Marietta is a city in, and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

s, northeast of

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metrop ...

. As of the 2020 census, Marietta has a population of 13,385 people and is the principal city of the Marietta Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington County, and is the second-largest city in the Parkersburg–Marietta–Vienna, WV–OH Combined Statistical Area. Founded in 1788 by pioneers to the Ohio Country, Marietta was the first permanent U.S. settlement in the newly established

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 ...

, created in 1787, and what would later become the state of Ohio. It is named for

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

, then Queen of France, in honor of French aid in the American Revolution. Prior to American settlement, the area was inhabited by various native tribes of the

Hopewell tradition The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from ...

, who built the Marietta Earthworks, a complex more than 1,500 years old, whose Great Mound and other major monuments were preserved by the earliest settlers in parks such as Mound Cemetery. Since 1835 the city has been home to Marietta College, a private, nonsectarian liberal arts school with approximately 1,200 students. Leading up to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, the city was a station on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

Geography

Marietta is located at (39.420824, −81.450506). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The Muskingum River and Duck Creek flow into the

at Marietta. The area is part of the

Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a mountain range that run down the Eastern United States. The Appalachian Plateau is the nor ...

which covers the eastern half of Ohio. The Appalachian Plateau consists of steep hills and valleys and is the most rugged area in the state. The area is within the

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

of the Western Allegheny Plateau. This portion of the state has some of Ohio's most abundant mineral deposits.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by humid summers, cold winters, and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year that can not be accurately predicted because of the amount of water in the Ohio Valley. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Marietta has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.

History

Prehistoric

Succeeding Indigenous cultures lived along the Ohio River and its tributaries for thousands of years. Among them were more than one culture who built earthwork mounds, monuments which generally expressed their cosmology, often with links to astronomical events. Between 100 BC and AD 500, the Hopewell culture built the multi-earthwork complex on the terrace east of the Muskingum River near its mouth with the Ohio. It is now known as the Marietta Earthworks. Developed over many years, it had a large enclosed square, within which were four platform mounds, used for ceremonial purposes and elite residential; another square, and a larger conical mound used for burials. A walled, graded path led to the river's edge. By the time of the historic tribes, such as the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

, the purposes and makers of the monuments were no longer known.

Settlement

French explorers entered this area in the 18th century, and in 1749 buried numerous leaden plates to mark their claim to the Ohio Country (which they called the Illinois Territory, as they had more settlements near the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

.) They later ceded their territory east of the Mississippi to Great Britain after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. Two of their plates were discovered in the Marietta area in 1798, and one was replicated for what is known as the French monument, erected in the 20th century (see photo). In 1770, the future U.S. president

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, then a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...

, began exploring large tracts of land west of his native

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. During the Revolutionary War, Washington told his friend General Rufus Putnam of the beauty he had seen in his travels through the

Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illin ...

and of his ideas for settling the territory. In the summer of 1781, John Carpenter built Carpenter's Fort, or Carpenter's Station as it was sometimes called, a fortified house above the mouth of Short Creek on the Ohio side of the Ohio River, near present-day Marietta. After the American Revolutionary War, the United States sold or granted large tracts of land to stimulate development in this area. Marietta was founded by settlers from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

who were investors in the Ohio Company of Associates. It was the first of numerous

settlements in what was then the

.Lois Kimball Mathews, ''The Expansion of New England: The Spread of New England Settlement and Institutions to the Mississippi River, 1620–1865'', page 175 These New Englanders, or "

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

s" as they were called, were descended from the

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

English colonists who had settled

in the 1600s and were primarily

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs i ...

. The first church constructed in Marietta was a Congregationalist church, founded around 1786. Before the mid-1790s services were held at the fort or in Munsell's Hall at nearby Point Harmar. In 1798 the Muskingum Academy was built on the site of the 19th century Marietta Congregationalist Church. The academy building served for both educational and religious purposes. After the war, the newly formed United States had little cash but plenty of land. Eager to develop additional lands, the new government decided to pay veterans of the Revolution with

warrants Warrant may refer to: * Warrant (law), a form of specific authorization ** Arrest warrant, authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual ** Search warrant, a court order issued that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search for eviden ...

for land in the

, which was organized under federal authority in 1787 by the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

. Competing states had agreed to end their claims to the lands; Pennsylvania and Virginia received some lands in a settlement.

Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...

was appointed by the president as governor of the new territory. He was inaugurated on a site now marked by the

Start Westward Memorial file:New Monument in city park, Marietta, Ohio, Tichnor Brothers, c. 1930-1945, from the Digital Commonwealth - 1 commonwealth fn1078117.jpg, upA 1938 postcard of the memorial The Start Westward Memorial, officially known as the Memorial to the ...

. The Ohio Company of Associates had supported provisions in the ordinance to allow veterans to use their warrants to purchase the land. They bought 1.5 million

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

(6,100 km²) of land from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. On April 7, 1788, 48 men of the Ohio Company of Associates, led by General Putnam, arrived at the confluence of the Muskingum and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

rivers. The site was on the east side of the Muskingum River, across from Fort Harmar, a military outpost built three years prior. Bringing with them the first government sanctioned by the US for this area,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) they established the first permanent United States settlement in the

.Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume I'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917).Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume II'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). Note: (Older European settlements in the Northwest Territory region include Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 1668;

Cahokia, Illinois Cahokia was a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It was located east of the Mississippi River in the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, 15,241 people lived in the village, a decline from 16,391 in 20 ...

, 1696,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 1701;

Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country. It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th ...

, 1703, Ouiatenon, Indiana, 1717, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, 1720; Vincennes, Indiana, 1732,

Clarksville, Indiana Clarksville is a town in Clark County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River and is a part of the Louisville Metropolitan area. The population was 22,333 at the 2020 census. The town was founded in 1783 by early resident George Rogers Cla ...

, 1783,

Martin's Ferry, Ohio Martins Ferry is a city in Belmont County, Ohio, United States, on the Ohio River across from Wheeling, West Virginia. It is the largest city in Belmont County. The population was 6,915 as of the 2010 census. It is most known as the birth place o ...

, 1785, Fort Finney/

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louis ...

, 1786, most settled by ethnic French colonists from Canada.) The Americans named Marietta in honor of

, the Queen of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, who had aided the colonies in their battle for independence from Great Britain. The Indigenous peoples were unhappy to see white settlers moving into their territory. The latter immediately started construction of two forts:

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

, whose former site is now occupied by the museum of the same name, and

Picketed Point Stockade Picketed Point Stockade was the last of three fortifications built at Marietta, Ohio. This defensive stockade was built by pioneers during the Northwest Indian War in 1791 on the east side of the mouth of the Muskingum River at its confluence ...

, at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers. At the same time, the settlers started developing their community, platted according to plans they had made in Boston. CampusMartius

In 1788, George Washington said: The families of the settlers began arriving within a few months. By the end of 1788, 137 people populated the area. In 1789, the United States signed the Treaty of Fort Harmar with several Indigenous tribes that occupied areas of the

, to settle issues related to trade, as well as the boundary between their lands and United States settlement. The US did not address the Indigenous people's major grievance about American settlers moving into their lands, particularly in the Western Reserve, where there were disputes over land. Although Congress authorized Governor

to give land back to the Indigenous people, he did not do so. Conflict increased as the Indigenous people tried to push the settlers out. After years of warfare in the region, they were defeated. The US signed the Treaty of Greenville (1795) with the Indigenous people, which secured the safety of settlers to leave the forts and develop their farms. The settlers held services regularly and chartered the first church in 1799. It was a Congregational institution; its charter was unusually inclusive due to the varied religious backgrounds of its members. The congregation constructed the first church building in 1807. The original church burned in 1905 and another constructed in its place in 1906. The church, First Congregational Church United Church of Christ, is the longest continuously worshiping congregation west of the Alleghenies. Education was important to the settlers, many of whom had been officers during the Revolution. During that first winter, they began a basic school for the children at Campus Martius. In 1797, settlers founded Muskingum Academy. The town had numerous

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

, and Ephraim Cutler was instrumental as a state delegate in 1802 at the state convention in swaying the vote for the state to be free of slavery.Robert C. Yeager, "A Historic River Town Where the West Began"
''New York Times'', November 6, 2009, accessed August 22, 2012

19th century

Townspeople organized and chartered Marietta College in 1835. It was used as a station on the

to help

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

escape from the South.

