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Point Pleasant, West Virginia: Chief Cornstalk's Vengeful Bones

Indian tribal leader murdered by American soldiers on November 10, 1777, who cursed the land as he died. His statue stands near a four-ton obelisk entombing his bones. Is it protecting them from us, or us from them?

Point Pleasant Battlefield State Park

Address:
1st St., Point Pleasant, WV
Directions:
Point Pleasant Battlefield State Park. At 1st and Main Sts, where the Ohio River meets the Kanawha River.
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Chief Cornstalk grave.

Chief Cornstalk's Vengeful Bones

Chief Cornstalk's grave is in a beautiful park that once was a bloody battlefield.

[Stephen Francia, 06/11/2020]

Chief Cornstalk grave.

Chief Cornstalk's Vengeful Bones

No wonder he's vengeful. Not only was he brutally murdered -- and then his bones were moved around -- but his obelisk is MUCH smaller than the one memorializing the white settlers, and his final resting place is right next to the public restrooms. The Final Indignity.

Nice park, though.

[Lucy Pfeffa, 06/04/2013]
Chief Cornstalk's Vengeful Bones

There is also a log/wooden house that you can tour. The woman who was there the day we went was very informative. The bones included in Chief Cornstalk's monument include a jaw bone, rib and femur.

[Brad, 06/21/2011]

Obelisk contain Chief Cornstalk's bones.

Bones of Chief Cornstalk

Chief Hokoleskwa (Chief Cornstalk to the English-speaking world) was a leader of the Shawnee people who battled with English settlers in Ohio near the location of what is now Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The Chief survived the initial battles, but was killed in 1777 by settlers following the killing of a solider by the Shawnee people. Cornstalk's bones were moved several times, but today rest in an obelisk located in Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in the town of Point Pleasant.

[Greg Brown, 06/20/2011]

Colonel Lewis and Chief Cornstalk.

Chief Cornstalk

I spent a considerable amount of time in Point Pleasant so I could catch some of the sights. The town, small as it is, has a big and colorful history.

In October 1774 the Battle of Point Pleasant occurred, when Colonel Andrew Lewis defeated Shawnee Chief Cornstalk and his coalition of Shawnee and Mingo warriors. Many say that this was the first battle of the American Revolutionary War, which is a distinction that was apparently made official by an act of Congress in 1910. The park in town contains some massive murals painted (by muralist Robert Dafford) on the river retaining walls in the park. There are metallic statues immortalizing both Colonel Lewis and Chief Cornstalk.

[David Kravetz, 04/30/2008]

The Chief was treacherously murdered in Point Pleasant on November 10, 1777. What remains of his bones are interred in a four-ton obelisk marked "Cornstalk," which is also in the park.


Nearby Offbeat Places

Grave of Mad Ann BaileyGrave of Mad Ann Bailey, Point Pleasant, WV - < 1 mi.
Anchor That Sank The Sallie MarmetAnchor That Sank The Sallie Marmet, Point Pleasant, WV - < 1 mi.
Paddleboat - Captain's CreameryPaddleboat - Captain's Creamery, Point Pleasant, WV - < 1 mi.
In the region:
Fish Feeding Frenzy, Lavalette, WV - 40 mi.

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