Celebrating a bold legacy . . .

The year 2013 marks the 225th anniversary of the landing of the Ohio Company at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers on April 7, 1788. The settlement was first called Adelphi, but by July the name was changed to Marietta in honor of Marie Antoinette, queen of France.  
Each year on April 7, the Washington County Historical Society hosts the annual Pioneer Day Dinner to mark the day.  Historians at the Henry Fearing House Museum welcome school children who gather to ring the yard bell to commemorate the occasion.  The bell towers of the First Congregational Church on Front Street chime special songs in tribute.

Many artifacts from the early settlers, including the original Ohio Company land office (seen here) and the block house occupied by the Rufus Putnam family, are available on display at the Campus Martius Museum. The Special Collections of the Marietta College Legacy Library contain several documents related to the founding, including an original printing of the Northwest Ordinance and papers containing the signatures of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Also special this year, the 225th birthday celebration will come to life in June when a group of residents will re-enact the pioneers’ journey along the Ohio and their historic landing in Marietta.