Before 1803 (when it officially became a state of the US), the area where Ohio is today was the property of the British for around twenty years.  But even before these times, there is record of the French having explored the area around Lake Erie.

            Since the times of the 1800’s, the area has gone through significant changes in not only the people who inhabit the land, but of the landscape itself.  The native groups of people who occupied the land before both the Americans and the British entered the picture are now long gone.  So are most of the original forests.

            By the late 1800’s, Ohio became both an industrial as well as a political giant within the United States.  As time moved into the 20th century, the state moved heavily into the communication, transportation and service industries.

            Columbus is both the state’s largest city (over 700,000 people as of the 2000 census) as well as its capitol.

            Today, Ohio remains as one of the US’s most important political, social, and educational leaders.  It is also a major producer of farmed goods, including grapes, strawberries, apples, peaches, wheat, hay, corn and oats.  It also produces lots of crushed stone products, like gravel and sand.