USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio, containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., relating to its general and local history : with descriptions of its counties, principal towns, and villages > Part 86
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The order of strata is here seen to be the same as given above. Near the west line of the state, or the section, the dip is slight. It is probably greater in a northerly direction. It is not very rapid between Dayton and Columbus, but increases materially between Columbus and Zanesville, in crossing the rocks between the limestone and the coal.
Dr. Locke gives the dip, at Montgomery and Miami counties, at N. 14º east, 6 feet per mile. At Columbus, I found it to be, s. 81º 52' east, 22 feet 73 hundredths per mile.
The thickness of these formations is very variable at different points. The " fine grained sandstone," at Newburg, is not to exceed 80 feet in thickness, at Reynoldsburg and Jacktown about 500 feet, at Waverly 250 to 300 feet, and at Brush creek, Adams county, 343 feet. The " black shale" is more uniform, being at Brush creek 251, Alum creek 250 to 300, in Crawford county about 250. At Newburg, and alone the lake shore, its thickness is unknown.
The conglomerate is more irregular. In Jackson county, by estimate, 200 feet; in Licking county 100; Cuyahoga falls 100 to 120; Burton, Geauga county, 300.
The great limestone formation is divided into several numbers. At Cin- cinnati, at the bed of the river, there is-
1st. A blue limestone and slaty marlite.
C
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
2d. Dun colored marl and layers of lime rock,
3d. Blue marl and layers of blue limestone, .
·
250 feet.
160
4th. Marl and bands of limestone, with immense numbers of shells to surface.
In Adams county, the detailed section is thus-
1st. Blue limestone and marl,
2d. Blue marl,
25 feet.
3d. Flinty limestone,
51
4ih. Blue marl,
100
5th. Cliff limestone,
89
The coal measures of Ohio, like those of England and Pennsylvania, are composed of alternate beds of coarse grained sandstone, clay shales, layers of iron stone, their beds of limestone, and of numerous strata of coal. If the geological explorations of the state had been prosecuted, there is little doubt but the number of coal beds, or strata, lying one above the other, would have been shown to be as numerous as 40 or 45, and that there are 15 or 20 of them thick enough to be worked.
Here, as usual, the coal region is also an iron region. From Jacktown, on the western edge of our coal field, to Concord, in Muskingum county, in Mr. Foster's section, (2d Geol. Reports, p. 72,) a distance of about 42 miles, there are shown eight beds, or separate strata, of coal, and seven beds of limestone.
In my section, (2d Report, p. 57,) from Freedom, in Portage county, to Poland, in Trumbull county, about 35 miles, there are five distinct strata- three of them in places capable of being wrought. Among them are dis- tributed three beds of limestone and many beds of iron ore.
Dr. Hildreth made a section of the hills at Dillon's furnace, Muskingum county, from the bed of the Licking or Pataskala river upward, 206 feet. In this vertical distance, there were four beds of iron ore, two of coal, and one of limestone.
But by far the greatest mass of coal and iron measures is composed of sandstone and shale. The beds of coal and iron are comparatively thin ; the beds of sandstone from 10 to 20, and 80 feet thick ; of shale, 5 to 50 feet thick. A bed of coal is considered workable, if the roof and drainage are good, when the thickness is three feet. If it is four feet, it is considered a good mine, and very few of them average five feet. Occasionally it increases to six, and, in one or two cases, to ten and eleven feet, for short distances ; but for such extreme thickness the mine is certain to suffer, in consequence of its irregularity. The cases where a bed of the ordinary " heft" of four feet falls below that standard, are much more numerous than where there is a greater thickness.
In Lawrence and Scioto counties, in the distance of 30 miles, across the edge of the strata may be seen eight principal beds of ore, and new ones are being discovered. There are also four beds of coal and three of limestone.
The ore varies in thickness from 4 inches to 12, thickening up, in some places, to 2 feet ; but this is an irregularity.
There are 17 furnaces, on the Ohio side, supplied with ore, flux and fuel to drive the engines, from the strata represented in the section. A large por- tion of the ore is taken from beds of a few inches in thickness, the rule being to strip a foot of earth for an inch of ore.
Sometimes beds of 2 or 3 inches are worked a few feet into the hill ; but, in general, the valuable beds are from 4 to 6, 7 and 10 inches in thickness.
