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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02405 4717
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historyofohiofro00lawy
STATE CAPITOL.
HISTORY OF OHIO
FROM THE GLACIAL PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME
By J. P. LAWYER, Jr., B. S.
Illustrated by F. H. LAWYER
977.1 744hi
Union Publishing Co., Publishers
Columbus, Ohio Press of F. J. Heer 1904
Copyrighted, 1904, By James P. Lawyer, Jr.
413372
Dedicated TO MY NIECE CLAIRE
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preface 7
The Glacial Period 11
The Mound Builders 21
The American Indian 45
Geology of Ohio 67
Gas and Petroleum 81
The Peopling of Ohio 91
Pioneer Life in Ohio. 163
Early Schools and Churches 115
Ohio in the War of 1812. 123
Internal Development of Ohio
135
Trouble with Michigan
145
Underground Railroads
149
Ohio in the Civil War
159
Farm Life in Ohio.
169
Ohio's Presidents
179
Governors of Ohio
191
Congressional Appointment 195
Population of Common Pleas Judicial Districts and Subdivisions by Counties 201
Population of Cities, etc 211
County Sketches 259
Historical Miscellanies 341
5
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
OPPOSITE PAGE
State Capitol
FRONTISPIECE
Map Showing Glaceated Area of Ohio 12
Adena Mound 21
Spear Head 26
Serpent Mound 30
Fort Ancient
33
Little Turtle
62
Gen. George Rogers Clark.
91
A Pioneer Cottage
103
An Old Home
104
The First Methodist Meeting-House in Ohio
118
Perry's Victory
131
First Locomotive and Passenger Car run in Ohio 138
Flag of the State of Ohio. 145
Our Jewels
159
Ulysses S. Grant
181
Rutherford Birchard Hayes
182
James A. Garfield
184
William McKinley 186
First Capitol of Ohio. 191
Map Showing Congressional Districts. 195
Map Showing Judicial Districts 201
6
Preface
I N presenting this work to the public I have but one object in view, and that is to instill in the minds of the youth a love and patri- otism for their own great state, and to revive within the fleeting memories of the older gener- ations a knowledge of events which have passed.
Little originality in this work is claimed, as the early Buckeyes found time in their busy lives to make ample records of all important passing events.
In writing this history reference was made to all available histories and records of the state, and accuracy, and not cuphony was the single aim of the writer.
J. P. LAWYER.
7
Chapter I
9
THE GLACIAL PERIOD
T HE history of man in the territory now comprising the State of Ohio, begins with the glacial period. The physical condi- tions of the country, at that early period of the world's history, can only be learned from the inscriptions written by the hand of nature upon huge tables of stone. All we know of man, in that far-away time, all we know of his appear- ance, manners and customs we learn from a few, but certain sentences written in rude stone im- plements found imbedded and undisturbed in the glacial formations.
To understand the history of man during that early period of his existence, it is necessary to inquire into the physical conditions of the terri- tory he then occupied. The whole of the north- ern part of the continent of North America was covered with a great sea of ice, extending as far south, on the Atlantic coast as New Jersey, and reaching in the middle states almost to the junc- tion of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and further west approaching a point not far distant from the Black Hills.
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
The moraine marking the southern boundary of the glaciated area in Ohio enters the state as far south as New Lisbon, in Columbiana county, extends almost west to Canton in Stark county, where it bears to the southwest and passes through Millersburgh, in Holmes county, to a point in the southern part of Ashland county, where it makes a short turn to the south, pass- ing through Newark, Lancaster, Chillicothe, West Union and crosses the Ohio river into Ken- tucky at a point not far from Maysville.
The fields of ice that invaded Ohio were forced into that region, by the pressure of the great ocean of ice lying to the north of the region of the Great Lakes. Their course can be as readily traced by the student of geology, as the course of a rabbit in the snow, by the hunter.
A glacier always carries with it large frag- ments of rock, and immense quantities of sand and gravel. If the bed rock over which it passes is softer than the boulders carried by it, grooves will be cut in the bed rock, some large and some small, depending on the size of the boulders, while the sand and gravel will polish the sur- face or leave but fine traces extending always in the direction of the larger grooves.
