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For hundreds of years before the first settlers
came to the Mahoning Valley, the area was a demilitarized (an area
that separates two warring groups) zone between the Iroquois and
the Shawnee. They used the area only for its rich resources of
salt, hunting, fishing, and flint.
The first settlers
found Native Americans who had moved West due to Eastern
settlement. These were the Delaware and Mingo peoples who gave us
words for many of the places and animals found in the Valley. Many
of the trails used by these groups became well-known roads like
Salt Springs Road.
Some of the
Native American words we know well today are place names, like
Ohio and Mahoning, which means “salt lick.” Names for animals
included woodchuck, chipmunk, raccoon, turkey, skunk and possum.
The words tomato, squash, potato, maize (corn), and pumpkin are
also words for native foods.
Visit the Arms Family Museum or
www.mahoninghistory.org to see more artifacts and documents
related to the history of Native Americans in our area. How many
Native American foods do you eat every week? Why was salt an
important resource for Native Americans? What did they need flint
for?
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Tools
found by a local archaeologist that were used by Native Americans
in the Mahoning Valley.
Map of Native
American trails that have become well-known roads in the Valley.
Some of the
foods that were named by Native Americans.
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