USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 61
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116
[The judges of the superior and other local courts are city officers, and will be named in the civil list of Cincin- nati.]
Under the new constitution and laws of 1852, all pro- bate business was set over to the probate court, then organized; and all books and papers pertaining thereto were transferred to the care and keeping of the new court. The probate judge is, ex officio, clerk of the court, and appoints all deputies and clerks in his department. There are at present three deputies, six recorders, a messenger, and a janitor in the office. The chief deputy, Daniel Herider, esq., has been connected with the probate court almost continuously from the time of its organization- twenty-eight years. All books and papers in the pro- bate office are vigilantly cared for; and the records are almost perfect, back to the beginning of the "quarter ses- sions" court in 1790-91. The following is a complete list of the judges:
PROBATE JUDGES.
1852-5, John B. Warren ; 1855-8, John Burgoyne, sr .; 1858-61, George H. Hilton; 1861-4, Alexander Pad-
dack; 1864-7, Edward Woodruff; 1867-70, Edward F. Noyes; 1870-3, George F. Hoeffer; 1873-4, William Tilden (died in office, and Albert Paddack appointed); 1873-80, Isaac B. Matson.
CLERK OF THE COURTS.
This office was appointive till the constitution of 1852. 1790-2, Israel Ludlow, prothonotary of the court of com- mon pleas and clerk of the general quarter sessions of the peace ; 1792-3, Samuel Swan; 1793-1818, John S. Gano; 1819-1835, Daniel Gano; 1836, William H. Harrison; 1841, J. W. Piatt; 1845, James McMasters ; 1846-51, Ed- ward C. Roll; 1854, J. M. McMasters; 1858-61, Rich- ard H. Stone.
COUNTY CLERKS.
1861-4, Charles E. Cist; 1864-7, Benjamin J. Hor- ton ; 1867-70, T. Bishop Disney; 1870-4, H. H. Tinker; 1874-7, William M. Trevor; 1877-80, Lewis G. Ber- nard; 1880-, Samuel W. Ramp.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
This office was also appointive till the year 1833. 1792-3, Abner Dunn; 1793-4, Ezra Freeman; 1795, Isaac Danville; 1796, John S. Wills; 1797, Arthur St. Clair, jr .; 1798, George W. Burnett; 1799-1807, A. St. Clair, jr .; 1809-10, Ethan A. Brown; 1811, Elias Glover ; 1812-29, David Wade; 1831-4, Daniel Van Matre; 1836-, N.C. Read; 1841, J. T. Crapsey; 1845-6, Charles H. Brough; 1858, T. A. O'Connor; 1859-63, Theophi- lus Gaines; 1864-5, E. B. Hutcheson; 1866-7, William H. Kerr; 1867-9, H. W. Thomson; 1869-70, C. H. Blackburn; 1871-3, William M. Ampt; 1873-4, Robert O. Strong; 1875, Clinton W. Gerard; 1876-8, Charles W. Baker; 1879-80, Lewis W. Erwin, Samuel H. Drew; 1881, Miller Outcalt.
SHERIFFS.
1790-2, John Brown, gent ; 1791, Isaac Martin (dep- uty); 1793-4, John Ludlow (R. Wheelan and Martin, deputies); 1795-6, Daniel Symmes; 1797-1804, James Smith. [Also collector of the government revenue, univer- sally known as "Sheriff Smith"]; 1805-6, William McFar- land; 1806-10, Aaron Goforth; 1811-12, Joseph Jenkin- son ; 1813-14, John S. Wallace ; 1816, Daniel Hosbrook ; 1817, William Ruffin; also 1823-5; 1818-22, Richard Ayres; 1829, John C. Avery; also 1839-42 ; 1831-4, Ebenezer Hulse; 1836-8, Samuel Fosdick; 1843-6, John H. Gerard; 1847-8, Thomas S. Weaver; 1849-50, Joseph Cooper; 1851-2, Charles W. Sinith; 1853-4, Benjamin Higdon; 1855-6, Gassaway Brashear; 1857-8, Richard Matthews; 1859-60, Henry Kessler; 1861-2, John B. Armstrong; 1863-4, William Long ; 1865-6, Richard Calvin; 1867-8, Henry S. Schotman; 1869-70, Daniel Weber; 1871-2, Joseph E. Heart; 1873-4, George WV. Zeigler; 1875-6, Fred Springmeier; 1878-8, William Pitt Wallace; 1879-80, George Weber ; 1881, Samuel Bailey, jr.
