Marietta Earthworks map   Save
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Description: Map illustrating the ancient earthworks and terrain near the city of Marietta, drawn by Rufus Putnam in 1802. The Marietta Earthworks site is a large Hopewell ceremonial center located at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers in Washington County. Originally, it 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. In 1788, the directors of the Ohio Company of Associates, who were the founders of Marietta, agreed to preserve important parts of the earthworks as parks. Three segments of the Marietta Earthworks are maintained as public parks today. Originally known as Adelphia, meaning "brotherhood," Marietta was the first settlement founded by the Ohio Company of Associates in the Northwest Territory in 1788, and the first permanent settlement of the United States in the territory north and west of the Ohio River. The Ohio Company's investors renamed the community after Queen Marie Antoinette of France, in honor of France's contributions to the American victory in the American Revolution. The first settlers were led by Rufus Putnam, who was one of the Ohio Company's early investors. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02885
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1–400); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Putnam, Rufus, 1738-1824; Earthworks (Archaeology); Mounds--Ohio River Valley
Places: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)