The ebb and flow of Ohio history

While Buckeyes likely know their state moniker flows from the eponymous river named by the Iroquois, historical headwaters run far deeper.

Originating from the word ohi-yo, meaning “great river” or “large creek”, the mighty Ohio sustained a group of six Native American nations – named Iroquois by the French – who called themselves the Haudenosaunee, “people of the longhouse,” in a nod to their communal living quarters.

The Six Nations people were fishing the robust river and farming the fertile valley long before the French arrived in 1668 and deemed the waterway, La Belle Riviere – indeed a beautiful river and (back) story. 

– Hannah Van Sickle, The Ohio 100