When the Indians Left Paulding County

Depiction of an Ottawa village that shows their elm bark wigwams, which are probably similar to their dwellings at Oquanoxa’s Reservation (Charloe) along the Auglaize River before the Ottawa were removed to Kansas in 1832.

By: Kim Sutton, Paulding County Bicentennial Committee

Part of a series

PAULDING – The next time you take a drive down the Charloe Trail (County Road138), imagine if you will, on each side of the road, trees so thick and tall that you could not see the sun. For miles around, the land was wild, covered with dense forests and dark swamps. Just west of Road 151, which comes in from the south, was the western boundary line of Oquanoxa’s Reservation of the Ottawa, also referred to as Odawa, Indian tribe. The reservation consisted of about 2,500 acres and was approximately 3 miles square. The Charloe Trail runs almost in the exact middle of it and the village of Charloe sits nearly in the middle.

Early written local history suggested to us that Chief Oquanoxa’s tribe left Paulding County in 1820. Until now, I had never questioned this and have passed this “fact” on myself numerous times. However, with today’s researching tools, we can easily discover for ourselves that the Indians were here until the government removed them to Kansas in 1832. Later they were removed from Kansas to Oklahoma.

Chief Oquanoxa (pronounced AUCK-a-NAUC-sa), also known as Ocquinoxcy, led the last Indian war party to Fort Wayne in 1824 to avenge the death of an Ottawa brave who was stabbed to death by a drunken Miami Indian while they were there receiving their government annuity payment. If you would like to read more on this confrontation, I recommend Louis Simonis’ book Maumee River 1835.

In doing my research for this article, I sent an email to the current Ottawa Chief, Ethel Cook, telling her of Paulding County’s 200th anniversary and the historical articles we are writing and that I had volunteered to write “When the Indians left Paulding County” and wanted to tell the true story. Chief Cook referred me to Rhonda Hayworth, Ottawa historian. Ms. Hayworth responded with a three-page written history of the Ottawas being removed from Ohio. Following is in part what she told me….

“Our ancestors had several villages around and within the Western basin of Lake Erie. The Ottawa People have always made their villages and encampments on islands, the edge of lakes or in the fork between rivers. These villages would be moved a short distance every three years to allow for regrowth of fishing and hunting. After nine years the village would be back in it original place…

“The Ottawa also had several other villages on the lake edge and on the rivers surrounding the western basin of the lake. These were located on the Sandusky River, Portage River, Blanchard River, Auglaize River, and the Maumee River.”

I will note here that at one time Oquanoxa’s Reservation on the Auglaize River was said to have had approximately 600 people, 50 or more log cabins and other canvas and elm bark wigwams. By the time of their removal, the village had dwindled to around 100.

Rhonda Hayworth goes on to tell us: “By 1830, the time was ripe for the expulsion of the Ottawa from their homeland in Ohio and on May 28, 1830, the United States Government sanctioned the unfavorable policy of the new settlers towards the Indians by passing the Removal Act…

“The removal was a tragic one; the few Indians who had money were robbed by the whites en route, horses broke down or were stolen, a good portion of the Indians became sick and many died, no provisions or doctors were awaiting them on their arrival in Kansas as the government had promised, and no provision had been made to supply them with ploughs or materials needed to start the spring planting as was promised in the removal treaty. Some of the more heartsick of the Ottawa made the long and tiring trek back to the Ohio country, and the misery of the migration lost nothing of its luridness in the stories that these Indians told to the remaining tribes.

“Thus, by 1832, the Ottawa of northern Ohio were faced with the problem of survival; they could agree to remove to the strange lands in the West, they could remain in their homeland and face starvation and brutal treatment by the whites, or, they could try to escape to their friends in Canada where they were always welcome.”

It is important to note here that the Ohio Ottawa were removed to Kansas in three groups in the 1830s. Oquanoxa’s tribe was among the first group to depart over land on Sept. 27, 1832. A total of 72 Ottawa (41 males and 31 females) were reported to have arrived in Kansas on Dec. 3, 1832. The second group of Ohio Ottawa went by steamboat on Aug. 31, 1837, and the third group was aboard the steamboat Commodore Perry departing on July 25, 1839.

The first group of Ottawa expected their removal to be in the early part of 1832. Delays were made because the Ottawa did not want to go by boat. They wanted to go by land so they could take with them their good Indian horses and as much personal property as the horses could carry.

James B. Gardner, appointed commissioner on the part of the United States, reported to his superiors:

March 15, 1832 – Indians restless, anxious to leave as planting time is drawing near, but nothing had been arranged.

April 10, 1832 – Many have already sold their cattle and personal property. It is important to them to reach their place of future residence in time to erect dwellings for the winter.

July 31, 1832 – The Indians are quite upset and blame the Secretary of War for their predicament; they are ready to go, food is scarce, they had reason to believe they would be on the move now, and crops were not planted, and annuity payment have not been made.

Ms. Hayworth’s written history continues, “In 1839, the last of the Ottawa were removed to Kansas lands. During these removals, however, the agents often turned their heads and allowed Ottawa families to escape to Canadian shores, and a great many were saved from the brutal removal in this way. … As for the Ottawa who were forced from their home lands, nearly half of them perished in their first year in Kansas.

“In 1833, Reverend Jotham Meeker came to the Ottawa’s territory and with him came a better living for the Ottawa. He helped the Ottawa by teaching them and by making sure that they were not taken advantage of by the white man. The Ottawa knew that in order to survive, their children must be educated. They made a treaty with the Baptist church and in 1862 when the Ottawa land was being allotted out of the 74,000 acres. The Ottawa gave 20,000 acres of land to be used and sold to raise money to build a Baptist school for the education of whites and Indians. The Indians made an arrangement in the treaty that the Ottawa children would be educated free of charge. The school started in 1865, and two Ottawa students were educated, but once more in 1867, they were removed. The Ottawa sold their land in Kansas and removed to Indian Territory, in Oklahoma. Later the school was named Ottawa University after the Ottawa. The reservation where the Ottawa lived became a township named after them.

“Being tired of being moved, the Ottawa entered into a contract with the Shawnee tribe to purchase part of the Shawnee reservation, about 14,863 acres. They thought that by owning the land, that they would never be moved, and would be left alone. When the tribe moved to Oklahoma in 1867, more of the Ottawa had died and only about 200 were left. But once more the government intervened and split up the Ottawa’s land and allotted it out and sold the rest to the white man. So for a time the Ottawa lived in peace. Then in 1956, the United States Government decided that the Ottawa Tribe served no purpose and terminated them as a tribe. This was a long dark period in the tribe’s history, but we did not give up and on May 15, 1978, the Ottawa Tribe was restored. Since then the tribe has started to grow. We now have around 3,000 members, we bought a store, built a casino, and our biggest accomplishment is that in 2009 the Ottawa Tribe and Ottawa University signed a new treaty stating that the university would provide a free education to the Ottawa Tribal members.”

I am so grateful to have received the above Ottawa history written by Rhonda Hayworth, historian for the Ottawa Tribe. I think I can speak for everyone here in Paulding County, when I say we rejoice with them that the Ottawa Tribe was restored in 1978. For us in Paulding County, they will forever be a part of our history and we certainly admire and appreciate their struggle and survival as a people.

Reading suggestions: The Other Trail of Tears: The Removal of the Ohio Indians by Mary Stockwell and Maumee River 1835 by Louis A. Simonis. 

Next time: Courthouse history.

More information on the bicentennial can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PauldingCounty200.