How did a poisonous tree nut that's hard as a rock yet renowned as a good luck charm and cure for rheumatism become Ohio's nickname? "It just turned out that way," an Ohio Department of Natural Resources (“ODNR”) brochure says. Hardly a definitive answer, but there is a Marietta connection.
The buckeye tree was common in Ohio's original forests, growing along streams and fertile bottom lands. The trees are medium sized, growing to 60 feet. There were many practical uses for early pioneers, according to ODNR:
- Cabin Building: Because the trees were easy to clear and the wood was soft and light, buckeye logs were used to build early cabins.
- Household Items: The wood was easy to work. Pioneers carved necessities like spoons, bowls, troughs, and cradles.
- Prosthetic Limbs: Due to its light weight and resistance to splitting, the wood was used in the manufacture of artificial limbs.
- Good Luck Charm: Pioneers believed that carrying a buckeye nut in their pocket would ward off rheumatism and bring good luck.
The Marietta Connection: Respected historian Samuel Hildreth stated that the local Indians called the first sheriff Ebenezer Sproat "Hetuck, " meaning "Big Buckeye," because of his towering 6' 4" frame. It was an expression of respect; they’d seen him lead a ceremonial procession in September, 1788. Sproat became known as Big Buckeye, the story goes, and the nickname eventually spread to include all Ohioans. It’s a believable tale, and it connects Marietta to the Buckeye tradition.
Some historians, including Raymond Irwin, question the Sproat Big Buckeye story: First, though a popular narrative, the story does not appear until Hildreth's Memoirs publication in 1852, 64 years after the event. Irwin says it's not mentioned in any other records in the 1700s. Second, linguists find no Native American word "Hetuck," meaning "eye of the buck." But wait, there was a contemporary mention of Hetuck. “Joseph Barker, Recollections of the First Settlement of Ohio” is an early history compiled from Barker’s own records. About Sproat, Barker wrote: “He was a fine Martial figure, his Physical Capasity occupied more room than any Man in the County. The Indians named him Old Hetuck, the Big Buckeye.” (Emphasis added, spelling and punctuation from the document). Could editors have inserted this later from Hildreth’s reference? Maybe, but the punctuation and spelling give it credibility to me. I’m an Ebenezer Sproat-Big Buckeye believer. It’s official.
The “buckeye” term, though, had a decidedly negative meaning in the early 1800s, referring to an inept or uneducated backwoods person. 1840 was the year that buckeye and Ohio became synonymous. William Henry Harrison, a popular Ohioan, was the Whig candidate for President. An opposition newspaper commented that Harrison “was better fitted to sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider than rule in the White House.” Harrison alertly adopted that very log cabin persona, emphasizing his humble beginnings. He was thereafter pictured in front of a cabin with a barrel of hard cider. On the cabin walls were coonskin caps and…. strings of buckeyes. His campaign went viral in 1840. Wagons with replica cabins were at every rally. The formerly disrespected Buckeye stereotype became the proud symbol of all Ohioans. Canes made of buckeye wood were a fad, sold for souvenirs along National Road – today’s U S 40. At a rally in Pennsylvania, in one two-mile long procession of 1,500 people, 1,497 carried buckeye canes. William Henry Harrison was elected but sadly died with weeks of being inaugurated.
The Harrison campaign was probably most influential in the Buckeye story. But Washington Countians can proudly say “It started here in 1788.” Probably.
I was backpacking once in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The first night, there was a periodic loud clank on the metal shelter roof. The culprits were falling buckeyes. Buckeyes in Tennessee, imagine that. I felt right at home. Only later did I discover that those were yellow buckeyes, not THE official Ohio buckeyes. Oh, well.
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