Marietta, Ohio

When we got to Marietta, the golden rod was is full bloom; now the purple asters are flowering.  The pretty red maple on Highway 7 has lost most of its leaves.  We’ve been here so long I’m thinking we should register to vote. But I like the Marietta, Ohio/Parkersburg, West Virginia area and would actually stay a few more days.  Jim is getting antsy, however, plus we have to get back to Lancaster, Ohio to figure out what is going on with a “nice to have” RV part a repair shop ordered for us.  It was supposed to arrive in five days, then the shop said within 14 days. Today is day 16 and it’s still not here.  So it’s time for a face-to-face with the shop owner.  Not looking forward to that. 

But first, a bit about Marietta, which is at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingham Rivers, and full of monuments, grand-looking Victorian-era and earlier homes, and historical markers.  Established in 1788, Marietta  was the first permanent settlement of the “The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio,” more commonly known as the Northwest Territory.  The NW Territory became the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and the northeast part of Minnesota.  

Below are photos of a few places we visited.

Bev walks up the steps to a mound built by prehistoric mound builders called the Adena at the Mound Cemetery.  The cemetery is also the final resting place of more Revolutionary War officers than any other single location. 

“Start Westward of the United States” is the name of this memorial, which commemorates the 42 pioneers who first came to Marietta in 1788.  It was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, who also carved the presidents of Mt. Rushmore.

Bev at the Fort Harmer post office.  Fort Harmar was the first US military installation in the Northwest Territory.  The site was surveyed and recommended for use as a fort by future general and president George Washington. The fort has been taken over by the Muskingham River, but many historic buildings remain and we took a walking tour. 

This Harmar Village, Italianate-style 22-room mansion was built in 1859. 

Jim eating the Harmar Tavern’s specialty, a fried bologna sandwich. 

The Lafayette Hotel is in downtown Marietta near the confluence of the Muskingham and the Ohio Rivers.  It’s named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero (and major general under George Washington and Washington’s life-long friend) of the American Revolutionary War, who visited Marietta in 1825.

About 1,400 students attend Marietta College, which offers liberal arts degrees and was founded in 1835.  Tuition is $29,000 a year.

All the historic homes have made me interested in architecture; I’ve got to get a book.  This house, “The Castle,” was built in 1855 and its web site calls it “one of the best examples of Gothic Revival style architecture in Ohio.”  The Castle was offering a “Victorian Funeral Program” and at first Jim wasn’t interested -- but after spending our late evenings watching the HBO series “Six Feet Under” (about a family that runs a funeral home) on DVD for the past week, he thought maybe it would be OK.  I’ll post something later on what we learned about Victorian funeral traditions and the  “dismal trades."

Twenty-one locks along the Ohio River keep the water deep enough so barges and large boats can make the trip.  This lock is at Willow Island, Ohio, about ten miles east of Marietta.  A barge pushing several 100-foot long containers is entering the lock at the left.  Right above the barge and in the background is the Pleasants Power Plant (see post dated Monday, October 3, 2011) on the West Virginia side of the river.