Early Americans and Toys

Only one day out, & I have had to regroup. It was quite cool for several days in the DC area before I left, so naturally I packed warm shirts in the little bag I take into the motel with me. Now the weather where I am is in the 80's, so I have been switching clothes between the little bag and the big one I keep in the trunk of the car. At least it is not raining while I am standing outside the car, moving things around . The car is already a total mess, with maps & brochures everywhere. I have to try to get it under control each morning.

EARLY AMERICANS

About 15 miles south of Wheeling, in the town of Moundsville, is the Grave Creek Mound, one of the largest of the burial mounds built by the Adena people. It was constructed in stages between about 250 - 150 BC. In 1838 this one was measured at 69 feet high and with a base of 295 feet in diameter. Originally, it was encircled by a moat about 40 feet in width. Quite an impressive mound! These mounds were constructed for the burial of "honored persons." At one time there were numerous mounds in this area, giving the town its name. Most of them have been destroyed or sunken over time. The 1st settler of the town, Joseph Tomlinson, discovered the mound in 1770; Tomlinson would not allow demolition of the mound, which stayed in the family for a few generations, then passed into other hands. The first excavation was in 1838. Later owners built a saloon on top, then a dance platform, and even had a race track around the bottom. During the Civil War Union soldiers had cannon on the top. The mound was nearly destroyed in the early 20th century before the State of West Virginia finally purchased the site. For a time, it was cared for by the (old) West Virginia State Penitentiary, which is right across the street.

The Adena culture ended in the Ohio River Valley about 200 AD; they moved and/or were gradually blended with the later Hopewell culture.

The West Virginia State Penitentiary is now closed, but tours are very popular with school children, who were swarming the mound after their tour of the "pen."

TOYS

It turns out that little Moundsville has another attraction: the "Official" Marx Toy Museum. Marx Toys was founded by Louis Marx in 1919; he sold it in 1972, but without his personal vision, it didn't last much longer. The largest of his 3 factories was in Glen Dale, WV, right next to Moundsville. The museum has thousands of toys on display, with lots of complete playsets including dozens of pieces and figures, such as western towns, train displays, service stations, and sets with a movie or TV theme, such as Ben Hur and Gunsmoke. Remember Big Wheels and Rock-Em Sock-Em Robots? The museum also contains a vintage 1950's cafe with a Coca Cola theme.

LUNCH AND WESTWARD

I finally headed West after lunch at Coleman's FishMarket in the historic Centre Market back in Wheeling, recommended by the Road Food folks. ($5.56 total for lobster bisque, crabcake, and a root beer.) I succumbed to the used book store in the market, but bought only one book for $1.50, Jonathan Raban's Old Glory, An American Voyage, his memoir of travels on the Mississipi River. I thought it appropriate to read on this trip. Westward meant crossing the Ohio River (3 times), but no further west. One of the crossings was on the wonderful old suspension bridge on the National Road. The 1849 bridge, still in use, was the first bridge to cross the Ohio River and at the time was the longest single span bridge ever built, 1010' in length. But cars must be at least 50' apart while crossing.

DETOUR NORTH

North from I70, along the River, is the Ohio town of Steubenville. Fort Steuben was built to protect the surveyors measuring the land ceded to the U.S. by the Treaty of Paris after the Revolution. This area, known as the Northwest Territory, comprised what is now Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. The Continental Congress wanted to sell the land to raise money to operate. Some land was also used as bounty land to pay Revolutionary War Soldiers. My ancestor Palfrey Downing received Ohio bounty land, but sold the certificate. Next to the reconstructed fort is the actual First Federal Land Office of the United States, built in 1801. Steubenville's other claim to fame is as the home town of Dean Martin.

Further north is East Liverpool, once a leading producer of pottery. With an area rich in natural clay and coal, the city made about half the nation's pottery until the industry declined in the 1930s. Hall China is still operating here and Homer Laughlin (Fiesta, and other patterns) is right across the river in West Virginia. The local high school sports teams are the "Potters." More tomorrow. Will one day be enough?

Why did the news of rising gas prices come the day I started my trip?