Lower Shawnee Town
Encyclopedia
Lower Shawneetown also known as the Bentley Site, Shannoah and Sonnontio, is a Late Fort Ancient culture
Madisonville horizon (post 1400 CE) archaeological site
overlain by an 18th century Shawnee
village located near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on April 28, 1983.
known as Group A. Built between 100 BCE and 500 CE by the Adena culture
, the earthworks are a series of large rectangular enclosures connected to the main features of the group (located across the Ohio River in Portsmouth
) by an earthen causeway.
, located across from the mouth of the Scioto River
. It was excavated in the 1930s and was discovered to have had similar structures and building techniques as those found at another nearby Fort Ancient site, the Hardin Village Site
located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) up the Ohio. Also found during the excavations were distinctive Madisonville horizon pottery, including cordmarked, plain and grooved-paddle jars, as well as a variety of chert points, scrapers and native pipes. Many European trade goods were also found at the site, including firearms parts, pieces of cooking kettles and pieces of pair of iron scissors.
settlements in the region, located at the mouth of the Scioto River
, both on the Kentucky and Ohio sides of the Ohio River.
It was mainly a Shawnee village, but also consisted of contingents of Iroquois
, Lenape
, and a few English and French traders. It was established in the 1730s, and was a major Shawnee village until 1758. Early accounts put the population at 300 men, with 40 houses on the Kentucky side and 100 houses on the Ohio side, including a 90 feet (27.4 m) long council house. In the summer of 1749 Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville moved down the Ohio River on his "Lead plate expedition", burying lead plates where major tributaries entered the Ohio. The plates were inscribed with pronouncements claiming the area for France. One of the stops he is known to have made is at Lower Shawneetown, where the Frenchman demanded that the English traders leave, although most refused to do so. The village was visited in January of 1751 by the English traders Christopher Gist
, George Croghan
, Andrew Montour
, and Robert Kallendar.
Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...
Madisonville horizon (post 1400 CE) archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
overlain by an 18th century Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
village located near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky
Greenup County, Kentucky
Greenup County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1804. As of 2000, the population was 36,891. Its county seat is Greenup. The county is named in honor of Christopher Greenup....
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on April 28, 1983.
Portsmouth Earthworks, Group A
Another feature of the site is the "Old Fort Earthworks", a part of the Portsmouth EarthworksPortsmouth Earthworks
The Portsmouth Earthworks are a large prehistoric mound complex constructed by the Ohio Hopewell culture mound builder indigenous peoples of eastern North America...
known as Group A. Built between 100 BCE and 500 CE by the Adena culture
Adena culture
The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 1000 to 200 BC, in a time known as the early Woodland Period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system...
, the earthworks are a series of large rectangular enclosures connected to the main features of the group (located across the Ohio River in Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
) by an earthen causeway.
Fort Ancient settlement
The site is a 1.2 hectare village on the second flood terrace of the Ohio RiverOhio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, located across from the mouth of the Scioto River
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
. It was excavated in the 1930s and was discovered to have had similar structures and building techniques as those found at another nearby Fort Ancient site, the Hardin Village Site
Hardin Village Site
The Hardin Village Site is a Fort Ancient culture Montour Phase archaeological site located on a terrace of the Ohio River near South Shore in Greenup County, Kentucky. It is located within the Big Sandy Management Area along with the nearby Lower Shawneetown site. The site was first inhabited...
located 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) up the Ohio. Also found during the excavations were distinctive Madisonville horizon pottery, including cordmarked, plain and grooved-paddle jars, as well as a variety of chert points, scrapers and native pipes. Many European trade goods were also found at the site, including firearms parts, pieces of cooking kettles and pieces of pair of iron scissors.
Shawnee village
It was one of the earliest known ShawneeShawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
settlements in the region, located at the mouth of the Scioto River
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
, both on the Kentucky and Ohio sides of the Ohio River.
It was mainly a Shawnee village, but also consisted of contingents of Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, and a few English and French traders. It was established in the 1730s, and was a major Shawnee village until 1758. Early accounts put the population at 300 men, with 40 houses on the Kentucky side and 100 houses on the Ohio side, including a 90 feet (27.4 m) long council house. In the summer of 1749 Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville moved down the Ohio River on his "Lead plate expedition", burying lead plates where major tributaries entered the Ohio. The plates were inscribed with pronouncements claiming the area for France. One of the stops he is known to have made is at Lower Shawneetown, where the Frenchman demanded that the English traders leave, although most refused to do so. The village was visited in January of 1751 by the English traders Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist was an accomplished American explorer, surveyor and frontiersman. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country . He is credited with providing the first detailed description of the Ohio Country to Great Britain and her colonists...
, George Croghan
George Croghan
George Croghan was an Irish-born Pennsylvania fur trader, Onondaga Council sachem, land speculator, British Indian agent in colonial America and, until accused of treason in 1777, Pittsburgh's president judge and Committee of Safety Chairman keeping the Ohio Indians neutral...
, Andrew Montour
Andrew Montour
Andrew Montour , also known as Henry Montour, Sattelihu, and Eghnisara, was an important métis interpreter and negotiator in the Virginia and Pennsylvania backcountry in the 1750s and 1760s....
, and Robert Kallendar.