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subse ...

was founded earlier in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, on land reserved for public education under the Northwest Ordinance. The settlers preserved the Great Mound, or ''Conus,'' by planning their own

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

around it. They also preserved the two largest platform mounds, which they called ''Capitolinus'' and ''Quadrophenus.'' The former was developed as the site for the city library. As of 1900, the Mound Cemetery had the highest number of burials of Revolutionary War officers in the nation, indicating the nature of the generation that settled Marietta. Marietta's location on two major navigable rivers made it ideal for industry and

commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, natio ...

Boat building Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull (watercraft), hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and met ...

was one of the early industries. Artisans built oceangoing vessels and sailed them downriver to the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and south to New Orleans and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. In less than two decades after settlement, the

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

had been developed, and was also constructed here. Brick factories and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s supplied materials for homes and public buildings. An iron mill, along with several foundries, provided rails for the growing

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

industry; the Marietta Chair Factory made

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...

Marietta Works Squier and Davis Plate XXVI

Interest in the prehistoric culture that built the Marietta Earthworks continued. The complex was surveyed and drawn by Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis, whose large project on numerous prehistoric mounds throughout the Ohio and Mississippi valleys was 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". Found ...

in 1848 as '' Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley.'' It was the first book published by the Smithsonian. Their drawing above shows the plan of the original complex, which "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.""Marietta Earthworks"
Ohio History Central, accessed August 20, 2012 The walled, graded path, called by the settlers the ''

Sacra Via The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The ...

'', led from the largest enclosure to the lower river's edge. This pathway was destroyed in 1843 during mid-nineteenth century development.

Railroads and oil

Local development began with the Belpre and Cincinnati Railroad (B&C); it was founded in 1845. It was intended to connect from Belpre, Ohio, the next town downriver, to a planned

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

(B&O) spur to Parkersburg. But, for years, the Virginia government did not allow the B&O to construct track south of Wheeling. In 1851 developers changed the Ohio state terminus to Marietta and changed the name of the railroad to the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad that year. The right-of-way for an alternate connection to the B&O extended upriver from Marietta to Bellaire, Ohio. The M&C was bankrupt by 1857, but construction of track continued west to reach

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. The first through-train from Cincinnati ran on April 9, 1857. The M&C got out of bankruptcy in 1860. In 1871, the Ohio Valley Railroad was formed and for the next two years built tracks going north for 103 miles. Their home office was in Marietta, with treasurer offices in Pittsburgh. The Ohio Valley railroad was reorganized as the Marietta and Cleveland. The Pennsylvania Railroad in its expansion later purchased the railroad and its right-of-way between Marietta and Bellaire. Passengers traveling between Marietta and Parkersburg, Virginia (now West Virginia) had to take a steamboat for the 14 miles between the two towns and transfer. With help from the B&O and the Baltimore City Council, the Union Railroad finally connected Marietta to Belpre, Ohio in 1860. Later absorbed by the B&O, this section of track is still in operation (2008), with unit coal trains providing most of the traffic. The planned

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

from Parkersburg across the Ohio River to Belpre was finally built 1868–1870 by the B&O, as part of its main line from Baltimore to St. Louis, Missouri. This cut Marietta off from traffic and trade, although it retained local and Ohio service. In the early 20th century, 24 passenger trains served Marietta each day, most of which ran on the PRR tracks. William P. Cutler was a major figure in the M&C. He also backed the Union Railroad and the Marietta, Columbus and Cleveland Railroad, among other local railroads. Cutler served as General Manager and as President of the M&C for many years. In 1860, oil was first drilled in the Marietta region. Oil booms in 1875 and 1910 made investors rich, who constructed numerous lavish houses in town, of which many still stand. The Dawes brothers of Marietta founded the Pure Oil Company. All four brothers became nationally prominent businessmen and/or politicians: Charles Gates Dawes, Rufus C. Dawes, Beman Gates Dawes and Henry May Dawes. Charles Dawes was elected in 1924 with President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

to serve as the 30th

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

(1925–1929). In 1925, he shared the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

