General Rufus Putnam's New England flotilla, arriving at the junction of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers for western land–buying purposes, founded Marietta, the oldest settlement in Ohio. Its name is a tribute to Queen Marie Antoinette for French assistance to the American Revolution. Most of the landmarks are along the east side of the Muskingum River. Front Street is approximately the eastern boundary of the first stockade, which was called Picketed Point. Later, the fortification called Campus Martius was erected and housed General Putnam, Governor Arthur St. Clair, and other public officials.

One of the most important Ohio River ports in steamboat days, Marietta, today, is a beautiful tree-filled town and the home of Marietta College and manufacturers producing oil, plastics, rubber, paints, glass, dolls, safes, and concrete. Information for Wayne National Forest may be obtained from the National Forest Service office in Marietta.