MARIETTA, Ohio, city, county-seat of Washington County, on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Muskingum, and on the Baltimore and Ohio and Pennsylvania railroads, about 95 miles, in direct line, southeast of Columbus. The city is in a coal, iron, petroleum and gas region with fertile agricultural lands in the valleys. Seven hundred carloads of vegetables and 400 carloads of fruit are shipped from this county annually to other markets. The manu facturing establishments include chair factory, glassworks, oil machinery and tool works, brick plant, foundries, saddle and harness plant, sheet and tin plate mill, five chemical plants, button plant, safe-cabinet works, paint and color plant, automobile devices plant. There are five banks with combined assets of over $8,000,000. The principal buildings are the Marietta College, the public schools, the churches, the county courthouse, the city hall, the post office, the chamber of commerce, the armory, public library, club houses, three office buildings, etc. The government is vested in a mayor and council and is administered ac cording to the "Ohio Municipal Code.° The site of Marietta was once part of a remarkable group of ancient works which con sisted of two sections, one containing about 40 acres, the other about 30 acres. The remains of mounds, truncated pyramids, walks, walls and other ancient works still exist, although the city covers a large part of the original en closures. The first settlement was made in
1788 by people from New England, under Gen. Rufus Putnam, acting for the "Ohio Corn pang° who had secured a grant of lands on both sides of the Muskingum River. The place was named in honor of Marie Antoinette. Arthur Saint Clair organized here July 1788 the Northwest Territory. In 1800, Marietta was incorporated as a town. Fort Harmar, built in 1785, was opposite Marietta, and in 1890 the village of Harmar, once the site of the fort, was annexed to the city. The building used as the land office for the "Ohio Company," the old Block House, and the mansion of the first governor of Ohio, are still standing here and in good condition. The museum contains many things of historic interest. Many of the pioneers of New England as well as of Ohio, and many of the Revolutionary soldiers, were buried in the Marietta cemetery. Pop. approxi mately, 16,000. The city limits have been extended and several large plants have been established. Consult King, 'History of Ohio' ; Hoar, 'Oration at the Celebration of the Cen tennial of the Founding of the Northwest at Marietta.'