Stockport in Morgan County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Big Bottom Massacre
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
1. Big Bottom Massacre Marker
Following the American Revolution, the new Federal government, in need of operating funds, sold millions of acres of western lands to land companies. One such company, the Ohio Company of Associates, brought settlement to Marietta in 1788. Two years later, despite warnings of Native American hostility, an association of 36 Company members moved north from Marietta to settle “Big Bottom,” a large area of level land on the east side of the Muskingum River. The settlers were acquainted with Native American warfare, but even so, built an unprotected outpost. They did not complete the blockhouse, put pickets around it, or post a sentry. On January 2, 1791, a war party of 25 Delaware and Wyandot Indians from the north attacked the unsuspecting settlers, killing nine men, one woman, and two children. War raged throughout the Ohio Country until August 1794 when the tribes were defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.Erected 2002 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Morgan County Bicentennial Committee, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 11-58.)
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Location. 39° 32.272′ N, 81° 46.804′ W. Marker is in Stockport, Ohio, in Morgan County. Marker is on Ohio Route 266, on the right when traveling south. Big Bottom State Memorial is about one mile southeast of Stockport, on east side of Muskingum River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Stockport OH 43787, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Two Riverboat Pilots (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Stockport Mill (approx. 0.9 miles away); Underground Railroad (approx. 0.9 miles away); Stockport (approx. 0.9 miles away); Brick Church and Cemetery (approx.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
2. Big Bottom Marker
Older sign, now removed. it read, “Named for the broad Muskingum River flood plain, this park is the site of an attack on an Ohio Company settlement by Delaware and Wyandot Indians on January 2, 1791. The Big Bottom massacre marked the outbreak of four years of frontier warfare in Ohio, which only stopped when General Anthony Wayne and the Indian Tribes signed the Treaty of Greene Ville.”
Also see . . . A circa 1960s photograph of the Big Bottom Massacre Monument. From the Ohio Memory Digital Collections. (Submitted on February 2, 2011.)
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
3. Big Bottom Massacre Markers
Looking northwest across Muskingum River.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 22, 2018
4. Big Bottom Massacre Marker
Summer view with the river visible under the trees in the distance.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, August 22, 2018
5. Big Bottom Marker
Sign in Photo 2 has been replaced with this one. It reads, “Named for the broad Muskingum River flood plain, this park is the site
of a raid by about twenty-five Delaware and Wyandot warriors on
an Ohio Company settlement on January 2, 1791. The American Indians
were attempting to halt the encroachment of European-Americans onto
their tribal lands. The raid outraged the United States government and
led to four years of bitter warfare, which ended with the defeat
of the tribal coalition at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the signing
of the Treaty of Greene Ville.”
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
6. Big Bottom Massacre Memorial
Erected by Obadiah Brokaw, 1905. Looking west, with Muskingum River in background.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
7. Memorial Killed
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
8. Memorial Killed
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
9. Memorial Escaped
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
10. Memorial Title
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 7, 2009
11. Big Bottom State Memorial
Credits. This page was last revised on August 26, 2018. It was originally submitted on March 4, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 2,582 times since then and 261 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 4, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 4, 5. submitted on August 26, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on March 4, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
