(Photo provided from wchshistory.org) The Anchorage, an iconic home in Harmar, during winter in the early 1900s.

Secession: the act of becoming independent from another organization, state, or country. Sort of like a divorce. It can be negotiated, as when West Virginia separated from Virginia in 1863. Or it can be unilateral when 11 states left the Union in 1861 and war was declared.

The Harmar community, named for Fort Harmar, had been part of Marietta since day one – actually BEFORE day one since soldiers occupied the fort in 1786, two years before Marietta started. Harmar, then called Point Harmar, seceded from Marietta by an act of the Ohio Legislature on January 5, 1837. It happened suddenly. Kinda like Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay secretly moving the team to Indianapolis in 1984 with a convoy of 15 trucks – in the dark of night.

Why did Harmar want to leave Marietta? No one is sure. Historian Thomas J. Summers: “What this dissatisfaction was cannot be stated in a historical way…there was no good and sufficient cause for so doing.” Harmar reportedly disagreed with placement of the lock chamber being planned on the Muskingum River. It’s not clear how, why, or if that was an issue.

Marietta was aware of Harmar’s discontent and their plan to separate. But the Ohio legislature apparently moved so quickly that it surprised both Marietta and Harmar leaders. The Marietta Gazette: …“We did not expect the divorce to be so sudden and unceremonious. The act is passed…”

The Journal of the Ohio House of Representatives gives a different perspective, indicating that it wasn’t as abrupt as people thought. February 8, 1837: “A notice to incorporate Point Harmar (as a separate town)…was published according to law,…a petition signed by the citizens,…and letters together with a (suggested) bill were forwarded to the State Representative.” But they did not consider the impact on Marietta.

So, instead of a mutually agreeable separation, there was chaos. Harmar rejected their charter and asked for another one. There was a new round of petitions, letters, and meetings. Marietta was shocked and “thrown at once out of gear…” Drafters of the bill did not realize that incorporating Harmar left a defect in Marietta’s charter. All three of its wards (legislative districts) were needed to pass laws. Without Harmar, there was no second ward. The Marietta Register: “…we are not only dismembered, but disorganized, without our being consulted.” Harrumph! But they had a point. Marietta requested a fix to its charter.

The Ohio House of Representatives, dismayed by the storm of protest, appointed a select committee to review the matter. Excerpts from the committee report: “…the (original) bill has been rejected by…the citizens of (Harmar),” who claimed that they and their State Representative “were deceived by the communications and proceedings of a few of the citizens…” The committee recommended passage of a revised bill.

Finally, the matter was resolved. The legislature approved new charters for both Marietta and Harmar in March,1837. Harmar had achieved its freedom and thrived. Harmar businesses included Knox Boatyard, Stevens Organ and Piano, Pattin Manufacturing, Brickwede Furniture, and Gerke Chemical, and The Bucket Factory. People named Putnam, Knox, Barber, Whitney, Fearing, and Gilman lived there. The Anchorage, in the photo, was emblematic of Harmar’s prosperity.

Fast forward 50 years. The two towns had worked together on the Board of Trade and the 1888 Centennial. Bridges connected them. Time to reunite. Why had they split up, anyway? United they could bring about “modern advantages and luxuries” needed for future growth. On May 14,1890 Marietta annexed Harmar. They were together again, working toward a brighter future.