Colonel Dresden Howard Estate and Council Oak

Founded in 1830, the village of Winameg (now near Delta, Ohio) is home to history dating back to the prehistoric times. Most notable is the former home of the Fulton County Pioneer and Historical Association founder, Colonel Dresden Howard, as well as the site of the Council Oak meeting tree. These sites tie together Colonial and Native American history within Fulton County, Ohio.

Dresden Howard was born in 1817 in New York and emigrated to the Northwest territory with his father, Edward, as a youth. He attended an Native American school on the Maumee river growing up which led to him learning a number of native languages that would greatly aid him later in life as a translator. He was the peer of a number of Native American Pottawatomie chiefs whose names have since been given to towns across Fulton county such as Chief Wauseon, Ottokee, and Winameg. As he grew older he became close friends with Chief Wauseon, often meeting with him and the other chiefs for council at the site of the Council Oak tree. In 1832 and 1833 Dresden received a military commission and was responsible for removing the Ottawa and Pottawatomie tribes to west of the Mississippi. Afterward, he set up trading posts along the Missouri river and became an United States senator, helping elect Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency before passing away in 1897.

The Howard Manor was built on land donated to Dresden on account of his marriage by his father nearby the land belonging to the tribe of Chief Winameg. The first house was built on the site in 1842 in the Greek revival style, overlooking the Council Oak, Winameg mounds, and an orchard planted by Howard's wife. In 1910 the original home was torn down after Dresden's death and a new one constructed; the four pillars of the front façade were saved and incorporated into the new structure which stands today. The Council Oak adjacent to the home was the site of many meetings between Native American tribes and Colonial settlers. Most famous of these was the meeting between the US federal Government represented by Colonel Howard and Chief Winameg in 1827/1828 in which the "rights" of the land that the tribe inhabited were purchased from Winameg. The Council Oak continued to be an important part of life in for early settlers in the region as a gathering place with Fourth of July celebrations being held under its shade in 1848 and 1849. The tree stood until it was cut down due to disease in 1992 and a historical marker erected in its place.

Reighard, Frank. A Standard History of Fulton County, Ohio. Volume 1. Chicago, Illinois . The Lewis Publishing Company, 1920.

Swearingen, John. A History of the Howard Manor, Museum of Fulton County. October 12th 2020. Accessed August 24th 2021.