Wakatomika was the name of two 18th century

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 ...

villages in what is now the U.S. state of

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 ...

. The name was also spelled Wapatomica, Waketomika, Waketomica, and Waketameki, among other variations, but the similar name

Wapakoneta Wapakoneta may refer to: ;Places *Wapakoneta, Ohio *The Lima- Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio Combined Statistical Area ;Ships *, United States Navy ships ;Other *The Treaty of Wapakoneta *The Wapakoneta City School District The Wapakoneta City Schoo ...

was a different Shawnee village. Both Wakatomikas were destroyed in raids, the first by colonial Virginians in 1774, the second by Kentuckians in 1786.

Wakatomika 1

The first Wakatomika was located along the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River (Shawnee: ') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 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 o ...

, near present-day

Dresden, Ohio Dresden is a village in Jefferson and Cass townships in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. It was incorporated on March 9, 1835. The population was 1,529 at the 2010 census. Histo ...

, and was close to a number of

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

towns. It was established around 1756 by Shawnees from Upper Shawneetown, which was located along the Ohio River. After the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1754, the Shawnees were distancing themselves from raids by the

colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

. For the same reason, in 1758 the Shawnee residents of

Lower Shawneetown Lower Shawneetown, also known as Shannoah or Sonnontio, was an 18th-century Shawnee village located within the Lower Shawneetown Archeological District, near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky and Lewis County, Kentucky. The population ...

, also on the Ohio River, moved fifty miles upriver and established new towns on the

Pickaway Plains Pickaway Plains is a wide area of rolling hills beginning about 3 miles south of Circleville, Ohio, and extending several miles to the north and south. This geological area was formed by sand and gravel deposited by melting water from the last glac ...

, near modern

Circleville, Ohio Circleville is a city in and the county seat of Pickaway County, Ohio, United States, set along the Scioto River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus. The population was 13,927 at the 2020 census. The city is best-known today as the host of t ...

. In August 1774, during

Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War—or Dunmore's War—was a 1774 conflict between the Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo American Indian nations. The Governor of Virginia during the conflict was John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore—Lord Dunmore. He a ...

, Wakatomika and four other Shawnee villages on the Muskingum were destroyed by Virginia colonial militia in an expedition led by Angus McDonald.

Wakatomika 2

After the destruction of the first Wakatomika in Dunmore's War, the residents of Wakatomika resettled further west, establishing a new Wakatomica by 1778 on the Mad River, two miles south of present

Zanesfield, Ohio Zanesfield is a village in Logan County, Ohio, United States of America. The population was 197 at the 2010 census. It is the smallest incorporated village in Logan County. History Zanesfield is named for Isaac Zane, who was born in 1753 in w ...

. This town, along with other nearby Shawnee towns, were destroyed in 1786 during an expedition led by

Benjamin Logan Benjamin Logan (May 1, 1743 – December 11, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia, then Shelby County, Kentucky. As colonel of the Kentucky County, Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War, he was se ...

at the outset of the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...

Legacy

The second Wakatomika is commemorated by two historical markers. The first was erected in 1930 by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission. The second was erected in 2010 by the

Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are located in Oklahoma and Missouri. The tribe holds an annual powwow every September at their tribal complex. Government The headquarters of the Ea ...

and the

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

. "Wakatomika" continues to be used for a number of place names, including: * Wakatomika, Ohio, an unincorporated community *

Wakatomika Creek Wakatomika Creek is a tributary of the Muskingum River, 42.6 mi (68.6 km) long, in central Ohio in the United States. Via the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 234 ...

* Little Wakatomika Creek *Camp Wakatomika, a

Girl Scout Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

camp in

Licking County, Ohio Licking County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark. The county was formed on January 30, 1808, from portions of Fairfield County. It is ...

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

Wapatomica marker
erected in 1930 by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission
Wapatomica marker
erected in 2010 by the

and the

{{authority control Former Native American populated places in the United States Pre-statehood history of Ohio Logan County, Ohio Muskingum County, Ohio Shawnee history Former populated places in Ohio