Wakatomika was the name of two 18th century

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

villages in what is now the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The name was also spelled Wapatomica, Waketomika, Waketomica, and Waketameki, among other variations, but the similar name Wapakoneta was a different Shawnee village. Both Wakatomikas were destroyed in raids, the first by colonial Virginians in 1774, the second by Kentuckians in 1786.

Wakatomika 1

The first Wakatomika was located along the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River ( ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio ...

, near present-day

Dresden, Ohio Dresden is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Mus ...

, and was close to a number of

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

towns. It was established around 1756 by Shawnees from Upper Shawneetown, which was located along the Ohio River. After the outbreak of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

in 1754, the Shawnees were distancing themselves from raids by the

colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

. For the same reason, in 1758 the Shawnee residents of

Lower Shawneetown Lower Shawneetown, also known as Shannoah or Sonnontio, was an 18th-century Shawnee village located within the Lower Shawneetown Archeological District, near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky and Lewis County, Kentucky. The population ...

, also on the Ohio River, moved fifty miles upriver and established new towns on the

Pickaway Plains Pickaway Plains is a wide area of rolling hills beginning about 3 miles south of Circleville, Ohio, and extending several miles to the north and south. This geological area was formed by sand and gravel deposited by melting water from the last glac ...

, near modern

Circleville, Ohio Circleville is a city in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The city is situated along the Scioto River 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 13,927 at the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

. In August 1774, during

Dunmore's War Lord Dunmore's War, also known as Dunmore's War, was a brief conflict in the fall of 1774 between the British Colony of Virginia and the Shawnee and Mingo in the trans-Appalachia region of the colony south of the Ohio River. Broadly, the war in ...

, Wakatomika and four other Shawnee villages on the Muskingum were destroyed by Virginia colonial militia in an expedition led by Angus McDonald.

Wakatomika 2

After the destruction of the first Wakatomika in Dunmore's War, the residents of Wakatomika resettled further west, establishing a new Wakatomica by 1778 on the Mad River, two miles south of present

Zanesfield, Ohio Zanesfield is a village in Logan County, Ohio, United States of America. The population was 194 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest incorporated village in Logan County. History Zanesfield is named for Isaac Zane, who was born in 1753 in ...

. This town, along with other nearby Shawnee towns, were destroyed in 1786 during an expedition led by Benjamin Logan at the outset of the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...

Legacy

The second Wakatomika is commemorated by two historical markers. The first was erected in 1930 by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission. The second was erected in 2010 by the

Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are located in Oklahoma and Missouri. The tribe holds an annual powwow every September at their powwow grounds. This is not a closed powwow and visit ...

and the

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

. "Wakatomika" continues to be used for a number of place names, including: * Wakatomika, Ohio, an unincorporated community *

Wakatomika Creek Wakatomika Creek is a tributary of the Muskingum River, 42.6 mi (68.6 km) long, in central Ohio in the United States. Via the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 234&nbs ...

* Little Wakatomika Creek *Camp Wakatomika, a

Girl Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organization ...

camp in

Licking County, Ohio Licking County is a County (United States), county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark, Ohio, Newark. The county was form ...

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

Wapatomica marker
erected in 1930 by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission
Wapatomica marker
erected in 2010 by the

and the

{{authority control Former Native American populated places in the United States Pre-statehood history of Ohio Logan County, Ohio Muskingum County, Ohio Shawnee history Former populated places in Ohio