This 1938 black and white reenactment film “The Ohio Country” was presented by The Standard Oil Company of Ohio, narrated by George W. Srail, and produced by Escar Motion Picture Service. A group of pioneers gather at Manasseh Cutler Church in Ipswich, Massachusetts to reenact December 3, 1787, which was the beginning of a trip to the Northwest Territory to settle in the Ohio Country. The Rabbi speaks to the group before they leave on horses and in Conestoga wagons pulled by oxen (:44-4:11). The group arrives at a log and stone cabin. They continue on through the hilly woods and cross streams (4:12-5:33). Snow begins to fall and cover them and the ground (5:34-6:17). A black and white silhouette of the group on horses, walking, and driving wagons is framed against a light sky (6:19). The group reaches the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania. A man wearing a coonskin cap drinks crouches down and drinks directly from a stream (6:24-6:52). The group continues on through the woods before making camp. They make a fire, fanning it with pieces of cloth. A team of oxen are yoked together and walk down the stream. A man gets a shave with the barber using scissors. A man checks a dog’s ears (6:54-7:55). An ox is led into a makeshift shoeing stall. A hanging band is tightened around its stomach to take pressure off its legs. The leg to be shoed is roped into place. A new horseshoe is nailed into place (7:57-8:56). A man carries a two-man cross cut saw. Another uses an axe on one side of the tree. The two men begin sawing on the other side of it. The tree falls. A large group of men begin working on the timbered wood to create beams for a large boat. Oxen pull logs to the river’s edge where multiple logs are worked on. The boat begins to be constructed. Logs are burned out to be split to create sides. The boat is put into the water and the cabin on it completed before launching. A 1787 flag flies on it (8:57-14:00). They reach the Ohio River, where they are joined by the rest who had travelled overland to obtain supplies. The provisions and animals are loaded on a second boat (14:01-14:58). The boats pass Indian teepees along the shore (15:00-15:15). Heavy rain and fog set in and they miss the settlement on the shore of the Muskingum River before being towed back by soldiers in canoes. Indians arrive in canoes to trade furs and gather on the shore to watch. The pioneers and Indians mingle (15:17-17:39). The men use axes and begin clearing an area. A cornerstone is placed. Oxen pull away the felled trees. Walls are erected (17:41-20:00). The women and children join the men at the new settlement. A large group leaves a log cabin church following a wedding (20:02-20:55). A car drives down a road with late 1930s images behind it. The 1933-1935 SOHIO logo is shown (20:57-21:22).

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