Marietta, city, seat (1788) of Washington county, southeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, opposite Williamstown, West Virginia. Shortly after the construction (1785) there of Fort Harmar, Manasseh Cutler, the American Revolutionary War general Rufus Putnam, and their pioneer group, the Ohio Company of Associates, made the first permanent white settlement in Ohio (April 7, 1788); it was named to honour Queen Marie Antoinette of France. On July 15, 1788, Gen. Arthur St. Clair was installed there as the first governor of the Northwest Territory, of which Marietta became the first capital.
The city is now an important agricultural centre with some diversified industrial development; manufactures include chemicals (especially plastics), metal alloys, and laboratory and office equipment. Marietta College was established in 1835. Washington State Community College (1971) is located in the city. The Campus Martius Museum of the Northwest Territory includes the restored home of Putnam and the Ohio Company Land Office (1788); the Ohio River Museum is close by. Portions of Wayne National Forest surround Marietta. Statesman and former U.S. vice president Charles G. Dawes and social activist Frances Dana Barker Gage were Marietta natives. Inc. 1800. Pop. (2000) 14,515; Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna Metro Area, 164,624; (2010) 14,085; Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna Metro Area, 162,056.