Pickaway Plains facts for kids
The Pickaway Plains is a large area with gentle, rolling hills. It starts about three miles south of Circleville, Ohio, and stretches for many miles. This area was formed long ago by sand and gravel left behind by melting glaciers during the Ice Age. When the Shawnee people lived here, the plains were covered in tall prairie grasses.
Shawnee Villages
The Shawnee people lived in the Pickaway Plains area. They built at least three main villages here:
- Cornstalk Town was on the north side of Scippo Creek. It was near where Gold Cliff Park is now. This village was named after Cornstalk, a famous Shawnee chief.
- Grenadier Squaw Village was across Scippo Creek from Cornstalk Town. It was named after Cornstalk's sister, Nonhelema. The British called her the "Grenadier Squaw" because she was very tall and strong.
- Kispoko Town was on the east side of the Scioto River. It was about halfway between present-day Circleville and Chillicothe. This village was home to the Chalahgawatha group, one of the five main groups of the Shawnee Nation. Chief Cornstalk and his tall sister, Nonhelema, were important leaders here. The famous Shawnee leader Tecumseh was born while his parents were traveling from Kispoko Town to a big tribal meeting.
Dunmore's War
In 1774, the Shawnee and their allies sent about 300 to 500 warriors from the Pickaway Plains area. They went to meet the army of Lord Dunmore, who was the governor of Virginia. Lord Dunmore wanted to stop the Shawnee and Mingo people. He also wanted to keep Pennsylvania from claiming land in what is now Ohio. This fight became known as Lord Dunmore's War.
On October 10, 1774, Chief Cornstalk and his warriors met a part of Dunmore's army at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. This battle is called the Battle of Point Pleasant. After hours of hard fighting, Dunmore's soldiers pushed Cornstalk and his men back across the Ohio River. Lord Dunmore then chased the Shawnee.
Cornstalk and his men went back to the Pickaway Plains, with Dunmore's army still following. When they reached their villages, Lord Dunmore asked Cornstalk to talk about a peace treaty. Cornstalk agreed after he heard that Dunmore's soldiers had destroyed some villages along the Ohio River. At the peace meeting, held at Camp Charlotte, Cornstalk agreed to honor an earlier agreement called the Treaty of Fort Stanwix from 1768. This meant the Shawnee gave up their hunting lands in what is now Kentucky to Virginia.
Images for kids
-
Non-Hel-E-Ma sign located on Emerson Road.
