![Ottawa River at Rimer, downstream during flooding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Ottawa_River_at_Rimer%2C_downstream_during_flooding.jpg)
The Ottawa River (
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 ...
: ''Koskothiipi'' ) is a tributary of the
Auglaize River
The Auglaize River (Shawnee: ''Kathinakithiipi'') is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river was derived from the F ...
, approximately long,
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed May 19, 2011 in northwestern
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The river is named for the
Ottawa tribe of
Native Americans who inhabited the area in the 18th century.
It shares its name with another river in northwestern Ohio, the
Ottawa River in
Toledo, as well as the
Ottawa River in Ontario & Quebec, Canada.
It rises in northern
Hardin County and flows northwest, then west-southwest through
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
. Approximately southeast of Lima it turns abruptly north, flowing into western
Putnam County and joining the Auglaize from the southeast approximately northwest of
Kalida.
The Ottawa River is also known locally and historically as ''"Hog Creek"''.
[
] The origin of this name is ascribed to the following legend:
Alexander McKee
Alexander McKee ( – 15 January 1799) was an American-born military officer and colonial official in the British Indian Department during the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the Northwest Indian War. He achieved the ...
, the British Indian Agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government.
Background
The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...
, who resided at the Machachac towns, on Mad River, during the incursion of General Logan from Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
in 1786, was obliged to flee with his effects. He had a large lot of swine, which were driven on to the borders of this stream, and when the Indians (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 ...
) came on they called the river Koshko Sepe, which in the Shawnee language signified 'The Creek of the Hogs, or Hog Stream'.
See also
*
List of rivers of Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, whose name in turn originated from the Seneca word '' ohiːyo, meaning "good river", "great river" or "large creek". The Ohi ...
References
External links
This Is My River - Ottawa River Coalition
{{authority control
Rivers of Ohio
Lima, Ohio
Rivers of Hardin County, Ohio
Rivers of Putnam County, Ohio
Rivers of Allen County, Ohio
Tributaries of Lake Erie