The burial place called Conus was associated with prehistoric Moundbuilders chieftains, part of a culture whose origins and disappearance have long been shrouded in mystery. Their mounds and earthworks were constructed between 800 B.C. and 700 A.D., and these early inhabitants were the first farmers and artisans in the Ohio Valley. Marietta was the site of a Moundbuilders city, and later became the first permanent white settlement in the Northwest Territory, founded on April 7, 1788 under the leadership of General Rufus Putnam for the Ohio Company of Associates. Many of the pioneers were officers and soldiers of the American Revolution who received land grants for military services, and many of the first settlers were buried here beside the ancient inhabitants.