August 28, 1803

High Water Season

In the time of the freshets the Ohio rises from fifteen to thirty feet, and sometimes even higher; overflowing its banks to a very considerable distance. The rise is generally sudden, often ten feet in twenty-four hours. The increase is not regular. At times the water will fall four or five feet, and then rise again. The flood maintains its greatest height about a week or ten days, and then gradually subsides, till the river is reduced to its usual depth. By spreading over the fiat lands a rich coating of leaves, decayed vegetables, and loam, washed clown by the rain from the sides of the hills, these inundations greatly promote the fertility of the soil.
—Thaddeus Harris^[1]Thaddeus Harris, The Journal of a Tour into the Territory Northwest of the Alleghany Mountains Made in the Spring of the Year 1803, p. 44 in Reuben G. Thwaites, Travels West of the Alleghanies … Continue reading

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Manchester, Ohio

The “Ohio Guide Collection” from the Ohio History Connection describes Manchester (see Fig.):

Manchester is located approximately 74 miles upstream of Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally called Massie’s Station, it was the first permanent white settlement within the Virginia Military District, built along the Ohio River in 1790 and was built near the “Three Islands.” Native Americans used these islands to attack settlers traveling down the Ohio River. Nathanial Massie offered nineteen men property if they would settle in the town. He used the settlement as a base for his survey work in the district. In 1791, Massie’s Station became known as Manchester, Ohio. Massie named the community after Manchester, England.

It was the fourth permanent settlement established in the Northwest Territory. By 1791, residents had completely encircled the community with a stockade to provide protection from Native Americans. Manchester served as the county seat for Adams County from 1797 to 1803, when residents moved local government to West Union. Located on the Ohio River across from the slaveholding state of Kentucky, Manchester proved an important community along the Underground Railroad.

The larger of the two remaining islands is called Manchester, and the smaller is called Tow Head. They are now part of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuges under the supervision of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.^[2]“Ohio River at Manchester,” accessed 13 December 2022.

Lewis passed Manchester on or about 23 September 1803.