The best place in the state and perhaps in the world to observe this phenomena is on the rocky islands near Sandusky, Ohio.
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MAP SHOWING GLACIATED AREA OF OHIO.
Courtesy of Ohio Archeological and Historical Society.
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Toledo .
83.
94.
I3
THE GLACIAL PERIOD.
On Kelly's island may be seen grooves sev- eral inches and sometimes as much as two feet deep, running for several rods in the same direc- tion. The rock is a hard limestone and is well preserved.
The soil formed by the action of moving ice is very different from that formed by the disin- tegration of the rock in undisturbed districts. Rock formed by the action of water will be found in regular layers, and the soil formed by the disintegration will consist of the same elements as the rock itself, and is usually shallow. If sand rock is decomposed the soil will be sandy ; if limestone rock, the soil will be a limestone soil.
The soil of a glaciated area is very different, being much deeper and composed of material gathered from the various kinds of rock along the course of the approaching glacier, ground together, and intermixed by the action of the moving ice fields. The soil of the glaciated area of Ohio is composed of granite taken from the granite beds in the region of Lake Huron; of limestone taken from the bed of Lake Erie; shale taken from the region south of the lake, and sandstone in the region of its deposit, as in Holmes county, all ground together by the mighty force of the moving ice fields, combining
İ4
HISTORY OF OHIO.
in one productive deposit a compound of the different soils.
In some places, as at St. Paris, Ohio, the soil is over 500 feet deep.
Many boulders of granite and gneiss, some large and some small, are found in the forma- tions of this period; and are found on high as well as on low ground.
At Mt. Pleasant, near Lancaster, Ohio, may be seen an angular block of gneiss, about four feet long and eighteen inches thick, while at about the same place at a lower altitude, may be seen a globular boulder of granite almost six feet in diameter. In the same vicinity, also, may be seen a huge granite boulder measuring in its two diameters sixteen and eighteen feet. Many boulders of a smaller size and some much larger may be seen in the glaciated area.
Boulders ranging from the size of a goose egg to that of a man's head are quite common in the cornfields of Ohio. Many of these boul- ders contain nuggets of copper. In Ohio there are no deposits, either of granite or gneiss from which these boulders could have been taken. Hence we conclude they were taken from the deposits in the region of the Great Lakes. Those containing copper were brought from the mine regions of lakes Huron and Superior.
When the ice fields made their approach in
THE GLACIAL PERIOD.
Ohio, the hills were much higher and the valleys much deeper than they now are. The hills, as in the vicinity of Sandusky, were worn down, and the deep valleys, as at St. Paris, were filled up, which accounts for the unequal depth of the drift soil. If the reader should have visited southern Ohio at that early period and trav- ersed its valleys, he would have found himself 200 feet below the present water level of its rivers. The hills rising on either side of him, in steep rocky cliffs, resembling very much the walls of the Susquehanna in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
The melting of the ice at the close of the glacial period formed large volumes of running water in the summer seasons. The rivers rising in the glaciated area were swollen to enormous proportions, and carried great quantities of sand and gravel deposited by the melting ice of the receding glacier farther to the southward, fill- ing up the deep valleys with the rich sediment. Thus the hand of time was slowly but surely moulding the habitation of our present civili- zation.
Along the shores of rivers and streams ris- ing north of the line of the southern terminus of the drift, will be seen deposits of gravel. The waters receding in the falling rivers have left terraces of gravel, constituting a sort of second
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
bottom. From Cochoston, Ohio, the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company has been transporting, for years, large quantities of gravel, from the gravel terraces at that place, and using it as bal- last in the improvement of its roadbed. The course of streams have been diverted by large deposits of drift, sand and gravel. The author believes that Tuscarawas river at one time flowed from a point east of Lafayette, in Coshocton county over the gravel beds known as Hickory Flats, to Plainfield in the same county; thence following the course of Wills creek from that point to the Muskingum river. The river at the present time flows west and unites with the Wal- honding at Coshocton, Ohio. Near Salena, in Athens county, the course of the Hocking river has been materially changed, in the same way. That which was once the valley of the Hocking river is now a beautiful plain, dotted over by the earth-works of the ancient mound builders.