AUDITORS.
This office was created by act of the legislature at the session of 1820-1. It was elective annually until 1824.
1825, John T. Jones; 1829-36, John S. Wallace; 1841-5, Hugh McDougal; 1846, John S. Thorp; 1849-50, A. W. Armstrong; 1858-9, J. Dan. Jones; 1859-61, Howard
241
HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
Matthews; 1861-3, William P. Ward; 1863-5, John E. Bell; 1866-7, S. W. Seibern; 1867-9, August Willich ; 1869-71, George S. LaRue; 1871-3, W. M. Yeatman; 1873-7, Joseph B. Humphreys; 1877- , William S. Capeller.
TREASURERS.
This officer, under the first State constitution, was appointed, at first by the associate judges of the court of common pleas, and afterwards by the county commis- sioners. After 1827 he was elected biennially.
1795-7, Stephen Wood; 1798-1806, Jacob Burnet; 1807, James Ewing; 1809, John H. Armstrong; 1810-14, Joshua L. Wilson; 1815-19, David Wade; 1825-31, Richard Fosdick ; 1834-6, George P. Torrence; 1840-1, Samuel Martin; 1845-6, George W. Holmes; 1849-50, Henry Debolt; 1857-8, R. Hazlewood; 1859-60, George Fries; 1861-2, E. D. Cruikshank; 1863-4, Oliver H. Geffroy ; 1865-7, O. W. Nixon; 1867, A. C. Parry; 1867- 8, Miles Greenwood; 1869-70, John Sebastian; 1871-2, Frederick J. Mayer; 1873-4, John Gerke; 1875-6, Ross H. Fenton; 1877-8, James S. Wise; 1879-80, John G. Fratz; 1881, L. A. Staley.
RECORDERS.
This officer was appointed by the judges of the court of common pleas until 1831. Since that time he has been elected by the people.
1790, James Burnet (register of deeds); 1802, Oliver Spencer (also 1804); 1803, John W. Brown; 1819, Thomas Henderson ; 1825-41, Griffin Yeatman; 1845, Thomas Heckewelder; 1850, William Horn; 1858, John W. Carlton; 1859-62, Henry Ives; 1863-66, F. H. Oehl- man; 1866-68, John E. Rees; 1869-70, Thomas L. Young; 1871-74, George J. Leininger; 1875-79, Frank Bruner; 1880, George O. Deckebaugh.
ASSESSORS.
This office was in existence for about twenty years, from 1825.
1829-34, Jonathan Pancoast; 1835-36, Jonah Martin; 1841-42, H. R. Bywaters; 1845-46, Robert Winter.
COLLECTOR.
This office existed until 1827, when it was abolished and the treasurer was charged with its duties. We find the name of but one incumbent of the office, Thomas Clark, in and about the year 1819.
SURVEYORS.
The surveyor was appointed by the court of common pleas until 1831.
1802, Benjamin Van Cleve; 1806, Thomas Hender- son ; 1817-20, Joel Wright; Daniel Hosbrook; 1825-32, Eli Elder; 1833-36, Garrett Vleit ; 1836, Mahlon Brown; 1841-51, John L. Hosbrook; 1851-60, James B. Bell; 1861-66, Joseph W. Gilbert; 1870-72, Jacob Ammen;
1873-75, Samuel P. Bowles; 1876-79, George Haire ; 1879-80, John H. Welsch; 1880, Peter N. Jonte.
CORONERS.
