Marietta Earthworks - Winthrop Sargent drawing

Marietta Earthworks drawing by Winthrop Sargent: CLICK ON LINK BELOW. Scroll to see comments by an official of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a key to notes in the drawing, and Sargent’s original transmittal letter, and the earthworks drawing.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:78a4a6af-cf99-4bfa-97df-3c825f635d25

Marietta Earthworks

    They called them ancient ruins, ancient remains, antiquities, curiosities of the mountains. We know them as Indian Mounds, or locally as the Marietta Earthworks. The word "curiosity" conveyed the sense of awe and mystery prevalent at the time. These were not the work of American Indians. Two of the platform mounds - Quadranao at Camp Tupper park and Capitolium at the Washington County Public Library - are aligned with the setting sun on the Winter Solstice.

     Numerous residents and visitors viewed the earthworks, which were much more extensive than the remnants that exist today. Some examples:

     Joseph Buell on arrival at Fort Harmar, spring 1786: "I took a walk in the woods (with) Corp’l Hartshorn to view the curiosities of the Mountains which were very pleasing..." 

     James Backus on May 30, 1788: "Was pleased with the large mound and 'old ruins,' as they are called. Appear to be artificial, but am not convinced of their origin."

     Prince Louis Philippe, future King of France in December 1797: Toured Marietta and viewed "interesting ancient remains." 

     The Marietta earthworks were among the very the first to be documented in America. Their origin was being debated in the 1780s by such distinguished luminaries as Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, and scholars at Harvard and Yale. This drawing was sent by Winthrop Sargent to the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge MA on March 27, 1787. Earthworks maps by others were sent to Harvard and Yale.

The French Connection in Hawaii

     Sometimes Marietta connections turn up in unexpected places. My wife and I visited the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. The iconic Iolani Palace stands out in bustling downtown Honolulu. Should we visit? Sounded interesting – but with traffic jams and parking? Good luck with that. We decided to go for it.

Iolani Palace with its unique American Florentine style, from nps.org

     The Palace website: "Iolani Palace is a living restoration of a proud Hawaiian national identity... Built in 1882 by King Kalākaua, Iolani Palace was the home of Hawaii’s last reigning monarchs...It later served as the capitol and was restored in the 1970s."  The tour began in a grand hall with portraits of the kings - and queen - who ruled the Kingdom of Hawaii nation. 

     When we entered the Blue Room, used for smaller receptions, I saw a portrait. Wait a minute…it looked familiar. Yes, it was French King Louis Philippe. The portrait was a gift to Hawaii when the two nations established diplomatic relations in the 1840s. Young prince Louis Philippe De'Orleans had visited Marietta in the 1797-98 during his exile from France. Wow: a Marietta connection 4,000 miles away in the Pacific Ocean.

CLICK TO ENLARGE. French King Louis Philippe ca 1840s. Photo by author.

     As king, Louis Philippe would ask American visitors if they had ever been to Marietta, Ohio. He and his two brothers visited in December of 1797 toward the end of their American tour. They were on a boat trip down the Ohio River, headed to New Orleans and a return trip to Europe. It was December. River travel was treacherous with ice and swift current. At Marietta they stopped for supplies. Louis Philippe wanted fresh bread and was directed to Francis Thierry, a local French baker. Thierry fired up his oven. The visitors toured Marietta. They were fascinated by the Indian mound earthworks ("interesting ancient remains") and made a sketch of them.

     Mr. Thierry rushed the fresh bread to the group's boat on the Muskingum River. But ice on the river was breaking up at that exact moment. The boat lurched away from the shore to avoid the ice - with Thierry still on board. He was frightened but soon returned to dry land. The King amused American visitors in retelling the story of "kidnapping" a French baker at Marietta.

     Louis Philippe also had a chance meeting with pioneer leader Ephraim Cutler. Two French visitors showed up at a salt works in Muskingum County where Cutler was working with Peter Noblaise, a French native from Gallipolis, Ohio. The two visitors asked to stay with Cutler and Noblaise that night. Cutler recalled that all three Frenchmen became "quite loquacious in their native language." Noblaise was a good singer and sang the Marseilles hymn and several French airs. One of the men asked detailed questions about the settlements at Marietta and Gallipolis. The next day one of the French visitors explained that the other man was Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans.

     The Palace tour included the Imprisonment Room of Queen Liliuokalani (“lee-lee-oo-oh-ka-lani”), the last governing Hawaiian monarch. American interests overthrew her government in 1893. After a failed attempt to regain power in 1895, the Queen lived under house arrest for a year restricted solely to this room. There she quilted, composed music, and wrote. One quilt describes the history of Hawaii and her hopes for its future. Queen Liliuokalani (1838-1917) before and after her reign worked to benefit native Hawaiians, preserve the culture, and advocate for Hawaii’s interests internationally. The United States annexed Hawaii by force in 1898 against the will of Hawaiians. Iolani Palace with its Marietta connection is a beautiful display of Hawaiian history – and a reminder that the United States government sometimes fails to practice what it preaches.