Marietta

Marietta is a town in Ohio which was one of the earliest American points of settlement west of the Ohio River. It was borne out of the Northwest Ordinance which allowed the Ohio Company to purchase land on behalf of the United States government and settle there. The first group to settle in Marietta was led by General Rufus Putnam who, along with some of peers who made the journey there from New England, remained a Marietta resident for the rest of his life. The town grew rapidly and was the site of a close-knit settler community which, against all odds, overcame famine, disease, and political turmoil to continue thriving in Ohio. Figures such as Ephraim Cutler helped to promote the cause of education, making Marietta a politically and socially progressive place. Marietta and its inhabitants are the core subject matter of The Pioneers by David McCullough...