Marietta, Ohio is Ohio’s first city and the first permanent settlement established in the Northwest Territory is 1788. It lies at the cross section of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers and is nicknamed “Riverboat Town.” Marietta is the site of a number of other “firsts”: Campus Martius was the first permanent school in Ohio was established in 1791; Farmers Library built in 1796 was the first library in Ohio; The Muskingum Academy, founded in 1800, was the first Academy in the Northwest Territory; the Bank of Marietta built in 1808 was the first bank in Ohio; and the first children’s home in American funded by the public was opened in 1858. Today, it is the county seat of Washington County.
The area around Marietta is the site of the Marietta Earthworks, a Hopewell Native American complex that is estimated to be more than 1500 years old. The settlers preserved the Great Mound, or Conus, by planning their own cemetery around it.
They also preserved the largest platform mounds which they called Capitolinus and Quadrophenus. The former was developed as the site for the city library. As of 1900, Mound Cemetery had the highest number of burials of Revolutionary War officers in the nation, indicating the nature of the generation that settled Marietta.
Early industries included shipbuilding, ironworks, brick factories and furniture making. Currently, the primary industry is the ferromanganese plant located outside Marietta. It is the largest plant in the US for processing manganese used in steel manufacturing.
Marietta is home to two higher education institutions: Marietta College Washington State Community College A number of famous people have called Marietta home: Hobart Bosworth, actor; early film pioneer and the first film star in a movie made in California Charles G. Dawes, politician; 30th Vice-President of the US, served under Calvin Coolidge. Graduate of Marietta College. Cast the vote to make Ohio slave-free Nancy Putnam Hollister, politician; only female governor of Ohio. Served eleven days between the terms of George Voinovich and Robert Taft
Marietta is home to two higher education institutions:
A number of famous people have called Marietta home:
Cambridge, Ohio lies 80 miles east of Columbus, Ohio at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 77. It is the county seat of Guernsey County and the only incorporated city with the county. The city stands partly on land originally settled by several Native American tribes such as the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandotte, Miami, Chippewa and Mingo. Col. Ebenezer Zane named the settlement in honor of Cambridge, Maryland. The first bridge authorized by the Northwest Territory was built in Cambridge; the area is known for its distinctive ‘S’ shaped bridges as well.
Cambridge was known for glass production and, although it is no longer an active industry, its history is captured at the National Museum of Cambridge Glass. The area was also a significant part of the coal industry in the 19thcentury. The Pennsylvania Railroad maintained a spur through east central Ohio to move vast amounts of the resource. These days, the Byesville Scenic Railway takes visitors along parts of the original rail line and educates passengers about mining and coal mining country.
Salt Fork State Park is located nearby. It is Ohio’s largest state park and also boasts the largest inland beach in the state. Visitors may also see the Kennedy House, one of the earliest homes built by the settlers to the area.
Located nearby is “The Wilds,” the largest wildlife conservation center in North America. The almost 10,000 acres are a public-private partnership between the State Department of Natural Resources, the Columbus Zoo, and other research facilities. Rare and endangered species from camels to white rhinoceros to avian specie freely inhabit the environment. Visitors may take “safari” trips through the former coal-mine and see the animals up close.
One of the largest collections of cowboy memorabilia in the country is on exhibit at the Hopalog Cassidy Museum.
Cambridge is home to five institutions of higher education: Kent State University Marietta College Muskingum College Washington State Community College Zane State Community College A number of famous people have called Cambridge home: William Lawrence Boyd, actor who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy Tom Eyen, author of Dreamgirls, 1981 Tony-award winning play John Glenn, Jr., astronaut and US Senator, first American to orbit Earth
Cambridge is home to five institutions of higher education:
A number of famous people have called Cambridge home:
