Northwest Territory Parade Photograph

Black and white photograph taken by local resident Sylvester V. Rugg II of the Northwest Territory Parade that shows the progression through the city of Newark, OH on May 4, 1938. The parade float of Denison University, a horse-drawn wagon with participants dressed in period costume seated on the bed, moves east down West Main Street towards the courthouse square. The mid-nineteenth century, brick-constructed Newkirk House at 63 West Main Street and the neighboring Oldsmobile dealership stand in the background amidst the crowd of onlookers. The Northwest Territory Parade celebrated the sesquicentennial of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the formal organization of the Territory in 1788. The geographic area in this organization included the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota. The Parade of 1938 recreated part of the pioneers’ path from Ipswich, MA to Marietta, OH, where the caravan arrived on April 7, 1938 for the 150th anniversary of the landing at Marietta. The caravan continued through Ohio in April and May, moved west into the other states that once formed the Northwest Territories, and returned to Ohio in October 1938.