Marietta

Industrial city and administrative headquarters of Washington County, southeast Ohio, USA, where the Muskingum River flows into the Ohio River, 148 km/92 mi southeast of Columbus; population (2000) 14,500. It is the centre of an agricultural region; industries include the manufacture of plastics, metal products, natural-gas drilling equipment, chemicals, and office equipment. The city is the home of Marietta College (1834).

Marietta was the first permanent settlement in Ohio (1788); it was incorporated in 1852. One of the oldest settlements in Ohio, the city was named after the queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Historical sites include the original land office of the Ohio Company and Mound Cemetery, with well-preserved prehistoric earthworks and the graves of a number of Revolutionary War officers.