First White Man in Perry County
In 1748 a company was formed in Virginia, entitled The Ohio Land Company. The object was to survey the lands and establish English Colonies beyond the Alleghenies. They sent an agent to explore the region. This agent we will recognize as no other than the friend and companion of Washington, when he carried the message from Governor Dinwiddie to the French commander in 1753-4. Christopher Gist traveled through leagues of almost unbroken forest, crossed the Muskingum and Scioto rivers, and was kindly re- ceived by the Shawnee Indians, who had a village on64
the latter stream about seven miles south of Circle- ville, where the hamlet of Westfall now is. The name of their town was Chillicothe. Christopher Gist en- camped one night on the shore of "Big Swamp," which we now recognize as Buckeye Lake. No doubt he was the first white man within the limits of Perry County. Gist started from the forks of the Muskingum, where Coshocton now stands, on January 15, 1751. By draw- ing a straight line from Coshocton to Westfall, it will be seen that it touches Buckeye Lake, where the village of Thornport now stands.65