"RUNNIN' ROUND THE MOUND"

Back in 1972 and 1973 while attending Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio; I used to lace up my running shoes and jog the brick lined street of Marietta. As part of my run I used to go to the Mound Cemetery and do laps around the historic site.

The Mound Cemetery has and large ceremonial pre-historic Indian mound or "Conus" which was constructed by the" Moundbuilders "approximately 800 BC to 700 AD as they settled the Ohio Valley. These mounds were burial places for chieftains.

It must have taken a while to constructed these mounds without the modern conveniences of bulldozers and other modern tools. I imagine the Indians used woven baskets and maybe their hands to construct these almost pyramid-like shrines to their deceased tribal leaders.

The Mound Cemetery is also the final resting place for 37 Revolutionary War officers and soldiers. Among the soldiers buried here are General Rufus Putnam, General Benjamin Tupper, and Colonel William Stacy. Marietta was the first town settled in the "Northwest Territory" and many Revolutionary War soldiers received land grants for their service.

After running round and round the Mound Cemetery, I used to climb the steps to the top of the Mound and rest on the bench there to recover. This historic and sacred site is registered in the National Register of Historic Places.