Not to exceed 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, when the ice began to recede from Ohio, man entered its borders from the south. His rude stone im- plements have been found in the terraces in the river valleys, in conjunction with the remains of the mammoth and mastodon. Those rude im- plements resemble very closely the stone imple- ments found in the terraces at Trenton, New Jersey. Similar implements have been found
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THE GLACIAL PERIOD.
in like formations in France and the British islands. His manner of living was much like the Esquimo of the present day. He subsisted mainly by hunting and fishing; living in the cliffs of the rocks, along the banks of the mighty rivers and swollen streams. While little can be said of him that is not speculation instead of history, yet it is matter of history, written by a more truthful hand, than the hand of man, that he lived in this early period, surrounded by wild beasts, in the territory now comprising the State of Ohio. The mark of human genius is unquestionably written on his rude imple- ments. He had implanted in him the germ of that genius which in later years has enabled civilized man to pluck the lightning from the clouds, make it his obedient servant, carrying at his command the delicate sounds of his voice thousands of miles, and the more intricate ope- rations of his mind all over the civilized world, annihilating in a measure both time and space.
2
Chapter II
19
ADENA MOUND).
Courtesy of Ohio Archeological and Historical Society.
THE MOUND BUILDERS
I N the ancient time there lived in the territory now comprising the State of Ohio, a race of people known as the Mound Builders. Their stature was about equal to that of the average. American; they were strong and vigorous, but lithe. While most all the remains that have been exhumed conform in size, very nearly to that of the ordinary human skeleton, yet some have been found that show beyond doubt, that there were giants in those days.
Those unearthed at Conneaut, in Ashtabula county, where the Presbyterian church now stands, were the remains of people of gigantic stature; men of heroic size; men at least one- third larger than the average man of to-day. Some of the skulls exhumed at that place were large enough to admit, without difficulty, the head of an ordinary man, in the cavity. The bones of the trunk and limbs were proportion- ately large.
The Mound Builder clothed himself with the skins of wild animals, and adorned his body with strings of pearls, earrings of copper and brace- lets of silver.
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
From the evidence still preserved of this early race, we must conclude, that they were very numerous. Settlements were effected and vil- lages built, in almost every part of the state. Perhaps the largest city is the one located in Hamilton county at the present site of Cincin- nati. In Hamilton county alone the marks of no less than 437 mounds have been observed. A considerable village was located about four miles from Athens in Athens county. These villages were strangely fortified; one of the mounds in Athens county was built from a peculiar rock not found in that locality at the present time. There were used in its construction more than a thousand perches of stone. The masonry has since been used in the construction of a dam in the Hocking river. Other fortified cities were built at Newark and Marietta, while unfortified ones were numerous in almost all of the river valleys. Examples of the unfortified cities may be found at Coshocton in Coshocton county, and at Conneaut in Ashtabula county.
The building of cities, extensive earthworks and fortifications teaches that there was united action, as such extensive works could not have been constructed by individual action. Some form of government existed, as such unity of action could not have been secured without the aid of the law. That sentiment implanted in
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THE MOUND BUILDERS.
the nature of civilized man, which impels him to seek the association of his fellowman; to se- cure the mutual aid and protection of organized society, was deeply rooted in the hearts of these primitive people.
While we cannot give the name of a single king or chief, or describe the rise and fall of a single dynasty, yet we know that the science of government was not entirely unknown to them. Indeed, their form of government must have reached a degree of strength far in advance of that reached by any of the known tribes of In- dians who roamed over the ruins of their decayed cities.
An examination of their skulls discloses the fact that there were two distinct races, and from the erection of such strong fortifications it would be inferred that there was more than one govern- ment. They had enemies ; there were more chiefs than one; man sought, then, as well as now, to subdue his fellowman. Society was divided into castes, a necessary consequence of society itself, it being impossible, where any degree of liberty exists, to maintain, for any consider- able length of time, an equality among the citi- zens naturally unequal in strength, character and intellect.
