America's
Canal Town
The Story of Mary Harris
Saturday, January 17 | 2:00 PM
Roscoe Village Visitor Center Theatre – 600 Whitewoman Street, Coshocton, Ohio
Before Roscoe Village had a name, Mary Harris’s story was already unfolding.
Join us for the first Time Traveler’s Tales, an intimate storytelling experience that brings forward voices from Ohio’s early frontier. Featuring Mary Yaw McMullen and Graham Beaumont, gifted historical interpreters, whose careful research and storytelling bring Mary Harris’s life to the present with authenticity and humanity.
Captured as a young girl during a raid in Massachusetts, Mary later lived among the Mohawk people—earning respect, raising a family, and navigating life between cultures.
Travelers came to know her as the “White Woman”—a name that endures today in Whitewoman Street, and in a single stone that quietly honors a life lived between worlds.
Feel her story. Feel her courage. Experience history not as a lesson, but as a moment.
This experience is the first in a new storytelling series, with future tales unfolding in historic locations throughout the Village.
An early experience of the Elevate the Legacy Initiative
In recognition of America 250 | Ohio’s First
The Story of Mary Harris
Saturday, January 17 | 2:00 PM
Roscoe Village Visitor Center Theatre – 600 Whitewoman Street, Coshocton, Ohio
Before Roscoe Village had a name, Mary Harris’s story was already unfolding.
Join us for the first Time Traveler’s Tales, an intimate storytelling experience that brings forward voices from Ohio’s early frontier. Featuring Mary Yaw McMullen and Graham Beaumont, gifted historical interpreters, whose careful research and storytelling bring Mary Harris’s life to the present with authenticity and humanity.
Captured as a young girl during a raid in Massachusetts, Mary later lived among the Mohawk people—earning respect, raising a family, and navigating life between cultures.
Travelers came to know her as the “White Woman”—a name that endures today in Whitewoman Street, and in a single stone that quietly honors a life lived between worlds.
Feel her story. Feel her courage. Experience history not as a lesson, but as a moment.
This experience is the first in a new storytelling series, with future tales unfolding in historic locations throughout the Village.
An early experience of the Elevate the Legacy Initiative
In recognition of America 250 | Ohio’s First
Elevate the Legacy Initiative
The Roscoe Village Foundation has launched Elevate the Legacy, a discovery and visioning initiative focused on exploring what’s possible for Historic Roscoe Village.
This effort will help identify opportunities to strengthen preservation, enhance visitor experiences, and support Roscoe’s cultural and economic vitality—while honoring what people love most about the Village.
Elevate the Legacy is about listening, learning, and thoughtfully shaping a shared vision for Roscoe’s future.
Support Roscoe Village Today
The Roscoe Village Foundation’s Annual Fund sustains the historic tours, immersive experiences, educational programs, preservation work, and beloved traditions that make Roscoe Village vibrant and welcoming today.
Your gift helps bring the magic to life—supporting interpreters, artisans, hands-on activities, and seasonal experiences visitors cherish.
As a special expression of gratitude, donors giving $500 or more are invited to our candlelit Dreaming Dinner in the Parlor Room at Montgomery Hall—an intimate, 1830s-inspired evening to reflect on the past and imagine Roscoe’s future together.
Support Roscoe Village Today
The Roscoe Village Foundation’s Annual Fund sustains the historic tours, immersive experiences, educational programs, preservation work, and beloved traditions that make Roscoe Village vibrant and welcoming today.
Your gift helps bring the magic to life—supporting interpreters, artisans, hands-on activities, and seasonal experiences visitors cherish.
As a special expression of gratitude, donors giving $500 or more are invited to our candlelit Dreaming Dinner in the Parlor Room at Montgomery Hall—an intimate, 1830s-inspired evening to reflect on the past and imagine Roscoe’s future together.
Discover Roscoe Village
Historic Roscoe Village, nestled in the rolling hills of central Ohio, offers a warm step back in time.
Wander past historic buildings that tell the story of everyday life in the 1800s, and take part in self-guided tours, immersive experiences, and hands-on workshops—like blacksmithing—that make history feel alive.
Quaint, independently owned shops add charm and discovery, creating a village people love to explore, linger, and revisit.
In the seasons ahead, visitors can look forward to even more immersive experiences and signature, Hallmark-style festivals that bring Roscoe Village to life year-round. Stay in touch and feel the magic.
Join us for parties, events, & more
Support Roscoe Village
Key ways you can help to keep the village alive for future generations
Why Whitewoman Street?
Roscoe’s main street is named Whitewoman Street to honor Mary Harris, who is considered to be the first white woman resident in the Ohio Country.
Convincing genealogical evidence indicates that Mary Harris was born in Springfield, Massachusetts around 1695. Her father died when Mary was approximately seven years old. Due to financial constraints, Mary was then “bound out” as a servant girl to a family which soon moved to Deerfield, Massachusetts.
On February 29, 1704, 200 Indians and about 40 French soldiers attacked Deerfield. Prior to the French and Indian War, the French and English were competing for land in the area. As a results of the raid, 17 homes were burned, 38 or more people were killed and 112 captives were marched, through the snow, from Deerfield to Canada. Among those who survived the journey was Mary Harris. She was taken to Kahnawake (Caughnawaga) a Jesuit mission settlement located about 10 miles from Montreal.
She was adopted by an Indian family and later married an Indian brave. She adapted well to Indian culture. Mary had several children. Peter became a captain in the French arm. Joseph participated in the fur trade with the Dutch in New York.
Around 1748, before the French and Indian War, the French asked some of their Kanhnawake allies to move to the Ohio Country to make the French claim there more legitimate. Mary’s family was among those to establish a town near present-day Warsaw. Mary was highly respected by the Indians. They named their new village Whitewoman Town and the river near it White Woman River (Walhonding River) in her honor.
A land scout, Christopher Gist, met her in Whitewoman Town in 1751. Mary had returned to Kahnawake by 1756. It is presumed she lived there until her death.
