgling settlements.