The first settlement made in the newly ceded territory was at Marietta, Ohio, in 1788, under the supervision of Gen. Rufus Putnam, nephew of Gen. Israel Putnam, and first surveyor general of the Northwest Territory. The settlement was named Marietta, in honor of Queen Marie Antoinette, who had been a firm friend to the colonies during the Revolutionary struggle. Gen. Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor July 15, 1788, of the newly organized Ohio Territory.
The country claimed by Virginia under the royal charters included the land lying between the sea shore on the east, and the Mississippi on the west, the Ohio river on the south, and the British possessions on the north. It will be seen, therefore, that that part of the Northwest Territory lying immediately along the eastern banks of the Mississippi now comprised in the state of Wisconsin and part of Minnesota, has been successively claimed by Spain, France, England, Virginia, and the United States, and under the territorial governments of the Northwest—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin territories. That part of Minnesota lying west of the Mississippi belonged to the French by right of discovery, but passed into the hands of Spain, thence back again into the hands of France, by whom, with the territory known as Louisiana, it was sold to the United States in 1803. The original grant to Virginia included far more than the area of the State and that of the Northwest Territory, but was subsequently reduced by grants made by states lying north of Virginia, and vexatious disputes arose as to titles, a circumstance calculated to retard rapid settlement.
We append the following data concerning the early history of the territory included in the present states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, tabulated for more convenient reference:
1634. Jean Nicollet ventured into Wisconsin, and explored the country from Lake Michigan for a considerable distance down the Wisconsin river.
1658. Two fur traders penetrated to Lake Superior and wintered there, probably on Wisconsin soil.
1660. Rev. M. Menard with eight companions came to La Pointe, Lake Superior.
1665. Claude Allouez, an eminent pioneer missionary, succeeded Menard, and re-established the mission at La Pointe.
1669. Father Allouez established a mission on the shores of Green bay, locating it at Depere in 1671.
1670. Father Allouez made a voyage of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to within a short distance of the Mississippi—a near approach to the discovery of the Father of Waters.
1671. In this year the French took formal possession of the whole Northwest, confirmed in 1689.