1792, Robert Bunten; 1794-9, George Gordon; 1800, William Austin; 1801-2, William C. Schenck; 1803-4, Joseph Carpenter; 1805-6, Henry Ewing; 1807-10, Wil- liam Woodward; 1811-19, William Butler; 1820-1, Lot Cooper; 1823-5, David Jackson; 1840, Lewis Day; 1841-5, Charles Hales; 1849-50, Henry Lowry; 1853-4, Henry Noble (also 1857-8); 1855-6, S. G. Menzies; 1859-60, M. T. Carey (also 1865-6); 1861-2, F. L. Em- mert (also 1867-68); 1863-4, George A. Doherty; 1869- 70, Charles Betscher; 1871-2, J. W. Underhill; 1873-76, P. F. Maley; 1877-8, Ferdinand Stich; 1879-80, An- thony L. Carrick; 1881, John H. Rendigs.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
1796-7, William McMillan; 1796-7, Robert Wheelan ; 1796-9, Robert Benham; 1797-1800, Joseph Prince; 1798-1801, David E. Wade; 1799-1802, Ichabod B. Miller; 1800-5, William Ruffin; 1801, John Bailey; 1802-5, William Ludlow; 1803, John R. Gaston; 1804-7, Zebulon Foster; 1805-8, John Matsen; 1805-12, Jacob Felter; 1806-11, John Riddle; 1811-18, Ezekiel Hall; 1811-19, Clayton Webb; 1812-18, John Elliott; 1818-20, Adam Moore; 1818-25, Isaac Jackson; 1819-25, Rich- ard Fosdick; 1825, Israel Brown; 1829, William Ben- son, Abraham Ferris; 1829-31, William Snodgrass; 1831, William Wakefield, Samuel Borden; 1834, Garrett Vanosdal (also 1846); 1834, Oliver Jones; 1834-41, Thomas Cooper; 1836-44, E. D. Williams (also 1846); 1836-9, William B. Dodson; 1840-4, Pressly Kemper; 1840, B. F. Looker; 1841-4, Jonathan Larrison; 1846, Henry Debolt; 1850, Levi Buckingham, R. K. Cox; 1850-2, John Patton; 1852, John Black, Jesse Timanus; 1858, John H. Gerard; 1858-9, John McMakin; 1860-5, John N. Ridgeway; 1859-61, Michael Goepper; 1861-3, Leonard Swartz; 1862 4, Frederick J. Mayer; 1864, WV. L. Converse; 1865-7, Casper Geist; 1865-6, J. W. Fitzgerald; 1866-8, Amzi McGill; 1867-9, John Ferris; 1868-70, C. V. Bechmann; 1869-71, Robert Simms; 1870-2, William Holmes; 1871-3, John Martin; 1872-5, Joseph E. Sater; 1873-5, Charles Huff; 1874-6, Jacob Baumgardner; 1876-8, Aaron Hopper; 1877-9, Herman Fricke; 1878-80, Joseph M. Reardon; 1879, John Zum- stein; 1880, B. F. Hopkins; 1881, Martin Harrell.
COMMISSIONERS' CLERKS.
No attempt has been made to bring this list down from 1820.
1796-7, Tabor Washburne; 1798, John Kean; 1799- 1800, Reuben Reynolds; 1801-4, Aaron Goforth; 1804-7, John S. Gano; 1807-1I, Thomas Rawlins; 1812, Jere- miah Reeder; 1813, David Wade; 1814-15, C. Webb; 1816-19, Micajah T. Williams; 1820, Aquila Wheeler'
a
TOWNSHIPS AND. VILLAGES OF HAMILTON COUNTY.
ANDERSON.
BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY.
Anderson, the southeasternmost township in Hamilton county, and the only one of this county lying east of the Little Miami river -- that is, in the Virginia Military district-is bounded on the south by the Ohio river, on the west by the Ohio and the Little Miami, on the north by the latter stream, which divides it from Columbia and Spencer townships, and on the east by a line drawn from the southeast corner of fractional section numbered twenty-two, in Columbia township, or from the mouth of the East fork of the Little Miami, south of its inter- section with the Ohio at the mouth of Eight Mile creek. By this line it is separated from Clermont county on the east, and is the only township of Hamilton which imme- diately adjoins Clermont, without the intervention of a stream. The greatest length of the township, about nine miles, is on this line, but the length of that portion of the Little Miami that touches Anderson township is very nearly the same. The other sides, being bounded alto- gether by the Ohio and Little Miami rivers, are exceeding- ly irregular in their boundary lines; but the township, va- rying from the breadth of a few yards at its northeastern- most and southeasternmost points to its greatest breadth of six and a half miles on an east and west line from the mouth of the Little Miami, has an average width of five miles. Its area is equivalent to nearly thirty-seven sec- tions, or twenty-three thousand five hundred and seventy- one acres. A large part of this tract, on the west and north sides of the township, lies in the broad, flat, and fertile valley of the Little Miami, upon which the site of Newton lies, and near which, in a commanding position, Mount Washington sits upon the hills, easily overlooking a broad view of the valley. The general level of the hill- tops in this township is high, Mount Washington being five hundred feet above low-water mark in the Ohio, and other heights almost as lofty. One or two points in this township are said to be the loftiest in Hamilton county. The ancient plateau of this region has been deeply cut through, not only by the greater waters of the Ohio and