, based on his work on the Dawes Plan and relieving an international crisis in 1923 related to German reparations after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In 1880, the first

Putnam Street Bridge The Putnam Street Bridge, also known as the Marietta Bridge, is a historic United States river crossing that connects Marietta, Ohio, with its Fort Harmar district. The original 1880 bridge was the first free crossing of the Muskingum River. The 1 ...

was opened to connect Marietta to Fort Harmar. It provided the first free crossing of the Muskingum River.

20th century

As transportation advanced along railroads and highways, Marietta was initially passed by. From 1868 to 1870, the B & O Railroad built a bridge to connect

and Belpre; and the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

went further north through

Zanesville Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capi ...

. But, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

expanded in the late 19th century and had a station in Marietta, running 26 daily trains between Marietta and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. After WWII passenger service decreased as the railroads restructured and the federal government invested in highway construction. The last rail passenger service ended in 1953. Marietta was relatively isolated from new travel routes until 1967, when

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

was opened with close access to the city. Before the United States entered the Great War, a group of 23 young men went from Marietta College to serve in France in 1917 as an ambulance unit; four died in battle. In 1937–1938, during the US celebration of the Northwest Territory, France gave a plaque to the city of Marietta, which was installed on the French monument, to commemorate these young men and their service. In 1939, the

Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen The Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen, or S&D, is an historical organization operating out of Marietta, OH. According to its website, it "was established in 1939 to perpetuate the memory of pioneer rivermen and for the preservation of river hi ...

was established in Marietta during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

to celebrate the city's substantial river history and its people. Two years later the

Ohio River Museum The Ohio River Museum is a museum that interprets the history of the Ohio River. The museum is situated on the Muskingum River, near its confluence with the Ohio River, in Marietta, Ohio. Opened on March 16, 1941, the museum celebrated its 7 ...

was opened. In 1972, the museum campus was totally redesigned.

Economy

Marietta is home of the longest-running ferromanganese refinery in North America,

Eramet Eramet is a French multinational mining and metallurgy company, listed on the Euronext Paris exchange under the symbol ERA. The company was founded with the funding of the Rothschild family (although they were careful to avoid being listed as fou ...

Marietta Industries Inc., the only ferromanganese refinery in the United States until recently, and leader in

Manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

emissions.

Government

Local government

The city of Marietta uses the mayor-council form of government. The mayor is a full-time position; the seven city council members and the city council president are all part-time positions.

The President of Council

The president of council presides over all regular and special meetings of the council although he has no vote therein except in case of a tie. The president of council appoints all council members to the standing committees and is responsible for several city board and commission appointments as well as in charge of the records of city council. The president of council oversees all the day-to-day operations of the clerk of council. The president of council serves as the liaison to the city administration. When the mayor is absent from the city or unable to perform his duties, the president of council shall become acting mayor and shall have the same powers and perform the same duties as the mayor. The president of council is elected to a two-year term.

At-Large Councilmen

Three at-large council members represent the entire city of Marietta. All members of council chair a standing committee and serve on two other standing committees. At-large council members sponsor and introduce legislation and have a vote. All council members are elected to two-year terms.

Ward Councilmen

Four ward council members represent each of the city's four wards. All members of council chair a standing committee and serve on two other standing committees. Ward council members sponsor and introduce legislation and have a vote. All council members are elected to two-year terms.

President Pro Tem

A president pro tem is chosen by the members of the council from among the council to serve as the president pro tem (acting president of council) in the absence, disability or when the president of council is serving as acting mayor.

Clerk of Council

The clerk of council is responsible for recording council meeting minutes, reading the legislation at council meetings and performing the daily operations of the council office. The council clerk is appointed by the council and is supervised by the president of council.

