Columbus, Ohio – Ohio will celebrate its 219th birthday on Tuesday.
The anniversary of Ohio’s statehood marks the first time the General Assembly performed state business on March 1, 1803, at Chillicothe. President Thomas Jefferson signed the state constitution a few weeks before it was adopted by Congress in early 1803.
Because Chillicothe was the location of Ohio’s first state business, it served as the state’s capital for the first seven years after the state’s founding. In 1812, the capital was moved to Zanesville, and after four years, Columbus was chosen as the new capital, and it remained as Ohio’s capital for the last 206 years.
The date of March 1, 1803, as the day Ohio became the 17th state to enter the union, was questioned for decades until being officially recognized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.
From 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, events will take place at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
Gov. Mike DeWine and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman are among those expected to attend the event in Columbus.
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