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Overlooking the Ohio River at Marietta. The recent storms have given us some fantastic skies. Please view this in a larger size.

The Castle of Marietta is one of the best examples of Gothic Revival style architecture in Ohio. In 1855, this choice hill top property was purchased by Melvin C. Clarke for $2000 and construction on the house was soon begun. Clarke, a prominent attorney, was appointed Marietta's first city solicitor in 1854 and represented the third ward on a committee to consider gas lighting for the city in 1856. On April 12, 1861 when the Civil War erupted, Clarke was commissioned as a Major with the 36th Ohio Infantry in the Union Army and his unit was sent to fight Confederate forces in eastern Virginia. Promoted to full Colonel on September 17, 1862, he was killed the same day in the Battle of Antietam, near Sharpsburg Maryland.

Jessie Davis Lindsay was 14 years old when her mother inherited the Castle. It was her home until 5 days before her 100th birthday on February 14, 1974. After 18 years of renovations from its next owners, a brother and sister who had both unexpectedly passed away in 1989 and 1991 respectively, the house was deeded to the Betsey Mills Corporation on April 24, 1992 as a historical asset for the City of Marietta Ohio, with proceeds to be used for educational and public purposes.
It was about 25 degrees when I took this shot. The entire city had all but shut down due to the ice caused by overnight rains and frigid temperatures. The sidewalks and streets were not passable for most of the day except for the daring and fools like me who just had to be out in it. I didn't fall and I caused no accidents.

Taken from a cliff overlooking State Route 7 and the Ohio River outside Marietta. Marietta is on the left side of the river with Williamstown West Virginia on the opposite shore. The landowner was kind enough to give me permission to look around. I need to return with a different lense, a couple sandwiches, and a lawn chair.

A pile of discarded grindstones sitting along the hillside outside Marietta Ohio. These are no doubt over a hundred years old. Premium grade grindstone was once in high demand and Washington County produced some of the best products across the country. Quarries were dug along the west ridge from Marietta to Belpre, beginning in the 1830s and ending in the late 1960s, when synthetic abrasives ended grindstone production altogether.