[8] Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio.

Chillicothe is a designated Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The region around Chillicothe was the center of the ancient Hopewell tradition, which flourished from 200 BC until 500 AD.

They built earthen mounds for ceremonial and burial purposes throughout the Scioto and Ohio River valleys.

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.

In 1758 a settlement was established at this site by Shawnee Indians who had abandoned their village of Lower Shawneetown in November of that year.

Migrants from Virginia and Kentucky moved west along the Ohio River in search of land.

The community Chillicothe was founded in 1796 by a party led by General Nathaniel Massie on his land grant.

As tensions increased prior to the breakout of the American Civil War, the free black community at Chillicothe maintained stations and aid to support refugees on the Underground Railroad.

On May 12, 1948, a C. & O. engine suffered a boiler explosion due to a low water level near Chillicothe, Ohio.

[16] The city is surrounded by farming communities, and Chillicothe residents describe the area as the foothills of the Appalachians.

[citation needed] As of the census[8] of 2020, there were 22,059 people, 9,576 occupied housing units, and 5,589 families residing in the city.

Its stage has been graced by such greats as Laurel and Hardy, Milton Berle, George Arliss, Sophie Tucker, Bob Hope and many others.

The Masonic Opera House continued under Wolf's managerial abilities until he sold it to the Myers Brothers in 1914.

They occasionally had live theater productions on the stage but finally switched exclusively to motion pictures.

Chillicothe, rich in Native American history, hosts the annual Feast of the Flowering Moon Festival.

Yoctangee Park, in the historic downtown, is the setting for this family-oriented, three-day event featuring Native American music, dancing, traders and exhibits, a mountain men encampment, rendezvous with working craftsmen and demonstrations, and an extensive arts and crafts show with more than 80 crafters and commercial exhibits.

Chillicothe's floodwall, protecting the city from floods of the Scioto River, has a 5.0-mile-long paved bike path.

This path connects to the Tri-County Triangle Trail which currently is 30.3 miles long, measured from Bridge St. (SR 159) in Chillicothe, passing through Frankfort and then to Christman Park near Washington Court House in Fayette County, Ohio.

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is found on the north end of the city.

Chillicothe is governed by a mayor–council structure in which the mayor is elected separately from the members of the city council.

[29] Chillicothe is home to Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center, a vocational-technical school founded in 1974.