By the end of the 19th century, Portsmouth became one of the most important industrial cities on the Ohio River between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio. The railroads soon carried more freight than the canal, with the B&O connecting the city to the Baltimore and Washington, DC markets. The construction of the Norfolk and Western (N&W) railyards beginning in 1838 and the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) junction at the city in the late 1850s quickly surpassed the canal in stimulating growth. The steamer Bonanza in Portsmouth during the 1884 flood The city's growth was stimulated by completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal in the 1820s and 1830s, which provided access to the Great Lakes, opening up northern markets. Early industrial growth included having meat packing and shipping facilities for Thomas Worthington's Chillicothe farm, located north of Portsmouth on the Scioto River. Portsmouth quickly developed an industrial base due to its location at the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers. After being elected to Congress, he wrote the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery in 1865 after the American Civil War. James Ashley of Portsmouth continued his activism and pursued a political career. A historical marker near the Grant Bridge commemorates this period of Portsmouth's history. Many continued into Canada to secure their freedom. Some found their future in Portsmouth others moved north along the Scioto River to reach Detroit, Michigan, and get further away from slave catchers. Fugitive slaves from Kentucky and other parts of the South crossed the Ohio River here. Portsmouth became important in the antebellum years as part of the Underground Railroad. Īlthough southern Ohio was dominated in number by anti-abolitionist settlers from the South, some whites also worked to improve conditions for blacks and aid refugee slaves. Its residents, especially Joseph Love and Dan Lucas, provided aid to refugee slaves in the following years and assisted them in moving north. Many settled several miles north in what became known as Huston's Hollow, along the Scioto River. In 1831, Portsmouth drove out African Americans from the city under this pretext. These provisions were intermittently enforced by local governments and law enforcement, and sometimes used as an excuse to force African Americans out of settlements. The Ohio state legislature passed " Black Laws" in 1804 that restricted movement of free blacks and required persons to carry papers, in an effort to dissuade blacks from settling in the state. Massie named Portsmouth after the town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Settlers left Alexandria, and it soon disappeared. Portsmouth was founded in 1803 and was established as a city in 1815. He began to plot the new city by mapping the streets and distributing the land. In 1803, Henry Massie found a better location slightly east and somewhat removed from the flood plains. In 1796, Emanuel Traxler became the first person to permanently occupy land in what would later be known as Portsmouth, after the United States gained its independence. Located at the confluence, Alexandria was flooded numerous times by the Ohio and the Scioto rivers. Įuropean-Americans began to settle in the 1790s after the American Revolutionary War, and the small town of Alexandria was founded. Īccording to early 20th-century historian Charles Augustus Hanna, a Shawnee village was founded at the site of modern-day Portsmouth in late 1758, following the abandonment of Lower Shawneetown. 1847 map showing the location of the Portsmouth Earthworks northeast of Portsmouth. The area was occupied by Native Americans as early as 100 BC, as indicated by the Portsmouth Earthworks, a ceremonial center built by the Ohio Hopewell culture between 100 and 500 AD. It is the principal city of the Portsmouth micropolitan area. The population was 18,252 at the 2020 census. Located in southern Ohio 41 miles (66 km) south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States.
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