Tremper Mound takes its name from Dr. William D. Tremper, who owned the mound site at the time of William C. Mill's excavation in 1915. A native of New Richmond, Ohio, Dr. Tremper settled in Portsmouth in 1878, where he established a successful dentistry practice. He was active in Republican Party politics and was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1914 and re-elected in 1916. He was one of the organizers of the Royal Savings & Loan Company in Portsmouth and was a champion of conservation, introducing the first bill to propose the creation of a state-owned forest and game preserve in Scioto County.