2,000 – 10,000 Years Ago

Hunter-gatherers gradually settled in villages, added agriculture to their lifestyle, and constructed earthworks for burial of recognized leaders.

1,000 AD – 1650

Larger villages comprised of square or round huts were constructed around a central plaza, burial in cemeteries became the custom, strong leaders were revered.

1650 – 1850

Native Indians, whites of European descent, and blacks of African descent enter the territory under different circumstances, causing clashes of culture.

1700's

1785: Fort Harmar established on the frontier.

1788: The Ohio Company, led by Rufus Putnam, establish Marietta, the first American settlement in the Northwest Territory.

1789: Belpre established, builds first public library.

1789: settlement established at Cat's Creek, near what is now Lowell.

1795: local abolitionists establish Stations on the Underground Railroad.

Early 1800's

1803: Ohio becomes a state.

1811: Steam and sternwheel era creates economic boom.

1835: Marietta College established.

1837: Lowell laid out on west side of Muskingum.

1838: Buell's Lowell laid out on east side of Muskingum.

Mid to Late 1800's

Mid 1800's: Discovery of oil and gas creates economic boom.

1846: New Matamoras established.

1889: Village of Lowell established.

1890: Captain Gordon C. Greene establishes Greene Line at Newport landing which becomes the Delta Queen Steamboat Company.