The first citizens of the realm built their homes within the walls of the city. The frame-
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
work of these homes was made of poles planted in circular ditches. The tops of the poles or saplings were fastened together at the top, form- ing a conical shaped cavity or room. The poles were plastered with clay, making walls six or eight inches thick. The mansions of these prim- itive plutocrats were from thirty to forty feet in diameter at the floor. At the present time such rude homes would not meet with the ap- proval of the humblest housewife; but to the Mound Builder, living outside the city walls, they were the palaces of kings, the homes of daring warriors and learned citizens.
The common people built their homes upon the terraces overlooking the beautiful river val- leys. The buildings were similar in construc- tion to those within the walls, but were built from shrubs and branches of trees. Clusters of these houses were built in the vicinity of the forts to enable the occupants, on the approach of danger, to take refuge within the walls of the forts. When the enemy appeared the people fled to the nearest fort, where the family re- mained until the warriors had beaten back the enemy. Peace being again restored, the war- rior, accompanied by his wife and children, would again return to his home on the river banks.
The cooking utensils consisted mainly of pots
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THE MOUND BUILDERS.
of clay moulded by the artisan and hardened by the action of fire. The food of the Mound Builder consisted of the flesh of wild animals taken in the chase, together with vegetables and Indian corn grown by them in the fertile valleys. Agricultural pursuits were followed to a lim- ited extent; their implements were made from the horns of deer and elk.
In the excavations made in the vicinity of Cincinnati, considerable quantities of parched corn have been found mingled with the ashes in the ash pits. Many earthen pots have been found in various parts of the State in connection with the remains of the Mound Builders. These pots were used to cook the meat brought in by the hunter. The raccoon, groundhog, wild tur- key, owl, bear, turtle and fish were extensively used for food. Many bones from these animals have been found where this rude people lived. Some of the bones show evidence of being burned, which would indicate that they were roasted. Other bones found have a polished ap- pearance, indicating that they were boiled.
From the shell of the turtle a very useful cup was made, from which the Mound Builders drank the sparkling water. To the twentieth century man, such a home, one without any of the comforts of civilized life, would seem to be but mockery. Yet that hovel sheltered both wife
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
and children, and to the Mound Builder, as well as to all other people, there was no place like home.
If the Mound Builders had left no history of their handiwork except that contained in the beautifully and perfectly formed arrowheads, so abundant in Ohio, one would be forced to con- clude that the hand that fashioned them with the rude implements at his command, was in- spired by a genius, and had acquired a degree of skill equal to that of any modern artisan. Some of these flint arrowheads are five inches long, two inches wide, chipped to a point, and so thin that the light of day shines through them. Many have been found so regularly formed and perfectly balanced that not a single flaw could be detected.
But the skill of the artisan was not confined to the making of arrowheads alone. The pot- tery manufactured also shows marks of skill. While the earthen vessels were usually simply cord-marked, yet some of them were more artis- tically ornamented. A number have been found ornamented with small medallion figures repre- senting the human face. One pot ornamented with a small medallion head placed on the side of the vessel, so as to face the inside of the ves- sel was found. A half dozen or more, orna- mented with representations of the lizard, have
SPEAR HEAD. COSHOCTON COUNTY. MILLS COLLECTION. ourtesy of Ohio Archeological and Historical Society.
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THE MOUND BUILDERS.
been found and are still preserved. The lizard was moulded on the side, representing it in the act of crawling into the vessel. Quite a variety of pots have been found. On a pair of Altar mounds located in Hamilton county, numerous pieces of jewelry were found. On top of the burnt clay of one of these mounds lay about two bushels of ornaments made from copper, stone, shell and teeth. Fifty thousand pearls were counted and assorted from this mass.
Nearly all of these ornaments were perfor- ated to enable the owner to string them. Sev- eral of the copper ornaments were plated with silver hammered into sheets and folded over the nuggets of copper. Some few were plated in the same way with gold. In one of the burying grounds was found, on either side of the skull of the occupant, a copper ornament, in the shape of the half of a spool. These had been worn by the deceased in the ears. Silver plated bracelets were also found, and among other relics was a very grotesque human profile carved out of a sheet of mica.
In other mounds have been found, in a good state of preservation, awls made from bone, hoes made from the antlers of the deer and elk, hammers made from stone and edge tools made from copper. The art of tempering copper has been lost.
