There’s history on every corner in Marietta, Ohio’s oldest town, created years before the state was founded in 1803.
And in between those corners? Popular restaurants and fun shops, elegant houses, interesting museums and waterfront views.
You might even encounter a ghost.
Founded in 1788 at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, Marietta was the capital of the Northwest Territory, the vast region west of Pennsylvania that eventually became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Fast forward 235 years, and Marietta today is a charming combination of past and present, a lovely place to spend an afternoon or a long weekend.
Some of the buildings in town date back to the city’s earliest days and are among the state’s oldest structures, including the Ohio Company Land Office, where early surveyors plotted the distribution of nearly 1 million acres of land, and the home of Rufus Putnam, an early settler who is considered the father of the Northwest Territory.
Both structures are part of the Campus Martius Museum, built in 1928 on the site of the original stockade, which protected members of the Ohio Company during the Ohio Indian Wars.
The museum, operated by the Ohio History Connection, offers a well-rounded introduction to the region’s history, with artifacts from the state’s earliest days, including surveying equipment, Continental Congress currency and a sword presented to Putnam by George Washington in 1792. Also here: the French dress coat presented by Marquis de Lafayette to Israel Putnam as gesture of gratitude for Putnam’s service during the Revolutionary War.
The French connections run deep in Marietta, which was named to honor Queen Marie Antoinette for France’s support of the colonies during their fight for independence.
Marietta, with a population of about 13,400, is an easy 2 ½ hour drive from Cleveland, just off I-77 before you cross the Ohio River into West Virginia.
The two rivers define the town – and occasionally flood it. Markers along the Muskingum are a visible reminder of the region’s most devastating floods, including a March 1913 disaster that swept away 120 homes.
Visitors can take a boat tour of both rivers aboard the Valley Gem sternwheeler, a modern replica of a Victorian-era paddleboat. The 90-minute narrated sightseeing tour takes passengers around 3-mile-long Buckley Island, once a quarantine location for smallpox patients, then a small amusement park, and now part of Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
The 290-passenger Valley Gem cruises through December 31, with a variety of tours, including lock and lunch cruises, murder mysteries and holiday-themed sailings. Prices vary; for information: valleygemsternwheeler.com
Looking for more activities in Marietta? Here are some highlights of Ohio’s most historic town:
Campus Martius Museum: In addition to the early Ohio artifacts, the museum features exhibits on the Civil War, American Indian life and “Paradise Lost and Found,” an interactive exploration of the migration patterns that brought rural Ohioans to the state’s urban centers starting in the late 19th century. See mariettamuseums.org/campus-martius/
Nearby: The Ohio River Museum, located a block from Campus Martius on the east bank of the Muskingum, remains closed while the Ohio History Connection completes plans to rebuild it. Agency spokesman Neil Thompson said construction on the new museum should begin early in 2024, although no completion date has been set.
Mound Cemetery: This historic cemetery in the center of town is the final resting place of 37 Revolutionary War veterans, many of whom moved here after receiving federal land grants for their military service. The cemetery is home to the highest number of burials of Revolutionary War officers in the nation, including generals Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper, among others. The cemetery’s history, however, predates American independence by a couple of thousand years. In the center of the cemetery sits a large mound, 30 feet high and 375 feet in diameter, built by the Adena culture between 800 B.C. and A.D. 100. Forty-six steps lead visitors to the top, where several benches offer an opportunity for rest and reflection.
The cemetery is located a few blocks north of downtown, near Marietta College, and surrounded by some of the community’s most historic homes, including a lovely residence called the House of Seven Porches, built in 1835, the same year the college was founded.
Also nearby: The Castle, a Gothic Revival house open for tours (mariettacastle.org); the Peoples Mortuary Museum, featuring historic hearses, caskets and other funeral memorabilia (cawleyandpeoples.com/peoples-mortuary-museum); and the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Assumption, worth a stop to peek inside, designed in the early 1900s by Cleveland architect Emile Uhlrich.
Ghost tours: Hidden Marietta guides have been offering night-time ghost tours of the city for more than a decade, with stops throughout town, including at the historic Lafayette Hotel, built in 1918 and reportedly a hotbed of paranormal activity. The tour company also offers guided and self-guided tours of the historic, haunted 23-room Anchorage Mansion, built in 1859 and currently being renovated by the Washington County Historical Society. Information: hiddenmarietta.com
Downtown stroll: Marietta’s small downtown packs a punch, with numerous shops (Clutch Collective, the Cook’s Shop, Schafer Leather Store and others), plus places to dine, drink and be merry. But be warned: Many restaurants and shops are closed on Sundays.
Don’t miss downtown’s Peoples Bank Theatre, which opened in 1919, closed in 1985 and reopened in 2016 after a full-scale renovation, and currently hosts a range of movies, concerts and special events (peoplesbanktheatre.com).
Where to eat: You’ll need to spend more than a weekend to try all the options in town. Among the possibilities: Levee House Bistro, the Galley and the Riverfront Bar and Grill at the Lafayette Hotel. For breakfast, don’t miss the Busy Bee, a popular diner in Harmar Village, the historic neighborhood across the Muskingum River from downtown Marietta.
Where to stay: Options include the Hackett Hotel, with five well-appointed, oversized rooms in a 1899-era building; and the 77-room Lafayette Hotel, with rooms overlooking the Ohio River.
In the region: Ohio River Scenic Byway, Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park, Wayne National Forest
Information: mariettaohio.org
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