From my dad:

Facts about Marietta
By The Associated Press

-- Located where the Muskingum and Ohio rivers meet.
-- Founded in 1788 by a band of Revolutionary War veterans from New England who were members of the Ohio Company.
-- Oldest organized municipality in Ohio, first official American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
-- Named in honor of French Queen Marie-Antoinette, whose country helped in the fight for American independence.
-- Flourished as a gateway to the West in the early 1800s, with the Ohio River serving as a major highway for people heading West.
-- Shipbuilding was a major business for several years in the 1800s.
-- Marietta was Washington County's largest community in 2000 with a population of 14,515. It is the political and cultural center for Washington County.