Ottawa River (Auglaize River tributary)

This article is about the tributary of the Auglaize River. For the river near Toledo, see Ottawa River (Lake Erie).
Looking downstream at Rimer following extensive rain

The Ottawa River (Shawnee: Koskothiipi [1]) is a tributary of the Auglaize River, approximately 50 miles (80 km) long,[2] in northwestern Ohio in the United States. The river is named for the Ottawa tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the area in the 18th century.[3] It shares its name with another river in northwestern Ohio, the Ottawa River in Toledo, as well as the Ottawa River in Ontario & Quebec, Canada.

It rises in northern Hardin County and flows northwest, then west-southwest through Lima. Approximately 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Lima it turns abruptly north, flowing into western Putnam County and joining the Auglaize from the southeast approximately 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kalida.

The Ottawa River is also known locally and historically as "Hog Creek".[4] The origin of this name is ascribed to the following legend:

Alexander McKee, the British Indian Agent, who resided at the Machachac towns, on Mad River, during the incursion of General Logan from Kentucky in 1786, was obliged to flee with his effects. He had a large lot of swine, which were driven on to the borders of this stream, and when the Indians (Shawnee) came on they called the river Koshko Sepe, which in the Shawnee language signified 'The Creek of the Hogs, or Hog Stream'.[5]

  1. ^ "Shawnees Webpage". Shawnee's Reservation. 1997. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 19, 2011
  3. ^ Kinder, George D. (1915). History of Putnam County, Ohio : its peoples, industries, and institutions. B.F. Bowen. p. 82.
  4. ^ Harvey, Henry (1855). "Chapter XXVII - Treaty with Cass and McArthur in 1817, by which the Shawnee receive land at Wapaughkonneta - Names of the Shawnee, heads of Families". History of the Shawnee Indians: From the Year 1681 to 1854, Inclusive. Cincinnati: Ephraim Morgan & Sons. pp. 138, 165–168.
  5. ^ Harrison, R. H. (1880). Atlas of Allen County, Ohio from Records and Original Surveys. Philadelphia: R.H. Harrison. p. 36.