Piqua

History

The word 'Piqua' is believed to be derived from a Shawnee language phrase: Othath-He-Waugh-Pe-Qua, translated as "He has risen from the ashes," related to a legend of the people. It became associated with the Pekowi, one of the five divisions of the Shawnee people, who were eventually known as the Piqua. In 1749, Fort Pickawillany was constructed by the British to protect their trading post at a Miami village of the same name. It was located at the confluence of Loramie Creek and the Great Miami River. In 1752, Charles de Langlade, an Odawa war chief of partial French Canadian descent, attacked the fort. He led more than 240 Odawa and Ojibwe warriors allied with French forces against the British and the Miami village in the Battle of Pickawillany. The Miami chief and a British trader were killed in the conflict. After the battle, the British and Miami abandoned this site. The Miami rebuilt Pickawillany, and Piqua later developed near their village. The British soon took over the area after defeating the French in the French and Indian War. Until 1780, Piqua had been the capital town of the Shawnee located on the Mad River about 23 miles southeast of the modern town (near Springfield). That year, an expedition by Gen. George Rogers Clark culminated in the Battle of Piqua, after which the town and surrounding fields were burned. The Shawnee relocated north and west to the Great Miami River. Piqua was settled as two separate Shawnee villages late in 1780, known as Upper Piqua and Lower Piqua. In 1790, General Harmar found the site on the Great Miami River abandoned and in ruins, as did General Wayne in 1794. As Gen. Anthony Wayne's Legion was returning to Greenville via Loramie's trading post and Piqua at the termination of their Indian Country campaign in fall…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The Great Miami River runs through Piqua. The area at the south end of town on the east side of the river is known as Shawnee.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,549
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,656
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  3,639
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,480
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,338
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,323
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  3,150
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,950

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2023-12-09
  5 km W of Jackson Center, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2008-09-30
  5 km SW of Kettlersville, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2006-08-15
  3 km NE of Fort Shawnee, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2006-05-12
  2 km E of Lima, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2004-01-30
  2 km S of Rockford, Ohio