Thaddeus Mason Harris (1768-1842) was a Harvard-educated Unitarian minister and librarian at Harvard. In 1803, suffering from illness and depression, he was advised by his doctor to travel. He and his brother then started out for Ohio, traveling through Pennsylvania by carriage. Part 1 of the book was written from Harris’ travel journal notes, beginning near Shippensburg, PA, describing their trip over the Alleghenies to Pittsburg, on to Wheeling by carriage, and then to Marietta, Ohio by keelboat. The comparatively brief Part 2 is an account of his return trip. These travel accounts contain descriptions of geographical features and accounts of the significant towns.

The remainder, and majority of the book, is entitled “Geographical and Historical Account of the State of Ohio”. Written largely from information provided by General Rufus Putnam and several other men that Harris met in Marietta, it must have been one of the earliest attempts at a comprehensive history of Ohio.