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HISTROY OF OHIO.
While they were not skilled enough in sur- gery to set a fractured limb, yet they were skilled enough to fill their teeth. From one of the giant skeletons found at Conneaut a well preserved tooth was taken, which had been filled with a metallic substance resembling silver.
Their fortifications disclose the fact that they had a system of measurement. The square and circle were extensively used in the construc- tion of their earthworks.
The flint from which their arrowheads were made was mined from the earth. Some of their mines were in the South while others were in Ohio. Very extensive mines were operated near Newark, Ohio, and less extensive ones were lo- cated in the flint hills east of Coshocton, Ohio. The excavations in the vicinity of Newark, the site of their ancient city, enable one to form some idea of their mining industries. The cop- per used by them was taken from the excava- tion in the Lake Superior region. At the bot- tom of one of these excavations was found a huge nugget of copper which gave evidence of having been pounded with the stone hammers found in the pit with it. The miner hammered the copper into thin flanges which he then broke off. To have made those extensive excavations in that rigid climate with such tools, must have required a degree of patience and industry not
29
THE MOUND BUILDERS.
often witnessed. The miner began his pilgrim- age to the north with the early approach of spring. After braving the dangers and encoun- tering the hardships of the forest, he secured his precious metal and returned with the approach of winter.
The bow and arrow to the Mound Builder was perhaps the most useful article he possessed. With it he felled the deer and provided meat for his family; with it he slew his enemy, and de- fended his country.
Between the different tribes, war was waged with much vigor. The law of "the survival of the fittest," was perhaps the only international law acknowledged by them. The men devoted much of their time to warlike pursuits. To the Mound Builder, war was the noblest calling, and when it was waged against his nation he fought in her defense with a stubbornness and fortitude that would do credit to the reserve guard of the noblest prince.
Strong forts were built, and no less than 1,500 fortifications were constructed in this state. There have been built in this state of all kinds of mounds, no less than 10,000. It would be a gross injustice to the Mound Builder if a description of some of these mounds was not given. Three different characters of mounds
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HISTORY OF OHIO.
prevail. They consist of signal mounds, effigy mounds and forts.
The signal mounds are very numerous and are built of earth on a circular base in the form of a cone. They are so called because they are supposed to have been used as signal stations to notify the populace of approaching danger.
The effigy mounds represent certain animals, and they throw some light upon the superstitions of their builders.
The forts are inclosures built for defense in war. In the study of these mounds, we read the history of their builders. The study of history begins with the earliest monuments erected by man. It is not necessary, in order that we may read and know the history of a people, that their records be inclosed between the lids of a book. Those historic monuments contain volumes of history more authentic than can be written in words. From a careful study of the monu- ments, forts, burial places, village sites, imple- ments and ornaments left by them, we may form a vivid and correct conception of what we have been pleased to term Prehistoric Times.
There are no very interesting mounds belong- ing to the first class so far as their method of construction is concerned. The most interest- ing of the second class in this state, or in the world, is the Serpent Mound in Adams county.
SERPENT MOUND.
Courtesy of Ohio Archeological and Historical Society.
3I
THE MOUND BUILDERS.
A rather secluded place seems to have been chosen for the location of this mound. It is located on Brush creek in Adams county, about six miles south of Sinking Springs. The place selected is a beautiful tableland about 100 feet above the level of the creek, and presents to the water front a rocky, precipitous face. The head of the serpent lies to the north, approaching the brow of the hill. In its open mouth it holds an object resembling an egg.
By the observer standing on the wall of this inclosure, and looking to the southwards, the huge serpent is seen in all its sublimity and grandeur, winding back and forth in graceful curves across the narrow plateau. Looking up the gentle slopes, the observer may see four regu- lar folds before the coil in the tail is reached. The tail tapers gracefully to a point and is wound in three complete coils. The body of the serpent is about five feet high and thirty feet wide at the neck. The egg-shaped object, held in the open mouth, measures, in its two diam- erers, sixty and one hundred and twenty feet re- spectively. The whole length of the mound from the end of the precipice to the tip of the tail, is one thousand three hundred feet.
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