William H. Venable (1836-1920) was born in Warren County, Ohio and was a teacher for most of his adult life. He also was a prolific writer, poet and historian; and was an authority on literature in the Midwest. You can find his book Beginnings of Literary Culture in the Ohio Valley; Historical and Biographical Sketches on the Great Lakes Cultural History page of this site. Chapter headings, with a few of the topics within, are:

-France and England in the Western World. Conquest of New France, Ohio Land Company of Virginia.
-Massachusetts Colonizes the Ohio Country. The Ordinance of 1787. The Ohio Land Company of Massachusetts.
-The Queen City and the Buckey State. The Symmes Purchase, Losantiville and Filson. The State of Ohio.
-Westward by Hoof, Wheel, and Keel. Tracking Forest Paths. First Wagon Roads to the West. Down the River in 1792. The Wagoner of the Alleghanies, Thomas Corwin on the The Great West.
-Rapid Settlement of the Central States. A Century’s Increase of Population and Growth of Settlements. “Go West, Young Man!”, Pioneer’s House and Home.
-Log-Cabin Life in the Ohio Valley. Costume and Furniture. War on the Woods. The Apple Cutting and the Frolic. The Primeval Forests of Ohio.