Greene Ville
Built by the legendary general Anthony Wayne, Greene Ville was located roughly 5 miles north of Fort Jefferson at what is now Greenville, Ohio. The fortification had 10' high walls enclosing about 50 acres. It was said that it was the largest wooden fortification ever built.
Greene Ville was named for Anthony Wayne's friend and comrade in the American Revolution, Nathanael Greene, with some even suggesting that he may have named it to impress Nathanael's widow Catherine. Having survived the Revolutionary War, Greene tragically died a few years prior to Wayne's expedition into Ohio, when Greene was just 43 years old. He succumbed to heat stroke while working on his estate in Georgia.
Unlike most forts of this era, Greene Ville was laid out much like a small city. In fact, if a city map of today was placed on top of the original Green Ville plat, many of the streets would line up with the original fortification. A double row of cabins, with each cabin housing 10 men, ran around the inside of the exterior walls. Each corner of the fort had a bulwark for defensive purposes of the walls. Blockhouses were built into the central wall of each side. Eight redoubts, each complete with a blockhouse, surrounded the main stockade.
Wayne used Greene Ville as his winter encampment in 1793-1794. In the spring of 1794 General Wayne led his army north toward what would later become known as Toledo. Here he came into contact with a large number of Native Americans.
The fighting from this contact was short, but extremely ferocious. that would lead to a conclusive battle at a place that became known as the Battle of Fallen Timbers along the Maumee River. After the conclusion of that engagement, Wayne returned to Greene Ville and over the next year, worked out a treaty among the Indians who fought in the battle. In the summer of 1795, a number of the Indians returned to Greene Ville to sign the treaty. That treaty would become known as the Treaty of Greenville.
Howard Christy, the artist who painted "The Signing of the Treaty of Greene Ville"
Howard Chandler Christy (January 10, 1873—March 3, 1952) was an American artist famous for the "Christy Girl", similar to a "Gibson Girl". Besides painting "The Signing of the Treaty of Greene Ville which hangs in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse, he also painted "Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States." Some of his work is on display at New York City restaurant Café des Artistes - they include six panels of wood nymphs and paintings such as The Parrot Girl, The Swing Girl, Ponce De Leon, Fall, Spring, and the Fountain of Youth.
He was born in Morgan County and attended early school in Duncan Falls, Ohio. He then studied in New York at the National Academy and the Art Students League under Chase.
He first attracted attention with his illustrations of the Spanish-American War, published in Scribner's and Harper's magazines and in Collier's Weekly, gaining especial prominence with the series, "Men of the Army and Navy," and a portrait of Colonel Roosevelt.
He was best known, however, for his charming illustrations of the works of such authors as Richard Harding Davis and he created a picturesque and romantic type of society women peculiarly his own. His work is characterized by great facility, a dashing but not exaggerated style, and a strong sense of values. He preferred black and white, but he also worked with success in color. It was through his work as a commercial artist that he became a nationally known illustrator.
