The Founding: April 7, 1788
Marietta’s origins represent the first legal expansion of the United States after the Revolution, organized under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
- The Ohio Company: A group of Revolutionary War veterans, led by General Rufus Putnam, formed the Ohio Company of Associates to purchase land in the new territory. On April 7, 1788, a group of 48 pioneers (known as the “First Forty-Eight”) arrived on a flatboat named the Union Galley (often called the “Mayflower of the West”).
- Marie Antoinette: The settlers named the town Marietta in honor of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, to recognize her country’s critical assistance during the Revolutionary War.
Indigenous Roots
Long before the Revolutionary veterans arrived, the site was a major ceremonial center for the Hopewell and Adena cultures.
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- The Earthworks: Marietta…