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Following History to the Holidays

By Marilyn Loeser

Santa walks along busy downtown streets greeting excited children and handing out treats hinting at what’s just around the corner on Christmas morning. Shops are decorated in twinkle and tinsel, cold winds blow in off the Ohio and Muskingham Rivers.

Marietta, Ohio, never forgets its history or its traditions of family, friends and community. During the month of December alone, community events include an annual parade, a gingerbread house display, art and craft shows, historic home open houses and ornament workshops across the Ohio River at Fenton Glass Gift Shop in Williamstown, WV.

Beyond Santa and Shopping

A walk across the city’s historic railroad bridge from the downtown shopping area brings you to Historic Harmar Village, taking you back in time to the site of the first settlement in the Northwest Territory.

Fort Harmar was built in 1785 at the edge of what was American wilderness.  The village — with its brick streets, lamp posts, restored train cars and historic buildings — offers charming shops where crafts, antiques, stained glass, nautical items, pottery, and hand-woven rugs are offered to 21st-century shoppers.

The Toy and Doll Museum features teddy bears, antique toys and collectable dolls. Marietta's Soda Museum is a nostalgic trip back to the days of soda fountains, juke boxes and 10 cent Cokes.

The Fearing House is the third museum. Built in 1847 for prominent citizen Henry Fearing, the house is furnished in period style representing the lifestyles of Harmar and Marietta's middle-class during the Victorian era.

The Harmar Tavern is open all year serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a nice respite for holiday visitors.

A historic must-see is Campus Martius, an Ohio Historical Society Museum, located on the site of the Ohio Company settlement. General Rufus Putnam's house and the Ohio River Land Company Office remain from the original fort built in 1788.

The Ohio River Museum, another Ohio Historical Society site, is dedicated to the history of the river and the steamboats that plied their trade on its waters.

Another home open for tour is The Castle with its octagonal tower, trefoil attic window and stone capped spires. One of the best-executed examples of Gothic Revival style architecture in Ohio, details include a scagliola fireplace surround, coodge papier-mâché moldings and floor to ceiling shutters on the parlor's bay window.

The house, once the home of Ohio Senator Theodore Davis, is furnished with items of historical significance to the area and typical of the Victorian Era.

To round out your holiday visit, consider staying at The Lafayette Hotel, located at the confluence of the two rivers. The focal point of the downtown district, the hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places.

For detailed information on holiday events check the website mariettaohio.org.

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