Marietta resident Meredith Potts points out some interesting features of the 1789 Treaty of Fort Harmar after presenting a framed copy of the document he found on a trip to Tennessee to the City of Marietta and the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau Wednesday at the Armory. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

MARIETTA — A Marietta man found a piece of local history in Tennessee.

Meredith Potts was celebrating his 88th birthday in October with family when they made a stop at Smokey Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville.

Not in the market for a new knife, Potts made his way to the basement, which featured a host of antique and collectible items for sale.

A document in one of the display cases caught his daughter Sheila’s eye — it was labeled the Treaty of Fort Harmar and dated Jan. 9, 1789.

Potts knew Fort Harmar as a foundational piece of Marietta, an American military fortification established in 1785 on the frontier of the Northwest Territory. He found the document interesting, but also found the $95 price tag a bit steep, so he left it there.

From left, Marietta Mayor Josh Schlicher; Bruce Wunderlich, creative director for the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Marietta resident Meredith Potts; and CVB Executive Director Deana Clark pose for a picture with a copy of the 1789 Treaty of Fort Harmar donated by Potts to the city and the CVB Wednesday at the bureau’s location in the Armory. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“I’m not used to spending that much for a piece of paper,” Potts said.

But he was soon second-guessing himself.

“Every night for the next week or two weeks, I woke up in the night wishing I had bought it,” Potts said.

He has since done just that.

“When I got to thinking about it, I wasted money on other stuff that didn’t amount to half of this,” Potts said.

Marietta resident Meredith Potts displays the pages of the 1789 Treaty of Fort Harmar he purchased from a business in Tennessee. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

On Wednesday, he presented a framed copy of the treaty to the City of Marietta and the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, which will display the document at its visitors center in the Armory on Front Street.

As he waited for it to arrive in the mail, Potts enlisted his children and grandchildren in researching the treaty. Once it arrived, he sought the input of Bruce Wunderlich, a former neighbor and the creative director at the CVB, and Bill Reynolds, historian at Campus Martius Museum.

They determined the copy he’d purchased was originally printed in 1796 in “The Laws of the United States of America,” Vol. 2.

“When this was printed, that type was all hand set,” Wunderlich said.

According to research gathered by Potts and his family, the agreement was negotiated by Gov. Arthur St. Clair with the leaders of multiple indigenous tribes in an effort to establish peaceful conditions in the area. Although it was signed with an agreement to abide by the boundaries established by the Treaty of Fort McIntosh in 1785, it was unsuccessful in preventing future bloodshed.

Other known copies of the treaty are at the Ohio Capitol and the archives at Marietta College.

Potts was hesitant to put the pages through a copier so he enlisted Wunderlich to photograph them to make the copy for the CVB. He said he wants to make copies available to local organizations, educational groups and others who will display it to share with the local community and visitors.

“Rather than put it someplace where no one else could see it, I suggested Bruce (Wunderlich) hang it down here,” Potts said.

Marietta Mayor Josh Schlicher said he appreciates Potts sharing his discovery.

“It’s a great gift to the city,” he said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.