Town of the Week

Marietta, Ohio
December 11, 1999

In the early morning mist of April 7, 1788, 48 men in a flatboat and three canoes arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum River. These men of the Ohio Company stepped ashore and began what was to be the first organized settlement of the Northwest Territory. The men were General George Washington’s soldiers who accepted land in lieu of back pay for their military service.

First called Muskingum, the community soon took the name Marietta to honor French Queen Marie Antoinette, whose government supported the Americans in the War against Great Britain. Because of its location where the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers meet, shipbuilding became a thriving business, with hundreds of ocean-going vessels built and sent to ports all over the world. For a century, Marietta was a river-boat town, and the largest river boats still make regular stops here. Every September Marietta hosts the Ohio River Sternwheeler Festival, with as many as 50 of the ships in an old-fashioned race.

The city is home to Marietta College, a nationally recognized liberal arts college, and also of Washington State Community College. The Marietta Chair factory produced a variety of kinds of furniture, as well as a number of skilled wood workers. Their handiwork can be found in the large number of Victorian era homes with ornate gingerbread even in working class neighborhoods. It's a pioneering community and our Town of the Week, Marietta, Ohio.

Take a trip to Marietta, Ohio; just listen in.

Problem listening to Real Audio? Get Help!