A History of the State of Ohio

Caleb Atwater (1778-1867) was a Massachusetts Presbyterian minister and then a New York lawyer and businessman. In 1815 he moved to Circleville, OH (south of Columbus) and began practicing law. He later was a postmaster and state legislator. Today he is best known as one of the first people to study prehistoric earthworks and their artifacts in the Ohio Valley. The present-day Ohio historical marker in Circleville dedicated to Atwater says that “his life and work as a teacher, minister, lawyer, legislator and scholar greatly influenced early 19th century Ohio”, mentioning his critical role in the passage of Ohio’s Public School Law and his early thoughts in History of Ohio on conservation and ecology. The marker concludes by saying that “scholars today are still intrigued by this eccentric and fascinating visionary.”