Mayor of Marietta

Joshua D. Schlicher is the current Mayor of Marietta. A Republican, Schlicher previously served as President of the Marietta City Council. His term began on January 1, 2020, winning the 2019 election against Democratic candidate Harley Noland and the incumbent Mayor Joe Matthews, who ran as an independent after serving in office as a Democrat.

Safety Service Director

Steven Wetz is the current Safety Service Director of Marietta. He was appointed by Schlicher in 2020. City of Marietta politics feature a number of citizens groups that influence policy and public opinion. Such groups as Citizens for Responsible Government, the Citizen's Armory Preservation Society, and Neighbors for Clean Air work to improve the public process and exercise significant influence over the government of the city.

State and federal government

The residents of the city of Marietta are represented by Republica
Jay Edwards (District 94)
and by Republican Don Jones in the Ohio House of Representatives and Republica
Frank Hoagland (District 30)
in the Ohio Senate. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Marietta is represented by Republican Bill Johnson.

Transportation

Highways

Interstates

Interstate 77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

runs east of Marietta connecting it to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, to the north and

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charlesto ...

, to the south.

State Routes

Five state routes run through Marietta. These are: Ohio State Route 7, Ohio State Route 60,

Ohio State Route 26 State Route 26 (SR 26) is a north–south route in south eastern Ohio spanning from SR 7 in Marietta to SR 148 between Jerusalem and Bethesda. SR 26 also passes through Graysville and Woodsfield. Where the state route designation ends ...

Ohio State Route 550 State Route 550 (SR 550) is an east–west state highway in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. The western terminus of SR 550 is at an interchange with U.S. Route 33 (US 33) just north of the city limits of Athens, immediat ...

, and Ohio State Route 676.

Air

Marietta is served by

Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport is seven miles northeast of Parkersburg, in Wood County, West Virginia. It is owned by the Wood County Airport Authority and is also known as Wood County Airport or Gill Robb Wilson Field. It serves the Mid-Ohio ...

in Williamstown, West Virginia, which has three flights a day Monday through Friday from

Charlotte Douglas International Airport Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles we ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 14,085 people, 5,828 households, and 3,215 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 6,519 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population. There were 5,828 households, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.8% were non-families. 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age in the city was 39 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 16% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64; and 18.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 14,515 people, 5,904 households, and 3,501 families residing in the city. The

was 1,747.0 people per square mile (674.4/km²). There were 6,609 housing units at an average density of 795.4 per square mile (307.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.31%

, 1.08%

, 0.46% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.28% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population. There were 5,904 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were

living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 14.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,272, and the median income for a family was $36,042. Males had a median income of $30,683 versus $22,085 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $18,021. About 13.6% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Environmental issues

Eramet has released thousands of pounds of

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

and other hazardous air pollutants into the air.

Education

As of 2021, the Marietta City School District operates three elementary schools (two preK-2nd and one 3rd-6th), and one building that houses a middle/high school, Marietta High School. Phillips Elementary and Washington Elementary house the preK-2nd grades. The elementary school that houses 3rd-6th grades is located in the building that was previously the middle school. Marietta has a public library, a branch of the Washington County Public Library.

Notable people

* Founding pioneers, including

, Major General and Patriot in the revolutionary war, 9th President of the Continental Congress, he was the first governor of the Northwest Territory, Gen. Rufus Putnam, Gen.

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 brigadier general. Subsequently, he served ...

, Gen.

James 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 Rh ...

, Gen. Samuel Holden Parsons, Commodore Abraham Whipple, Col. William Stacy,

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 pe ...

, and other notable pioneers. *

Levi Barber Levi Barber (October 16, 1777 – April 23, 1833) was a surveyor, court administrator, banker, and legislator who served two non-conservative terms in the United States House Of Representatives in the early 19th century. Early life and career ...

, was a surveyor, court administrator, banker, and member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Fifteenth United States Congress, &

Seventeenth United States Congress The 17th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, t ...

Dewey F. Bartlett Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Cat ...

, 19th

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex o ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

* Mary Bird Lake, the town's first Sunday school teacher. *

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil W ...

