Ohio River

Geographic position

36.9867° N, 89.1311° W

Sources

"Tribal Nations of the Ohio River." Nibi Walk. http://www.nibiwalk.org/ohio-river-walk-2014/tribal-nations-of-the-ohio-river/. "Native Americans of the Eastern Ohio Country." Brookline Connection. http://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/Indians.html. "Ohio River Facts." Ohio River Foundation. http://www.ohioriverfdn.org/education/ohio_river_facts/. "Phineas Lyman." Suffield Library. http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/lyman.htm. Geo coordinates at https://www.google.com/#q=geographic+coordinates+of+ohio+river.

General note

The Ohio River runs westward for 981 miles from Pittsburgh, PA, to Cairo, IL. Its valley was originally inhabited by many different Indigenous peoples, including Shawnees, Lenapes, and Susquehannocks. During the 17th century, the Senecas, the western-most nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, began to move south into the Ohio River Valley in order to monopolize the fur trade with Europeans. This migration displaced many tribes from the Ohio River Valley in the 1660s. The name Ohio is derived from the Seneca word Ohiyo, meaning "it is beautiful." In the 1760s, when Wheelock began looking for a new location for Moor's Indian Charity School, the Ohio River Valley was, compared with New England, still largely untouched by white settlers. The location's relative isolation and large Indian population made it an attractive spot for Moor's relocation. Wheelock tried to obtain land along the Ohio River through his friendship with General Phineas Lyman, who sought a grant from England for his service in the Seven Year's War. Wheelock hoped that Lyman would include Moor's Indian Charity School in his request. In 1769, however, Wheelock learned that Lyman had not included Moor's in his petition. By then, however, Wheelock had already selected Hanover, NH, as as Moor's new location.