River in the United States
Muskingum River
|
---|
|
Native name
| Wakatamothiipi
(
Shawnee
)
|
---|
|
Country
| United States
|
---|
|
|
Source
|
|
---|
• location
| Confluence
of the
Tuscarawas
and
Walhonding
Rivers
|
---|
|
Mouth
|
|
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• location
| Ohio River
at
Marietta, Ohio
|
---|
• elevation
| 582 ft (177 m)
[1]
|
---|
Length
| 111 mi (179 km)
|
---|
Basin size
| 8,051 sq mi (20,850 km
2
)
[2]
|
---|
|
Discharge
|
|
---|
• location
| mouth
|
---|
• average
| 9,459.49 cu ft/s (267.863 m
3
/s) (
estimate
)
[3]
|
---|
|
The
Muskingum River
(
m?-
SKING
-(g)?m
;
Shawnee
:
Wakatamothiipi
)
[4]
is a tributary of the
Ohio River
, approximately 111 miles (179 km) long, in southeastern
Ohio
in the
United States
. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio. Via the Ohio, it is part of the
Mississippi River
watershed
. The river is navigable for much of its length through a series of locks and dams.
Course
[
edit
]
The Muskingum is formed at
Coshocton
in east-central Ohio by the
confluence
of the
Walhonding
and
Tuscarawas
rivers. It flows in a
meandering
course southward past
Conesville
and
Dresden
to
Zanesville
, and then southeastward past
South Zanesville
,
Philo
,
Gaysport
,
Malta
,
McConnelsville
,
Beverly
,
Lowell
,
Stockport
and
Devola
. It joins the Ohio at
Marietta
.
Along its course the Muskingum collects
Wills Creek
near Conesville;
Wakatomika Creek
at Dresden; the
Licking River
at Zanesville;
Moxahala Creek
at South Zanesville; and Wolf Creek near Beverly.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
The name
Muskingum
derives from the
Shawnee
word
mshkikwam
'swampy ground'.
[6]
In
Lenape
Muskingum
was taken to mean 'elk's eye' (
mus w?shkinkw
) by
folk etymology
, as if <
mus
'elk'
[7]
+
w?shkinkw
'its eye'.
[8]
Moravian missionary
David Zeisberger
wrote that the Muskingum River was called Elk's Eye "because of the numbers of elk that formerly fed on its banks, these animals being found there even at the present time [1779-1780]..."
[9]
Historically, it was also the name of a large
Wyandot
town along the river.
[
citation needed
]
As part of an expedition to assert French dominance throughout the entire Ohio valley, on August 15, 1749, a leaden plate claiming the region for France was buried at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers by
Pierre Joseph Celoron
.
Noted frontier
explorer
Christopher Gist
reached the Big Sandy Creek tributary of the river on December 4, 1751. Traveling downriver, he recorded arriving on December 14 at the western Wyandot town of Muskingum, at present-day
Coshocton
. There he remained for the following month.
[10]
Marietta
was founded in 1788 as the first permanent American settlement in the
Northwest Territory
, at the mouth of the Muskingum River on the Ohio River. The
Big Bottom Massacre
occurred along its banks in 1791.
Zanesville
was settled by European Americans in 1799 at the site where
Zane's Trace
crossed the Muskingum at the mouth of the
Licking River
. Later, the
National (Cumberland) Road
crossed the Muskingum at Zanesville. In the mid-19th century the Muskingum was an important commercial shipping route, with
dams
and
locks
controlling the water level to allow boats to travel up and down the river. With the decrease in use of water-based transportation in Ohio by the 1920s, the locks fell into disrepair.
Since the 1960s, the locks have been repaired to enable pleasure craft to travel the entire navigable length of the river. The Muskingum waterway is one of the few remaining systems in the US to use hand-operated river locks. The navigation system has been designated a national
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
. In 2006, it was designated "An Ohio Water Trail;" this designation provides for increased canoe access on the river.
Located north of the
Mason?Dixon line
, from around 1812 to 1861 the Muskingum River was a major
Underground Railroad
route used by fugitive
slaves
escaping from the
South
on their journey north to
Lake Erie
and
Canada
.
Nonprofit organizations
[
edit
]
The Friends of the Lower Muskingum River is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit land trust based in
Marietta, Ohio
, concerned with protection of the Muskingum River and adjacent lands.
[11]
The
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District
is a quasi-governmental entity concerned with flood control on the river.
[12]
Variant names
[
edit
]
According to the
Geographic Names Information System
, the Muskingum River has also been known as:
- Big Muskingum River
- Elk River
- Mouskindom River
- Mushkingum River
- Muskingham River
- Riviere Chiagnez
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
U.S. Geological Survey. Marietta quadrangle, Ohio. 1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Washington, D.C.: USGS, 1994.
- ^
"Map of Ohio watersheds"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-03-11.
- ^
United States Environmental Protection Agency
.
"Watershed Report: Muskingum River"
.
watersgeo.epa.gov
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-07-03
. Retrieved
2021-07-03
.
- ^
"Shawnees Webpage"
.
Shawnee's Reservation
. 1997. Archived from
the original
on May 2, 2013
. Retrieved
April 26,
2013
.
- ^
DeLorme
(1991).
Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer
. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme.
ISBN
0-89933-233-1
- ^
Mahr, August C. (1957).
"Indian River and Place Names in Ohio"
.
Ohio History
.
66
(2).
Ohio Historical Society
: 137?158
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"mus"
.
Lenape Talking Dictionary
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-03-15
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
- ^
"weshkinkw"
.
Lenape Talking Dictionary
. Archived from
the original
on 1 February 2016
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
- ^
David Zeisberger (1910).
David Zeisberger's History of Northern American Indians
. Press of F.J. Heer. p.
44
.
- ^
Darlington,
Journal of Christopher Gist
- ^
"Friends of Lower Muskingum River ? Help us save our land, water, and wildlife in the Lower Muskingum by volunteering, donating, or offering land"
.
- ^
District, Muskingum Watershed Conservancy.
"Muskingum Watershed: Ohio Lakes, Camping, and Water Conservation"
.
www.mwcd.org
.
External links
[
edit
]
39°24′33″N
81°27′22″W
/
39.40917°N 81.45611°W
/
39.40917; -81.45611
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National
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