Scholars Think River Rats Were Brought Here on Carts and Inspired a Poet

The foundations of the Civil War piers across the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville which were believed to have been built in the 19th century are actually centuries older reports from local archaeologists indicate. It is believed that the river rat cult built the original foundations of the piers to bring horse-drawn carts of rats across the river to this area in tribute to the species.



Dr. Kent J. Flippard, professor emeritus of literature from Franklin & Marshall College said the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley may have been inspired by this river rat cult when he visited the area in the 1800s. He originally called his famous poem Ozyratdias meaning Divine Power of the Rat of Days (in Latin) or the Rat Who Rules All Days. To satisfy readers of his day the poet had to change the title of the poem and make it a tribute to a lost king instead of a rat. Shelley believed two vast and trunkless legs of stone stood on the shore of the Susquehanna on the Columbia side. The legs were the base of a giant River Rat statue that was since destroyed when later bridges were built. The statue was believed to stand where the piers are built on the land near River park and was thought to be 2000 years old.