In the 1780s, Benjamin Stites, a friend of Symmes, was visiting Limestone (now Maysville, Kentucky) and lost some of his horses to theft by Native Americans. Pursuing them through the wilderness of southwestern Ohio, he travelled as far north as Xenia, observing the fertility of the country in the process. He was so impressed with the region that he informed Symmes of its prospects upon his return. Symmes gathered a syndicate, known as the Miami Company, to buy the land.[2] The original contract was for 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2), but the company couldn't afford to pay for the land, and paid for and received only 311,686 acres (1,261.35 km2) in the southwest portion of the original tract. The land was 66+2⁄3¢ per acre.
Deeds in this area will refer to the "Between the Miami Rivers Survey", "M.Rs." or "M.R.S." (M.R.S. is also used to describe the "Miami River Survey" a survey west of the Great Miami River).
Unfortunately, Symmes' men committed many errors while performing the survey, including using magnetic north rather than correcting for true north. Further, Symmes sold much land that he did not own, some as far north as Dayton, meaning that some early settlers found themselves squatters on the public domain. Symmes also sold some land that he did own more than once.[4]