Old MiamiDays after President Thomas Jefferson ratified the February 19, 1803 act of Congress that established Ohio as the United States 17th state, a three person search committee was tasked with finding a township fit for a college between the Great Miami and Little Miami Rivers. In 1788, John Cleves Symmes had been in the process of purchasing the land from Congress, which demanded that of the 300,000+ acres, more than 20,000 be set aside for an academy.