Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.The population was 21,901 at the 2010 census. It is the only city in Ross County and the center of the Chillicothe Micropolitan Statistical Area (as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003). Chillicothe is a designated Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.HistoryChillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River.The town's name comes from the Shawnee Chala·ka·tha, named after one of the five major divisions of the Shawnee people, as it was the chief settlement of that tribal division. The Shawnee and their ancestors inhabited the territory for thousands of years prior to European contact. At the time of European-American settlement, the community was plotted by General Nathaniel Massie on his land grant.Modern Chillicothe was the center of the ancient Hopewell tradition, which flourished from 200 BC until 500 AD. This Amerindian culture had trade routes extending to the Rocky Mountains. They built earthen mounds for ceremonial and burial purposes throughout the Scioto and Ohio River valleys. Later Native Americans who inhabited the area through the time of European contact included Shawnees. Present-day Chillicothe is the most recent of seven locations in Ohio that bore the name, because it was applied to the main town wherever the Chalakatha settled.
