The Wetzel County Convention & Visitors Bureau and WesBanco will host an unveiling of a new prehistoric mound site historical marker Thursday.

While the marker will be located on WesBanco’s riverside property in downtown New Martinsville, the event will be held at West Virginia Northern Community College’s New Martinsville Campus at 1 p.m.

Eric Vincent of WesBanco will provide the welcome, followed by featured speakers Denise Nielsen Tackett of the Wetzel County CVB and Travis Henline of West Virginia Independence Hall. A light lunch will be served at the campus, followed by the unveiling of the mound historical marker located on WesBanco’s riverside property.

The marker will commemorate an extinct Indian burial mound, now covered by the Ohio River. “Based on the information I gathered, the location of the mound is in what is now the Ohio River between North and McEldowney Streets in New Martinsville,” said Tackett. “This is as close as I can get to the mound’s original location.”

In her paper requesting the marker, Tackett further wrote, “The Cresap, Natrium, and Welcome Mounds were 12 to 15 feet high and 65 to 100 feet in diameter. They represent all three periods of the Woodland Tradition. Given their proximity to New Martinsville, it is reasonable to conclude the mound in question was an Adena mound. The three above mounds no longer exist, having been displaced by industry and other development along the river. Their existence is not marked in any way because authorities do not want to encourage treasure hunters. Given that the New Martinsville mound is underwater and has been for over 100 years, that concern does not seem to be valid for the proposed marker.”

Tackett said the new signage will “create an awareness of the prehistoric culture of this area so that people can develop an awareness of the local prehistoric culture that may help to instill an appreciation for the history of the area. “The great mound building cultures of the U.S. are hardly known outside of academic and archeology circles. As the center of Adena Culture, this area should identify sites of interest and make efforts to introduce them to and inform the public about them,” offered Tackett.

The WCCVB has focused much of their effort on increasing heritage tourism to the area. This marker is part of that effort. It will be located along the route of a walking tour of historic homes outlined in a brochure with photographs, descriptions of the houses, and a map developed by the Riverfront Development Committee.