Is the Ohio river the gateway to the west?

Because Ohio was the first state that admitted to the Union coming from the West and having no affiliations with any other state . The 14th state admitted to the Union, Vermont, is not in the West and was made a state only because of a dispute of ownership between New York and New Hampshire. The next 2 states admitted to the Union were Kentucky and Tennessee, but both of these were associated with other states. For Kentucky, its statehood came after splitting off from Virginia and for Tennessee, North Carolina donated the land making Tennessee to the U.S. where it was later admitted into the Union. Ohio's path to statehood, starting with being a territory, would be followed by every state following it in the West, making it the Gateway to the West.