Scioto River

Scioto River in Columbus

Catchment area of ​​the Scioto River

The Scioto River is a right tributary of the Ohio River in the central and southern U.S. state of Ohio of approximately 372 km in length.

The name comes from the Indian word for " deer ". It rises in Auglaize County in New Hampshire, first flows 80 km in an easterly direction and then bends to the south, so as to open in the city of Portsmouth in the Ohio River. In Columbus it takes its largest tributary, the Olentangy River coming from the north, on. The Scioto River, formerly a popular transport route to the north, now serves mainly as a recreation area and a drinking water reservoir.

In the valley of the Scioto River was home to numerous Indian cultures. The most famous is the Hopewell culture, witness to the so-called Mounds testimony. They are available at the Chillicothe Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. In the 17th and 18th centuries lived here temporarily the Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, Odawa and Mingo. Their main villages on the Scioto River were Chillicothe, Piqua, Kispoko and Maqueechalk. During the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795), the valley was the scene of many battles between the tribes living there and the U.S. Army.

At the beginning of the 19th century led along the Scioto River is the way to freedom for runaway slaves from the south, called the Underground Railroad, after they had crossed the Ohio River. Many of them found in Chillicothe and neighboring places their first refuge.