Timeline story
Mosopelea (Ofo) & the Ohio Valley
Before the Shawnee dominated the Ohio hunting grounds, Siouan-speaking Mosopelea (later called Ofo) held eight villages north of the Ohio between the Muskingum and Scioto.
Franquelin's 1684 map marks those towns "destroyed." La Salle recorded Seneca-led Iroquois strikes in the early 1670s during the Beaver Wars; by 1673 Marquette and Joliet found the Mosopelea already fled down the Mississippi.
Remnants lived among the Quapaw, Tunica, and Biloxi. Miami-Illinois speakers once called the Ohio Mosopeleacipi—"river of the Mosopelea"—a reminder that Kentucky's middle ground emptied more than once before Anglo stations rose.
Cite this story
Published . Last revised .
Chicago
Snowden, Shannon. "Mosopelea (Ofo) & the Ohio Valley." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 12, 2026. Last revised September 12, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/mosopelea-ofo-the-ohio-valley/.
MLA
Snowden, Shannon. "Mosopelea (Ofo) & the Ohio Valley." Kentucky History Drive, published 12 Sept. 2026, last revised 12 Sept. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/mosopelea-ofo-the-ohio-valley/.
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