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When the Peace of Paris of 1783 ended the Revolutionary War the independence of the American Colonies was recognized and Briton
granted all the lands between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River to the new nation.
Settlers had been moving
into the new country, eventually called the Northwest Territory, before the formal surrender. An Ordinance in 1787, by the
Continental Congress, established a framework of government for the area. It was to be overseen by a Congressional appointed
Territorial Governor until any major subdivision of the Territory reached a population of 60,000. At that point, the region
could organize itself as a state and be admitted to the Union as a complete equal to the original thirteen.
The Congress
appointed General Arthur St. Clair, a revolutionary war hero, the first governor of the Northwest Territory on October 5,
1787.
On December 9, 1800, a proclamation by General St. Clair established Clermont County, Ohio. Clermont was eight
of ten counties formed in the southeastern corner of the Northwest Territory. The name, "Clermont," is a French
word meaning "clear mountains and hills." As a matter of reference, all of Clermont County was in the one-time
Virginia Military District.
Originally Clermont was an arrangement of five townships, eventually becoming fourteen.
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