Marietta, Ohio
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAR : Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States. The population was 14,515 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Washington County[Geographic references#6GR6].
History
The year was 1788. A group of 48 men of the Ohio Company of Associates arrived at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers and established the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory. It was named Marietta in honor of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, who had aided the young country in its battle for independence from Great Britain.This odyssey had actually begun in 1770 when a young surveyor began exploring large tracts of land west of his native Virginia. During the Revolutionary War, this surveyor, George Washington, told his friend, General Rufus Putnam, of the beauty he had seen in his travels through the Ohio Valley and of his ideas for settling the territory. After the war, the newly formed country found itself with little money but blessed with natural resources. As a result of this cash deficit, men who had served in the revolution were paid, not with cash, but with warrants for land in the Northwest Territory. There was one problem with these warrants, however. The Federal Government did not own the land it offered until the passage of the Ordinance of 1787 which ceded ownership of the Northwest Territory to the government. The Ohio Company of Associates planned to buy 1.5 million acres (6,100 km²) of land from Congress with provisions it had written in the ordinance which allowed veterans to use their warrants to purchase the land.
When this group of 48 men, led by General Rufus Putnam, arrived, they brought with them the first government sanctioned by the United States. Fort Harmar, a military outpost built three years prior, lay across the Muskingum River. The Native Americans were not pleased with the arrival of the settlers who immediately started construction of two forts, Campus Martius, which stood at the site of the museum which today bears its name, and Picketed Point, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers. At the same time, a community was also being built in the wilderness from plans made before the group's departure from Boston.
In 1785, the Treaty of Harmar was signed, bringing some resolve with several Native American nations in regards to trade, controversy and boundaries.
The families of the settlers began arriving within a few months, as did Governor Arthur St. Clair who presided over this new territory, and, by the end of 1788, 137 people populated the area. The Treaty of Greenville was signed with the Native Americans in 1795, thus allowing the settlers to move from the safety of the fortresses and to spread out into the surrounding territory.
Religion was important to these first settlers and services were held on a regular basis, but it wasn't until 1796 that a church was chartered. This first church was Congregational and its charter was unusually inclusive due to the varied religious backgrounds of its members. The congregation constructed the first church building in 1807.
Since many of the settlers had been officers during the revolution, and were highly educated, education was also a priority for these first settlers. That first winter saw the beginning of basic education for the children at Campus Martius. In 1797, Muskingum Academy was established; it became Marietta College in 1835.
Marietta's location on two major navigable rivers made it ripe for industry and commerce from the start. Boat building was one of the early industries with even ocean going vessels being constructed and sailed down river to the Mississippi and on to the Gulf of Mexico. Brick factories and sawmills supplied materials for homes and public buildings. An iron mill, along with several foundries provided rails for the railroad industry and Marietta Chair Factory supplied furniture.
In 1860 oil was first drilled in the Marietta region. A great deal of wealth was generated for investors during oil booms in 1875 and 1910. The results of these booms can be seen even today by touring the town and observing the many large homes built by men who made their fortunes during these periods. Among those Marietta citizens who made a fortune off the burgeoning oil industry were the Dawes brothers, who founded the Pure Oil Company. All four brothers became nationally prominent businessmen or politicians - Charles Gates Dawes, Rufus C. Dawes, Beman Gates Dawes and Henry May Dawes. Charles Dawes served as the 30th Vice President of the United States.
As transportation advanced, Marietta was passed by. The B & O Railroad went through Parkersburg, West Virginia, the National Road went through Zanesville leaving Marietta off the main travel routes until 1967 with the opening of I-77. Marietta takes pride in having remained a small, quiet and prosperous community which retains its historic past and beauty of its Victorian architecture.
In 1788, the first president of the young United States had this to say about Marietta:
"No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum. If I was a young man, just preparing to begin the world, or if advanced in life and had a family to make provision for, I know of no country where I should rather fix my habitation."
Geography
Marietta is located at (39.420824, -81.450506)[Geographic references#1GR1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.2 km² (8.6 mi²). 21.5 km² (8.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (3.03%) is water.
The Muskingum River and Duck Creek flow into the Ohio River at Marietta.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 14,515 people, 5,904 households, and 3,501 families residing in the city. The population density was 674.4/km² (1,747.0/mi²). There were 6,609 housing units at an average density of 307.1/km² (795.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.31% White, 1.08% African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 married couples 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 for the city was $18,021. About 13.6% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
See also
External links
- [Convention and Visitors Bureau website]
- [The Marietta Times (local newspaper)]
- [Local discussion boards]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.