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584
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
The calcareous ore, resting upon the second bed of limestone from the bot- tom of the section, being very rich, is sometimes obtained by drifting, but far the greatest part of it is procured by " stripping." The hills, or, more pro- perly, the valleys of this region are so numerous, that the strata crop out, con- tinually showing their edges to the miner along the slopes. Here he can follow the stratum into the earth till it becomes too deep, and then work along the side hill at the same level. The immense length of the line of outcrop for each bed, in a country completely intersected by hills and valleys, can easily be imagined. If, instead of being uneven and hilly, it had been flat, the strata remaining as near horizontal as they now are, it will be readily seen that none but such as are thick enough to " drift" would be worthy of attention.
Among the iron beds, there are but two or three that would, at present, pay for working by drifting. The ores are not all of them fit for use, in the present state of metallurgy, on account of silicious impurities that render them hard to melt ; but the exceeding value of this region is caused by the general goodness of the ores in relation to ease of reduction.
There are many parts of the United States where richer ores may be found, and in thicker beds, but probably none where iron may be produced with as little fuel as on the Ohio river. They range from 30 to 40 per cent. of iron, and are so happily tempered with calcareous and aluminous matter, that they require a small amount of flux. But where a flux is needed, it is found every. where in the limestone beds which nature has interspersed with the other mineral strata.
The abundance of these materials will appear from an examination of the section.
The iron interest of Ohio has materially improved since 1837. At that time, it was thought to be a good yield if a furnace produced 32 to 4 tons per day. This was with the old-fashioned cold blast. In 1829, an improvement was introduced at the Clyde works, Scotland, by Mr. Robert Neilson, of Glasgow, which consists principally in using a blast of hot, instead of cold, air. Mr. Dunlop, of the Clyde works, and Mr. Dixon, of the Calder iron works, improved upon Mr. Neilson, by raising the temperature of the blast from 300 to 600 degrees, Fahrenheit. This improvement did not reach Ohio until 1841-2, although it was recommended by Dr. Hildreth in his Geologi- cal Report of 1836. The result is, an increase of product of nearly one-half, raising the daily yield from 33 to 5, 6, and even 7} tons per day, diminishing the consumption of charcoal, per ton, from 250 bushels to 160 or 180.
In April, 1844, Mr. Gliddon, the master and owner of the " Franklin Fur- nace Junior," Lawrence county, Ohio, gave me the yields of his furnace during a blast of 8 months, 1 day and 4 hours, commencing May 8th, 1843, at 1845} tons of 2268 pounds, or 7 tons 65 hundredths per day. Charcoal per ton, before the hot blast, 210 bushels ; for this blast, 161 bushels. Stone coal per ton, for engine and hot blast, 18 bushels and 9-10ths of a bushel. cost of ore per ton of iron, $3.17 ; the amount of ore, 2 tons 54-100ths.
The saving in charcoal of 49 bushels, at $1.75 the hundred bushels, is 853 cents per ton. But the great item is in the labor, the same hands turn- ing out about 40 per cent. more iron.
There is scarcely a doubt but the cost of iron may be still more reduced by the use of mineral coal, in whole or in part, in the place of charcoal; an experiment now going on in the counties of Summit and Mahoning with ap- parent success.
W gidera mater imm By of p bar I divi not it mad the th tic an m do th
585
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
When these expectations shall be realized, it will be seen by a due con- sideration of the extent of the mineral region of Ohio, its richness in all the materials of value in the manufacture of iron, that this state will soon turn out immense quantities of that metal.
By the census of 1840, she had 72 furnaces, which produced 35,236 tons of pig metal the year previous. She had 19 forges, that made 7,466 tons of bar iron in the same time.
In this notice of the Ohio strata, I have not spoken of them by the scientific divisions and names, because their place and nomenclature in the system is not yet well settled among geologists.
The geological survey of the state was abandoned by the legislature when it was about one-third completed, and upon the work done no final report was made or required. The survey was dropped by the sudden withdrawal of the funds, the corps never having been formally disbanded.
Two annual reports were made, but not anticipating the abandonment of the survey, they contained only such facts as appeared to be of present prac- tical value, reserving the theoretical and purely scientific matter for a future and final report.
Since that time, the splendid reports on the New York survey have been made, and as those geologists had a great range of observation, from the coal down to the primitive rocks, their classification has become, for the present, the standard for the United States.
