The first permanent settlement within the present limits of the city was established in 1797 on the west bank of the Scioto, was named Franklinton, and in 1803 was made the county-seat.
Etruscan tombs have been found on the Isola Bisentina, in the lake; and on the west bank was the town of Visentium, Roman inscriptions belonging to which have been found.
Within the limits of the city itself, on the west bank of the Tigris, are the remains of a quay, first observed by Sir Henry Rawlinson, at a period of low water, in 1849, built of bricks laid in bitumen, and bearing an inscription of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.
In 1762 the Sieur de la Perriere, acting as an agent of the French government, established on the west bank of Lake Pepin a fortified post (Fort Beauharnois), which was to be a headquarters for missionaries, a trading post and a starting-point for expeditions in search of the " western sea."
It stands on the west bank of the river, and is joined by a bridge to the suburb of Bridgetown.