, movie actor, director, writer and producer. * John Brough, 26th

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives * Clem S. Clarke, oilman and Republican politician from Shreveport, Louisiana; born in Marietta in 1897 * William Cutler, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives *

Charles G. Dawes Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-rec ...

, 30th

* Rufus Dawes, Union Brigadier General who commanded troops as part of Wisconsin's Iron Brigade at Gettysburg. Later served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. * Larry Dickson, auto racer * Charles H. Elston, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

* Althea Flynt, pornographic model, and wife of magazine magnate, Larry Flynt * Marion Havighurst, poet, novelist, and children's author * Samuel Prescott Hildreth, pioneer physician, scientist, and historian * Nancy Hollister, 66th Governor of Ohio,

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as ...

, member of the Ohio House of Representatives * Perley Brown Johnson, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives * Alf Landon, 26th

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, 1936 Republican Presidential Candidate * Francis B. Loomis, 25th United States Assistant Secretary of State * Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., 4th Governor of Ohio and 5th United States Postmaster General * Robert Oliver (soldier) (1738–1810), American Revolutionary War lieutenant colonel and politician * C. William O'Neill, 59th Governor of Ohio, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, Associate & Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Attorney General of the State of Ohio * Harrison Gray Otis, ''Los Angeles Times'' * Greg Pryor, former Major League Baseball infielder * Warner Wing, Michigan jurist and legislator * George White, 52nd

William A. Whittlesey William Augustus Whittlesey (July 14, 1796 – November 6, 1866) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1849 to 1851. He was the nephew of Elisha ...

, former US Congressman *

Chief Zimmer Charles Louis "Chief" Zimmer (November 23, 1860 – August 22, 1949) was an American professional baseball player whose playing career spanned from 1884 to 1906. He played for 19 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), including 13 s ...

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player and manager File:PUTNAM exb.jpg, Rufus Putnam File:James Mitchell Varnum.jpg,

File:AbrahamWhippleColorPortrait.jpg, Abraham Whipple File:AnselmTupper.jpg,

Anselm Tupper Anselm Tupper (1763–1808) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a American pioneers to the Northwest Territory, pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, the first permanen ...

File:EbenezerSproatPortrait.jpg,

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 ...

File:GriffinGreene.jpg,

Notable events

* Since 1975, the Ohio River Sternwheel Festival has been held on the weekend after Labor Day in September. 2021 was the 45th annual event, which attracts dozens of Sternwheelers to the banks of the Ohio River near downtown Marietta. The Festival includes performances from musical artists, Sternwheel races, and a large fireworks display; it attracts tens of thousands of visitors from across the country. * The Riverfront Roar powerboat races are held annually in July. The event includes Formula 2 and Formula 3 powerboat racing along the Ohio River. * Marietta Civil War Reenactment is also held at the end of September. It includes Union and Confederate reenactors battling across the scenic Muskingum River. * Goodfest is held at Goodfellows Park; this local music festival for teenagers features local musicians in a drug & alcohol-free environment. * A number of rowing regattas are held throughout the spring. Chief among them Marietta High School's Ralph Lindamood Memorial Regatta and the Marietta Invitational Regatta hosted by Marietta College, which brings some of the nation's fastest college rowing programs to the Muskingum River. In the fall season, the "Head of the Muskingum" head race is held, again drawing rowing teams from across the country. The race is run over a 3–3.5 mile course starting in Devola, Ohio and ending at Marietta College's Lindamood-Van Voorhis Boathouse. * The 2016 Ohio State of the State address was held at People's Bank Theater on April 6. The speech was given by governor John Kasich.

Sister cities

Sister city: Rutland, Massachusetts

References

External links

Official city government website

Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce website

Convention and Visitors Bureau website

WMOA
local radio station
''The Marietta Times''
daily newspaper
Chris Sandford, "Marietta Earthworks"
Links to articles and early maps hosted on Ohio University faculty website {{authority control Cities in Ohio Cities in Washington County, Ohio Populated places established in 1788 County seats in Ohio Muskingum River Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States Ohio populated places on the Ohio River Populated places on the Underground Railroad 1788 establishments in the Northwest Territory Marie Antoinette