COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Franklin County Board of Commissioners on Thursday received a special presentation from historian Dorene Yuas Sauer on the America 250 Undertold Stories initiative, drawing direct parallels between the founding promises of the Northwest Ordinance and the modern challenges facing local government.

Sauer, a longtime Franklin County resident, educator and member of the America 250 committee, told commissioners that the two foundational promises of the 1787 ordinance – no slavery and free public education – began unraveling almost immediately.

“The money for education meant that the general assembly was not mandated to keep a schoolhouse or to build a schoolhouse, but rather Ohio could sell the 116th of the township land marked for free public education, which it did quickly,” Sauer said. “It went into a general pool and the money was simply spent and it was gone by the 1830s.”

The promise of no slavery also proved problematic, Sauer said, noting that the Virginia Military District – land granted to Virginia soldiers as payment for fighting in the American Revolution – allowed indentured servitude, which she called “just another name for slavery.” That practice continued until abolitionist sentiment became strong enough to halt the argument, she said.

Sauer presented a list of issues facing Franklin County commissioners in the 1830s that she said “would look remarkably like the issues of 2026.” Those included housing affordability, immigration, the unhoused, school funding, transportation upgrades, taxation shortfalls and public health funding.

“This doesn’t mean that issues can’t be solved,” Sauer said.

The presentation also included lesser-known local history, including the correction of inventor Granville T. Woods’ birth year and early wealth disparities exemplified by the Holly water systems.

Commissioners thanked Sauer for her contribution and said the video of her presentation would be made available to the public. No formal actions or votes were taken during the segment.

Sauer closed by quoting James Baldwin: “We carry our history with us.”

“We carry our own history. We carry our neighbors’ history,” Sauer said. “If we grow closer by understanding the tragedies, the accomplishments, the celebration and the hopes – that’s why we have faith in the Franklin County Commissioners and the work you do today.”