Picketed Point Stockade, Marietta, Ohio, ca 1791
The postcard above shows another of the forts built in the
Marietta, Ohio area by the Ohio Company of Associates as protection for
settlers during the Indian Wars of 1791-1795. The image on this card is one of a series published by
David Shelburne-Shelburne Films from an award-winning documentary entitled
“Opening the Door West.” The red
building in the forefront of the picture is the “red house tavern” also
known as the “Buell and Munsell Hotel.”
Built in 1789 by Joseph Buell and Levi Munsell it was the first frame
building in the Northwest Territory.
Although the fort no longer exists there is a stone marker
where it originally stood.
Picketed Point was the last of the fortifications built at
Marietta. It encompassed a space
of about four acres with blockhouses and sentry boxes. The card shows dwelling houses inside the fenced area. Military quarters were also located within the fort. The entry gates were wide enough
to admit teams such as mules, horses and oxen. The gates were constructed of thick planks sturdy enough to afford protection for
the men on guard. Like the other
forts it also had pickets and palisades as additional protection.
Stone marking the southern boundary of Picketed Point
Note the white barked tree at the front left of the
card. We saw several of these
trees on our recent visit to Marietta and did not know what they were. The lower trunk is a normal brown color
while the upper trunk and branches are white or silver colored. Without leaves it was difficult to
guess what these striking trees might be.
We asked at the Campus Martius Museum and found out that they are Silver
Maples, a tree that is fast growing and is often found along waterways and
wetlands so it is sometimes also called a “water maple.” It is not found in the northwestern
United States but is one of the most common trees in the eastern United States
and Canada.
Silver Maple
The magnificent specimen shown above is located in the parkway off
Front Street along the Muskingum River in Marietta. We also saw several of these trees growing along the bank by
the Harmar footbridge as well as here and there throughout Marietta. The original forest surrounding
Picketed Point was composed of hardwood trees such as oak, elm, hickory, beech
and maple that still grow there although not as abundantly as they did in the
1700s due to early logging and construction. Most of the evergreen trees we saw were pines and may have
been planted by the inhabitants sometime later. Ohio Buckeye trees can be found almost everywhere also. They produce a fruit similar to a
chestnut in appearance. The inner
nut is said to resemble the eye of a buck, hence the name. The nuts and shell casings can be found
in great numbers on the ground as these native trees were very popular and have
been planted along the streets. Supposedly the first tree felled in the
Northwest Territory was a Buckeye.
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