Campus Martius Museum

Campus Martius and the Ohio River Museum highlight the history of settlement, migration and transportation. The Ohio Company of Associates, which founded Marietta in 1788, established the first organized American settlement in the NW Territory.

Campus Martius, a civilian fortification, was built in 1788 by the Ohio Company of Associates. When the fort was disassembled, General Rufus Putnam left his blockhouse on the original fort site. In 1931 Campus Martius Museum was erected over the Rufus Putnam House. The Ohio Company Land Office, the oldest known building in Ohio, was also moved to the museum site. Today, the museum preserves the history of America's migration west, its earliest native inhabitants, and Marietta's pioneers.

The Friends of the Museums operate the Campus Martius Museum & Ohio River Museum on behalf of the Ohio Historical Society.

Campus Martius Museum

Campus Martius Museum houses three floors of historical exhibits focusing on the Northwest Territory and its first settlement, Marietta. Visitors can also tour the Rufus Putnam House and the Ohio Company Land Office.

History of Campus Martius

The Rufus Putnam House is one of the original row houses which comprised Campus Martius and was built beginning in 1788 by Rufus Putnam, superintendent of the Ohio Company. Of horizontal plank construction, the house was occupied by Putnam and his family late in 1790 as threats of Indian attacks hung over Marietta.

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