In Ohio, many formations, well developed in New York, are wanting, leaving gaps in the series. Mr. Hall, of the New York survey, in his ex- tended geological map of the western states, makes the blue limestone of Cincinnati equivalent to the Trenton and Birdseye group of New York mem- bers of the lower Silurian system, within two formations of the bottom of the sedimentary rocks. These are the "Potsdam sand stone," which rests on the primitive, and the " calciferous sand rock," lying between the Pots- dam and the Trenton limestone.
In New York, next above the Trenton, is-1st, "Utica slate ;" 2d, "Shaw- angunk grits ;" 3d, "Hudson river group ;" 4th, " Medina sandstone ;" 5th, " Clinton group"-all wanting in Ohio.
Next above these rocks, in New York, is the "Niagara limestone," repre- sented in Ohio, according to Mr. Hall, by the lower part of the cliff limestone, the upper part being here the geological equivalent of the " Helderberg limestone" of New York.
Between the Helderberg and the Niagara is found the "Onondaga salt group," of which only uncertain traces are found in Ohio. Our "black shale," which rests on the cliff limestone, represents the " Hamilton group" of New York, and the New York geologists discover in our fine grained, or " Waverly sand stone" the "Portage and Chemung group" of southern New York, which there plunges south and beneath the coal series, as it does here. Our conglomerate, underlying the coal, does not reach New York, but fol- lows the edge of the coal field, as I have above. described it, around through Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, back to Ohio.
The coincidence and equivalency of our rocks with those of New York can -- not, in all respects, be regarded as settled. The fossils of the Ohio rocks, the great guide in classifying formations, have not been fully discovered or studied. The division of the fine grained sandstone into two members, equivalent to the Portage and Gardeau rocks, did not occur to the Ohio geologists, but may, notwithstanding, be a good division. There will, probably, be occasion to
74
586
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
divide the blue limestone into more members than are given above, when its multitude of fossils are completely understood.
An attempt was made at the meeting of the " Association of American Geologists and Naturalists," at Washington, May, 1844, by Professor H. D. Rogers, to adopt a system of names for the several formations, that should | answer for the whole United States. Hitherto, the geologists of each state, following the example of those of England, have given to their strata the name of a locality or region, by which the same rock, when it crosses a state line, takes another name or designation. To make the science easy to learners and readers, and to give simplicity to the system among its profes- sors, a nomenclature that shall be uniform in the United States, and even over the world, is indispensable.
The coal series of Ohio present no striking difference from the coal fields of other states and kingdoms, except in the presence of the "buhr stratum." All coal-bearing strata present alternate beds of iron ore, sand stone, shales, limestone and coal in their beds, and consequently changing frequently as we ascend or descend in the series.
In the 1st Geological Report of Ohio, p. 28, Dr. Hildreth notices the "cal- careo siliceous," or " buhr stone rock," of the coal series of Ohio, which resembles very closely the French buhr," used in this country for mill stones, and imported from France. On Raccoon's creek, and at other places in the. south, near the Ohio river, this rock is wrought into mill stones to a consider- able extent ; but millers, as yet, prefer the foreign buhr, at a considerably higher price.
In this brief view of the outlines of the geology of Ohio, I shall omit to notice the fossils, because upon this subject geologists are, as yet, only par- tially instructed.
The most numerous and striking are the trees, plants and stems of the coal-bearing rocks, the shells and corals and crustacea of the limestone, and the timber, leaves and dirt-buds of the " drift," or " diluvium." The latter is the general term for the earthy covering that conceals the rocks, varying in thickness from nothing to 200 feet.
It is sometimes called the " superficial deposits," having been brought on by some force, after the deposition and induration of the rocky beds.
There are many theories respecting the manner in which this immense mass of clays, sand and gravel was brought on, the discussion of which would occupy much space.
The " boulders," or lost rocks, that lie scattered over this state in most of its parts, and of the northern half of the United States, are objects of great curiosity, because they have evidently been transported a great distance. They are fragments of primitive rocks, granite, gneiss and Hornblende rock, which do not exist in place in Ohio, nor within about 400 miles in any direction.
