Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Marietta has a population of 13,385 people. It is the principal city of the Marietta micropolitan area, which includes all of Washington County, and is the second-largest city in the Parkersburg–Marietta–Vienna combined statistical area.
The Muskingum River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 111 miles (179 km) long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio. Via the Ohio, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The river is navigable for much of its length through a series of locks and dams.
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation through the Northwest Ordinance, it was the nation's first post-colonial organized incorporated territory.
Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumental in the initial colonization by the United States of former Native American, English, and French lands in the Northwest Territory in present-day Ohio following the war. He was known as "Father of the Northwest Territory".
The Big Bottom massacre occurred on January 2, 1791, near present-day Stockport now in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. It is considered part of the Northwest Indian Wars, in which native Americans in the Ohio Country confronted American settlers, regular soldiers and militia, seeking to expel them from their territory.
Watertown is an unincorporated community in southwestern Watertown Township, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45787. It lies near the intersection of State Routes 339 and 676 near Wolf Creek, which meets the Muskingum River at Waterford to the north.
Newport is a census-designated place in eastern Newport Township, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45768. Newport lies along the Ohio River several miles above the county seat of Marietta. Today its main street is designated as State Route 7. The population of the CPD was 895 at the 2020 census.
Coal Run is an unincorporated community in northeastern Waterford Township, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45721. It is located along State Route 60 between the villages of Beverly and Lowell. The Muskingum River flows past the community.
Bartlett is an unincorporated community in southwestern Wesley Township, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45713. It sits at the intersection of State Routes 550 and 555 near Coal Run, a subsidiary of Wolf Creek, which meets the Muskingum River at Waterford to the north. Near Bartlett is located the Shinn Covered Bridge, which spans Wolf Creek.
William Stacy was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Published histories describe Colonel William Stacy's involvement in a variety of events during the war, such as rallying the militia on a village common in Massachusetts, participating in the Siege of Boston, being captured by Loyalists and American Indians at the Cherry Valley massacre, narrowly escaping a death by burning at the stake, General George Washington's efforts to obtain Stacy's release from captivity, and Washington's gift of a gold snuff box to Stacy at the end of the war.
Fort Harmar was an early United States frontier military fort, built in pentagonal shape during 1785 at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, on the west side of the mouth of the Muskingum River. It was built under the orders of Colonel Josiah Harmar, then commander of the United States Army, and took his name. The fort was intended for the protection of Indians, i.e., to prevent pioneer squatters from settling in the land to the northwest of the Ohio River. "The position was judiciously chosen, as it commanded not only the mouth of the Muskingum, but swept the waters of the Ohio, from a curve in the river for a considerable distance both above and below the fort." It was the first frontier fort built in Ohio Country.
Harmar is a historic neighborhood in the city of Marietta, Ohio, United States. Located at the western side of the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it grew up around the early Fort Harmar in the 1780s, being settled in conjunction with Marietta. After a period of forming part of Marietta, it existed separately beginning in 1837 before rejoining the mother city in 1890. Connected by bridge to the rest of the city, it retains much of its nineteenth-century architecture and landscape, and most of the neighborhood is now a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
Anselm Tupper (1763–1808) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory. The eldest son of Benjamin Tupper, Anselm enlisted in the fight for independence during 1775, while only eleven years old, achieving the rank of lieutenant before his seventeenth birthday. After the war, he was a pioneer and surveyor in the Northwest Territory, and became major of the militia at Marietta during the Northwest Indian War. Tupper was the first school teacher at Marietta, and was a classical scholar and poet. He was unmarried, and was known as a favorite in society.
Ebenezer Sproat, surname also spelled Sprout, was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory. He served throughout the entire American war of independence, from April 1775 through November 1783, achieving the rank of colonel. After the war, he was a pioneer and surveyor in the Northwest Territory, and became a leader of the militia at Marietta during the Northwest Indian War. He was the first sheriff in the Northwest Territory and Ohio, serving fourteen years as sheriff of Washington County, the oldest county in Ohio.
The Hildreth Covered Bridge, also known as the "Hills Covered Bridge" or "Lafaber's Mill Bridge," is a historic covered bridge in Washington County, Ohio, United States. Located off State Route 26 in Newport Township, about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of the city of Marietta, the bridge historically carried Hills Bridge Road over the Little Muskingum River. Construction of the Hildreth Bridge was a long process: the most significant amount of work was done on the bridge in 1878, but the entire construction process occurred between 1871 and 1881. The identity of its builder is unknown.
The Walter Curtis House is a historic residence in far southern Washington County, Ohio, United States. Located south of Little Hocking, a community in southern Belpre Township, the house is a two-story structure constructed in 1827. Built of brick with elements of stone, it was the home of local politician Walter Curtis. During the nineteenth century, Curtis held such offices as Washington County Commissioner, associate judge, and Ohio state representative; his son Austin was later also elected to the Ohio House of Representatives.
The Judge Joseph Barker House is a historic residence in southern Washington County, Ohio, United States. Located along State Route 7 southwest of the community of Newport, it is a brick structure with a roof of metal, a foundation of sandstone, and other elements of wood and metal. Constructed in 1832, it is a two-story rectangular building that sits atop an Ohio River bluff. Its floor plan is five bays wide, featuring a central entrance with a fanlight and sidelights.
The Jonathan Sprague House is a historic residence in northwestern Washington County, Ohio, United States. Located atop a bluff above the Muskingum River, it is one of Washington County's most significant houses, due to its age and method of construction.
The First Unitarian Church of Marietta is a historic Unitarian Universalist church in the city of Marietta, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1869, it uses a building constructed in 1858 for one of its two predecessor churches; this building's high-quality architecture has led to its designation as a historic site.
