They were exiled from Ohio in 1832 and scattered across the United States and southern Canada before their tribe shrank to just 79 people by the end of the 19th Century. Now known as the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, the nearly 2,700 remaining ancestors of the Shawnee Indians that once flourished in Ohio were represented by more than 100 Shawnee tribe members who returned Monday to West Liberty for the unveiling and dedication of an Ohio Historical Marker honoring them.

The marker is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 68 and County Road 189 in West Liberty.

Todd McCormick, right, director of the Logan County Historical Society, reads the front of the new Ohio historical marker which details the history of the Shawnee Indians in Logan County as more than 100 tribe members and descendants look on Monday at the junction of U.S. Route 68 and County Road 189 in West Liberty.

“We came here two years ago after planning for three years to get here,” said Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.

“When we got here we were very disappointed that there was no recognition or nothing memorializing us or our place in history. Mr. McCormick was instrumental in researching our history and making contacts for us with the Ohio Historical Society to get us this plaque.”

After the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Shawnees were forced to leave the county in 1832 and were scattered from lower Canada through Kansas and Missouri before the tribe finally settled. The move killed more than 30 percent of the tribe before they eventually established a headquarters in the Indian Nations in Oklahoma. Once they were finally settled in the late 1800s there were only 79 left. Also lost were their ceremonies and rituals.

But as their numbers began to increase, Chief Glenna says it has been a quest of theirs to increase their knowledge of their living history and the appreciation of their culture.

“We had to come back to Ohio to keep our values and heritage alive,” the chief said.

The Logan County Shawnees had established three villages within a few miles from the West Liberty area, including Moluntha’s Town, Wapakoneta and Mackachack.

Tribe members and ancestors attended the ceremony from California, Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Washington, D.C. The tribe’s headquarters is in West Seneca, Mo.