A Stop at Marietta

A few weeks before heading out to Cincinnati I read David McCullough's most recent book, "The Pioneers". I loved it! And then it came to me - on the way to my parents' we would be driving super close to Marietta, Ohio where all this amazing history took place. Although I wasn't sure how the boys would feel, I knew that we would for sure need to make a History Nerds stop. I promised them it would be a short detour because we're always anxious to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Our first stop was at the Campus Marius Museum which houses items and "exhibits that present the pivotal role of Marietta's founding and the creation of the Northwest Territory in our nation's history. This new territory represented the first expansion of the United States beyond the original thirteen states."

On the lower level of the museum we learned about the waves of migration that took place between 1850-1970. The boys were in pretty good moods at this point and had me laughing as they interacted with the hands-on displays.

Next we headed up to the main level to check out all the exhibits on prehistoric residents, the Native Americans, and finally the white settlers that came into the region.

After reading "The Pioneers" and coming to love these men and women who blazed the trail to Ohio, I was thrilled to see so many documents, artifacts, and personal possessions of my new heroes.

To finish up our visit, we headed up to the top floor to check out all the 19th century crafts, furniture, paintings, etc. that showcased life for 19th century families and businesses. This picture of Xander cracks me up!

This bronze tablet was exhibited in the rotunda of the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893.

We didn't spend a long time upstairs because the boys were getting a bit antsy so we had a quick stop at the gift shop for more antics...

and then we headed outdoors for a quick picture in front of the Rufus Putnum House.

Next stop was the Mound Cemetery, a historic cemetery that was developed around the base of a prehistoric burial mound to preserve it from destruction. It was such a beautiful day that the boys didn't mind walking around looking at a bunch of old tombstones.  They were even helpful finding the graves of some of the famous "pioneers" I was looking for.

This cemetery has the highest number of burials of American Revolutionary War officers in the country!

We even climbed the mound! Archaeologists estimate that it was built between 100BC and 500 AD by the peoples of the Hopewell Culture.

Our view from the top.

General Rufus Putnum, the man who led the Ohio Company to the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers.

Unfortunately Xander stepped on a bee and got stung so we had to wrap up our visit but I'm so glad  we were able to stop for a few hours so I could soak in some good 'ole history!