As we go northward to the mountain ranges that skirt Lake Superior, we find the nearest rocks that answer to the specimens found here ; and from this and other reasons, it is conclusively shown that they are from the north. In almost every quarry where the superficial earth has been stripped off, especially on the summits of hills, we find scratches, grooves and furrows, that are in a northerly and southerly direction, varying from N. 15º to N. 40° west. There is an evident connexion between the boulders and these diluvial furrows, and also with the drift or diluvium itself. It is supposed by some geologists that the drift and the boulders were brought on by the action of
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587
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
g'aciers of ice moving down from the north, in remote ages, when the north- ern hemisphere was, as the Alps are now, bound up in continual winter.
By others, that the waters of the Northern Ocean once stood several thousand feet higher than at present, and that by means of heavy currents in those ancient seas, the drift and boulders were brought on.
Others join the two theories, and suppose an elevated state of the waters and a great degree of cold, but not continual, as in the Alps, and currents of water acting in a double capacity as transporters of sand, clay and gravel, and of huge icebergs, that enclosed and brought along the rocks we now see.
By this supposition, a greater number of the phenomena of the drift can be explained than by the aqueous or the glacial alone. It is called the " aqueo- glacial" theory. The glacial explains how the scratches and furrows may have been formed, but by this the sands, clay and gravel should be mixed and in confusion, whereas we find them stratified; and more, we observe in Ohio and the west, that the boulders are not mixed with the superficial mass, but lie upon it, being spread over the surface.
By the aqueous doctrine, it does not seem probable that a force could be acquired sufficient to tear off and transport huge rocks many hundred miles ; and if it could, should they not be mingled with the mass, and not rest upon it ?
Icebergs are now seen floating in the ocean of many square miles in ex- tent, and 2000 feet thick.
If the ocean or lake waters were elevated, so as to cover the highest land in Ohio, which is near the sources of Mad river, about 900 feet above the lake, or 1450 above the ocean, one of those largest icebergs would not float in the basin of Lake Erie. In Massachusetts, the same grooves, boulders and scratches which are seen here, are met with much higher than any land in Ohio, at 2400, 2600 and at 3200 feet above the level of the sea.
These facts show conclusively, either that the waters were higher, or the highlands lower than at present. If masses of ice existed then as now, and drifted southward, they would be likely to embrace fragments of the northern rocks, and in passing across our ranges of hills, would wear away the most exposed points, leaving scratches and furrows on the rocks.
The superficial deposits of Ohio are arranged into four geological forma- tions, and, in the order of age, are as follows :
Ist, The "ancient drift," resting upon the rocks of the state.
2d, The Lake Erie marl and sand deposits.
3d, The drift occupying the valleys of large streams, such as the Great Miami, the Ohio and Scioto.
4th, The " boulders," or, as it may be called, the " boulder stratum."
In these, we do not take into account the " alluvium," or earthy deposit, now going on, not as the result of an universal geological change, but by the action of floods, rains, bogs, vegetable decay, concretion, etc.
The " ancient drift," or drift formation, No. 1, of Ohio, has not, as I know, furnished any shells from which it can be determined whether it was of " marine" or salt water origin, or a "lacustrine" or fresh water deposit. It is distinctly stratified in the following order.
1st. At the bottom, blue clay, or " hard pan," with gravel stones, of both primitive and sedimentary rocks, and contains carbonate of lime. These gravel stones are not, in general, as much worn as in the superior strata, and are scratched and striated-thickness sometimes 150 feet.
2d. The yellow clay, or " hard pan," of the well-diggers, with gravel
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588 .
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
stones similar to the "blue hard pan"-the stratum in general not as thick.
3d. Sand and gravel less perfectly stratified, and embracing more pebbles of the sedimentary rocks, such as limestone, sand stone, iron ore, coal and shale-the pebble more polished and rounded.
No. 1 of these divisions includes great numbers of logs, trees, leaves, sticks, and what the well-diggers call "grape vines." All these members occupy the surface at different places ; but, in general, it is made up of Nos. 3 and 4. Drift formation No. 2, or the "Lake Erie deposits," are not satisfactorily proved to be newer than No. 1 ; yet the preponderance of evi- dence and all analogy are in favor of placing it above the "hard pans" in geological order. It is, however, often lower in natural level, occupying the basin of Lake Erie.
The section is as follows :
1st. From the lake level upwards, fine blue marly sand, 45 to 60 feet.
Its depth below the surface of the water is unknown-probably 50 to 100 feet, making a thickness of 95 to 160 feet.
