Everything about The Muskingum River totally explained
The
Muskingum River 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's part of the
Mississippi River watershed.
Course
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,
Trinway and
Dresden to
Zanesville, and then southeastward past
South Zanesville,
Philo,
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.
History
The word
Muskingum derives from a similarly sounding
Delaware (
Native American) word, which some claim to translate as 'Eye of the Elk.'
Noted frontier explorer, Christopher Gist, reached the Big Sandy Creek tributary of the river on December 4, 1751. Traveling down the river, he arrived at the large Wyandot town of Muskingum, at present Coshocton, on December 14, where he remained for the following month.
Marietta was founded in 1788 as the first permanent settlement in the
Northwest Territory, on the mouth of the Muskingum River along the Ohio River. The
Big Bottom Massacre occurred along its banks in 1791.
Zanesville was settled in 1799 at the site where
Zane's Trace crossed the Muskingum at the mouth of the
Licking River. 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 in 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 to use hand-operated river locks in the U.S. The navigation system has been designated a
Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. In 2006, it was designated "An Ohio Water Trail;" this designation provides for increased canoe access on the river.
In the 1970s, boaters were occasionally allowed to operate the old-fashioned lock mechanisms themselves, with the permission of the lockmaster. The procedure appears to have become more formalized since then.
From around 1812 to 1861 the Muskingum River, located north of the
Mason-Dixon Line, was a major
Underground Railroad route used by fugitive
slaves escaping from the
South on their journey north to
Lake Erie and
Canada.
Variant names
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
Further Information
Get more info on 'Muskingum River'.
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