Mound Cemetery in Marietta, Ohio, is a historic cemetery developed around the base of a prehistoric Adena burial mound known as the Great Mound or ''Conus''. The

city founders A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

preserved the Great Mound from destruction by establishing the city cemetery around it in 1801. The city of Marietta was developed in 1788 by pioneers from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, soon after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and organization of the

Northwest Territory 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 Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

. Many of the founders were officers of the Revolutionary War who had received federal land grants for military services. Among high-ranking officers buried at the cemetery are generals Rufus Putnam and

Benjamin Tupper Benjamin Tupper (March 11, 1738 – June 7, 1792) was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, achieving the rank of Brevet (military), brevet Brigadier general (United ...

, who were founders of the Ohio Company of Associates; as well as Commodore Abraham Whipple and Colonel William Stacy. The cemetery has the highest number of burials of

officers in the country.Johnson, ''What to See in America'', 224.

Great Mound or Conus

Marietta Works Squier and Davis Plate XXVI

The conical Great Mound at Mound Cemetery is part of an Ohio Hopewell culture mound complex known as the Marietta Earthworks. Archaeologists estimate that it was built between 100 BC and 500 AD. Early European American settlers gave the structures

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

names. The complex includes the ''Sacra Via'' (meaning "sacred way"), three walled enclosures, the ''Quadranaou'', ''Capitolium'' (meaning "capital") and at least two other additional platform mounds, and the ''Conus'' burial mound and its accompanying ditch and embankment. The complex was surveyed and drawn in 1838 by

Samuel R. Curtis Samuel Ryan Curtis (February 3, 1805 – December 26, 1866) was an American military officer and one of the first Republicans elected to Congress. He was most famous for his role as a Union Army general in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the ...

(at the time a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

for the state of Ohio). This survey was incorrectly attributed to Charles Whittlesey by

E. G. Squier Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888), usually cited as E. G. Squier, was an American archaeologist, history writer, painter and newspaper editor. Biography Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister, Joel S ...

and E.H. Davis in their '' Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley'', published by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1848. At the time the complex "included a large square enclosure surrounding four flat-topped pyramidal mounds, another smaller square, and a circular enclosure with a large burial mound at its center." The ''Conus'' mound was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on February 23, 1973 as the Mound Cemetery Mound, site listing number 73001549. In 1990 archaeologists from the

Cleveland Museum of Natural History The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre (220 ha) concentration of educational, cultural and medical institu ...

excavated a section of the ''Capitolium'' mound and determined that the mound was definitely constructed by peoples of the Hopewell Culture.

American Revolutionary War soldiers

The city of Marietta was developed in 1788 by migrant pioneers from

, soon after the

and organization of the

. The cemetery has the highest number of burials of

officers in the country. The original pioneers, city founders from the Ohio Company of Associates, preserved the Great Mound from destruction by establishing the city cemetery around it. Many of the founders were officers of the Revolutionary War who had received federal land grants for military services. Among high-ranking officers buried at the cemetery are generals Rufus Putnam and

, who were founders of the Ohio Company of Associates; as well as Commodore Abraham Whipple and Colonel William Stacy. In 1825, General Lafayette of France, who fought with the Americans during the Revolution, visited Marietta. He said of the city's veterans: "I knew them well. I saw them fighting the battles of their country ... They were the bravest of the brave. Better men never lived."Cutler, ''Life and Times of Ephraim Cutler'', 202–03. The Washington County Historical Society compiled the a list of

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

soldiers buried in Mound Cemetery, notable persons in that list shown below:Washington County Historical Society plaque at Mound Cemetery, dated 1968. * Col. Robert Taylor, ''first burial in the cemetery'' * Gen. Rufus Putnam *

Griffin Greene Griffin Greene (1749–1804) served as a commissary, paymaster, and quartermaster to the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was subsequently a pioneer to the Ohio Country, helping establish Marietta, Ohio as the first per ...

, Sr., Quartermaster * Commodore Abraham Whipple * Col.

Ebenezer Sproat Ebenezer Sproat (February 9, 1752 – January 7, 1805), 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 ...

* Col. William Stacy, Sr. * Gen.

* Maj.

Anselm Tupper 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 Terr ...

* Capt. Nathaniel Saltonstall * Samuel Hildreth, Sr. (''father of

Samuel Prescott Hildreth Samuel Prescott Hildreth (1783–1863) was a pioneer physician, scientist, and historian, authoring numerous scientific and historical works. His history books are largely based on first-person accounts and primary documents, providing insigh ...

'', ''also buried here'') The books of

(1783–1863), buried here, provide insight into the early history of Marietta and the Northwest Territory, and the lives of the soldiers and early pioneer settlers.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History''.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio''. Major General

James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the Rho ...

(1748–1789) was originally buried in the Mound Cemetery. His remains were later moved to Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta.

Gallery

File:MoundCemetery1846.jpg, Drawing of Mound Cemetery, 1846 File:MariettaMoundsOldDrawing.jpg, Drawing of Marietta Earthworks File:RufusPutnamMarker.jpg, Rufus Putnam marker File:BenjaminTupperMarker.jpg,

and

marker File:AbrahamWhipple marker 2.jpg, Abraham Whipple marker File:NathanielSaltonstallMarker2.jpg, Nath. Saltonstall marker File:SamuelHildreth marker.jpg, Samuel Hildreth marker File:Mound Cemetery. Marietta, Ohio.jpg

References

Bibliography

* * Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR): ''American Monthly,'' Vol. 16, Jan–Jun 1900, R. R. Bowker Co., New York (1900) p. 329. * Hawley, Owen: ''Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio,'' Washington County Historical Society, Marietta, Ohio (1996). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1852). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1848). * Johnson, Clifton: ''What to See in America'', Macmillan Co., New York (1919) p. 224. * Snow, Dean R. ''Archaeology of Native North America'', Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2010. * Summers, Thomas J.: ''History of Marietta'', The Leader Publishing Co., Marietta, Ohio (1903) pp. 301–09.

External links

Mounds of Marietta, by Wesley Clarke

Marietta Earthworks, by Chris Sandford
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cemetery, Mound Ohio Hopewell Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Marietta, Ohio Cemeteries in Washington County, Ohio Military cemeteries in the United States American Revolutionary War Ohio in the American Revolution Pre-statehood history of Ohio American pioneers Protected areas of Washington County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Ohio Mounds in Ohio 1801 establishments in the Northwest Territory