Campus Martius
Campus Martius was the name the settlers of Marietta gave to the fortifications they built to protect their new settlement.
Campus Martius was chosen as a reference to the civilization of ancient Rome. Located within the settlement, Campus Martius was intended to provide protection from Native American attacks. Log walls surrounded the outside of the fortifications, and within their confines were four blockhouses. In the early days of the settlement, one of the blockhouses served as the community's school and another as a church. Campus Martius was also the original location for town meetings, the New Englanders' form of local government, and the first court in the region.
The Ohio Historical Society currently operates a museum at Campus Martius. One of the original houses of Campus Martius has been preserved
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References and Suggested Reading
- Barr, Daniel P., ed. The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers Along the Frontiers of the Old Northwest Territory, 1750-1850. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006. - Available from Amazon.com
- Bond, Beverley W., Jr. The Foundations of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1941.
- Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio in Two Volumes. Vol. II. Cincinnati, OH: C.J. Krehbiel & Co., Printers and Binders, 1902.
- Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996. - Available from Amazon.com
- Knepper, George. Ohio and Its People. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2003. - Available from Amazon.com
- Williams, Gary S. The Forts of Ohio: A Guide to Military Stockades. Caldwell, OH: Buckeye Book Press, 2003. - Available from Amazon.com
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"Campus Martius", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=673
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