In spite of the necessary severity of the punishment meted out to the Indians by the new government through the agency of Wayne, no part of Washington's administration, domestic or foreign, was more original or more benign than the policy he constantly urged toward them. To save them from the frauds of traders a national system of trade was adopted, and a number of laws were passed to protect them from the aggressions of borderers, as well as to secure them in the rights allowed them in their treaties.
The battle of Lake Erie (1813) was closely associated with the city. Here were Perry's headquarters during the War of 1812, and here he built in less than six months many of the vessels with which he won his naval victory over the British.
Erie is now an important manufacturing centre, the products of which are valued at between $40,000,000 and $50,000,000. A large branch of the General Electric Co. is here, besides important factories for flour and grist mill products, paper and wood pulp, organs, petroleum, etc. The leading articles of shipment are lumber, coal, grain and iron ore. Over 1,400 ships a year enter and clear the broad, landlocked harbour. On a bluff overlooking lake and city, is the State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, and nearby, a monument to Gen. Wayne. Between Springfield (577 M.) and Conneaut we cross the state line into Ohio.
584 M. CONNEAUT, Pop. 9,000.
(Train 3 passes 10:08; No. 41, 2:39; No. 25, 2:04; No. 19, 6:34. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:50; No. 26, 9:59; No. 16, 1:20; No. 22, 4:32.)
The first permanent settlement was made here in 1799 though a preliminary surveying party composed of Moses Cleaveland, the founder of the city of Cleveland, and 50 associates, two of whom were women, had arrived in 1796 and found 20 or 30 cabins of the Massauga tribe.
In his journal Cleaveland gives a description of the arrival here, "on the creek Conneaugh, in New Connecticut Land," July 4, 1796. "We gave three cheers," he continues, "and christened the place Ft. Independence, and, after many difficulties, perplexities and hardships were surmounted and we were on the good and promised land, felt that a just tribute of respect to the day ought to be paid. There were in all, including women and children, 50 in number. The men under Capt. Tinker, ranged themselves on the beach and fired a Federal Salute of 15 rounds, and then the 16th in honor of New Conn. Drank several toasts. Closed with three cheers. Drank several pints of grog. Supped and returned in good order."
After the whites had established themselves, the Indians were driven out for having murdered a settler. The country of Ashtabula in which Conneaut stands was not only the first settled on the Western Reserve, but the first in Northern Ohio, and the town is sometimes called the "Plymouth" of the Western Reserve.
Conneaut, which means in the Seneca language "many fish," is built at the mouth of Conneaut Creek in what is now a thriving agricultural and dairying region on Lake Erie. Besides being an excellent harbour to which coal and ore are shipped, the city has flour and planing mills, tanneries, canneries, and other factories.