Editing Symmes Purchase (section)

==History==
In the 1780s, [[Benjamin Stites]], a friend of Symmes, was visiting Limestone (now [[Maysville, Kentucky]]) and lost some of his horses to theft by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. Pursuing them through the wilderness of southwestern Ohio, he travelled as far north as [[Xenia, Ohio|Xenia]], observing the fertility of the country in the process. He was so impressed with the region that he informed Symmes of its prospects upon his return. Symmes gathered a syndicate, known as the '''Miami Company''', to buy the land.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.symmestownship.org/about/history/history-heritage.aspx |title=Symmes Township, Ohio > About > History > History & Heritage |website=www.symmestownship.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208225502/http://www.symmestownship.org/about/history/history-heritage.aspx |archive-date=2015-02-08}} </ref>  The original contract was for {{convert|1,000,000|acre|km2}}, but the company couldn't afford to pay for the land, and paid for and received only {{convert|311,686|acre|km2}} in the southwest portion of the original tract.  The land was {{frac|66|2|3}}¢ per acre.