2d. Coarse grey water-washed sand, . 10 to 20 feet.
3d. Coarse sand and gravel, not well stratified, to surface, 20 to 50 "
The lake ridges from Erie to Norwalk belong to this stratum.
Stratum No. 1 of this formation is easily dissolved by the action of water, and it is upon this, being at the water level, that the principal encroachment of the lake is effected. It may be traced along the shore around the western half of the lake in Ohio, Michigan and Canada, everywhere undergoing loss by the perpetual movement of the waves, and sliding into the lake in heavy masses. It contains carbonate of lime, magnesia, alumina, iron, sulphur, silex, and a few decayed plants, sticks and leaves. There are also pebbles of primi- tive rocks, but they are not numerous. Its upper surface is almost horizon- tal, for the difference between the south shore at Cleveland and the north shore at Port Burwell, in Canada, does not exceed 15 feet. It is heavy and compact, so as to be impervious to water, causing numberless springs to flow out at its upper edges. In contact with water, it becomes quicksand, and is easily washed away. The coarse sandy stratum, No. 2, resting upon it, is porous, and suffers the water to settle through it readily. It is the same with No. 3, on the surface stratum or soil, occupying a long, narrow belt along. the south shore, and also the broad and level region of southeastern Michigan and the western portion of " Canada West," between Lakes Erie and Huron.
The ridges of sand and sandy materials that are so common over all this space, appear to have been formed beneath the surface of the ancient waters, and were formerly parallel with the ancient shore.
They are seen at various levels above the lake, from 30 to 140 and 200 feet, but of greater length and regularity, is 90 to 120 feet. They were pro- bably formed when the waters were at various heights, and by the same pro- cess that sand bars are now formed in the lakes and the ocean. Beneath the surface on the coast of the United States, opposite the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North and South Carolina. In Lake Erie, also, such ridges are known to form, having a general direction parallel with the shore. Should the water recede rapidly, or the bed of the ocean rise suddenly, they would be left in form and extent like our lake ridges. Similar ridges or terraces surround Lake Ontario. At Toronto, on the northern shore, Mr. Roy has given the elevation of several of them, refer- red to the lake level as follows. The base of the 1st, or nearest ridge to the
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lake, 1 betwe Lake 801085 ridge bighe Fo rale the strats form sion rive lim T
589
GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
lake, 108 feet ; 2d, 208 feet ; 3d, 288 feet, and the highest near the summit, between Lakes Ontario and Simcoe, was found to be 680 feet, or 448 feet above Lake Erie. In Canada, those of the northern shore of Lake Ontario extend across the level region between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, forming there ridges that belong to Lake Erie. Examination will no doubt show, hereafter, higher ridges on the south shore of Lake Erie than those above given.
Formation No. 3 of the drift of Ohio, being that which is found in the valleys of large rivers and lowlands, but of greater extent and thickness than the alluvium, does not, so far as I know, possess within itself subdivisions of strata like formations Nos. 1 and 2. Its pebbles are numerous, and generally form rocks of a sedimentary kind. Pebbles of primitive rocks may be occa- sionally seen, but seldom. In the valleys of the Scioto and the two Miamies, rivers flowing in or near the limestone formation, the gravel is principally of limestone, well water worn and rounded.
The "Hickory Plains" at the forks of the White Water and Great Miami, and also between Kilgores mill and New Richmond, in Ross county, and in Pickaway county, are examples of this modification of the drift. It is proba- bly the result of heavy diluvial currents, that exerted themselves irregularly during the subsidence of the waters, and acting in the direction of the great valleys.
The fourth and superior member of the drift, and the last action of the drift period, is the boulder itself. I call it a formation, because it appears to be due to a separate geological epoch, occurring after the three formations above noticed were in place. It may be called a stratum, for it covers a greater surface than any rocky stratum, and is disposed in regular order over all other deposits except the alluvial. At the best, it is not mingled with the subordi- nate beds, however it may be at Canada East and New England. It is the result of some force different from that which brought on the sands and clay. The boulders themselves must have been deposited in a short space of time, or they would have been found embedded in the drift. The waters must have retired soon after they were brought on, or the sediment would soon have covered them. They were probably dropped from masses of floating ice as the waters receded. But, in this sketch, it would be out of place to discuss the theories of the presence of the drift and the boulders.
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