the Little Miami, but by several small streams, prominent among which is Clough creek, with its two principal headwaters or branches taking their rise, respectively, in the eastern and southern parts of the township, uniting east of Mount Washington, and flowing thence in a gen- eral northwesterly and westerly course to the Little Mi- ami below Union bridge. Its valley and the bordering hills are exceedingly picturesque, and comprise many val- uable farms and fine farm buildings. Five Mile creek is another stream of some local importance in the south of the township, likewise formed by the junction of two headwaters, one rising a little northeast of Cherry Grove, near the county line, and the other just south of the Ohio turnpike, a mile and a half west of the same place. They unite their waters-like Clough creek, also receiving a very small stream near their point of junction -about a mile north of the Ohio, and after a westerly and southwesterly course of some two miles, reach that river about midway of its course along the southern bor- der of the township. Three or four minor tributaries of the Ohio also aid in breaking down the hills on this side of the township, the highlands here, as in Columbia and all the river districts of Cincinnati east of the old city, crowding closely upon the river, and leaving scarcely room enough for the wagon-road long existing there and the track of the projected Ohio River & Virginia railway. A few rods above the mouth of the Little Miami a petty stream sets into that river, bearing the name of the noted creek that ploughs through the western hills of Cincinnati -Lick run. Three other brooks, more or less ramified toward their sources-two of them bearing the names, respectively, of Little Dry run and Big Dry run-feed the Little Miami at various points in the township above Clough creek ; and channels or mill-races of some size, in two instances, connect points on the river northeast, northwest, and north of Newtown, thus virtually forming islands of two and a half to three miles in circumference, which nearly adjoin each other just opposite Plainville, and about a mile due north from Newtown. It is a remark-
242
243
HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
ably well-watered township, pleasingly diversified in its surface, and valuable in the capabilities of its soil and other products.
Besides the natural features of Anderson which vary its topography, its broad surface is further intersected by the Batavia turnpike in the northern part, which takes Union bridge and Newtown on its way; the Richmond turnpike on the extreme south, passing California and hugging the river closely until its exit from the county, shortly after which it trends rapidly northeastward; the Salem and Ohio turnpikes, also in the southern half of the township, the latter passing through Mount Washington and Cherry Grove; a number of other good wagon roads; the Cincin- nati & Eastern narrow-guage railway, along the valley of the Little Miami, by Newtown, in the north part; with a branch from a point a mile and a half east of Newtown, running up the valley of Dry run, to a point due east of Mount Washington, where it leaves the township; and the Cincinnati & Portsmouth narrow-guage railway, cutting the southern and eastern parts in an exceedingly tortuous line, as compelled by the broken country, from the eross- ing of the Little Miami southwest of Mount Washington to the departure from the township and county consider- ably to the northward, near Mount Carmel, in Clermont county. As well as the nature and demands of the town- ship will permit at present, it is served with means of transportation; but other railroads have been projected, as that already mentioned along the Ohio.
ANCIENT WORKS.
The observations of an intelligent man, who saw the mounds and other ancient remains in this region in the early day, must ever be of interest. The following re- marks were made by the Rev. Philip Gatch, who came to Anderson township in 1798, in his autobiographic sketch:
This beautiful land has been a hidden space to civilization for many ages. There are traces in many parts of ancient fortifications and other works which could not have been made by the Indians, but by a people much further advanced in civilization than they now are. The growths of timber upon these works, consisting of mounds and elevated embankments, seem to be the same as on the ground generally, which shows their great antiquity. What people or race constructed these works is not now known, and probably never will be. Some think these formations were before the flood ; but this notion, it appears to me, is refuted by timbers being found in the earth to a great depth. I saw timber that was found on digging a well on high land ; also by salt water shells being found in high places. Nature is a grand laboratory, and it is ever in progress-imperceptible it may be to the eye, but its doings are marked by centuries. The process of change in the natural world is ever in progress.
Much later, but still so far in the past as to lend some special interest to the narrative-in Mr. E. D. Mans- field's Monthly Chronicle for August, 1839-one "T. C. D." (said to have been Timothy C. Day) gave an inter- esting description of the works as they were to be seen in his time:
In perhaps no portion of this State are these gigantic vestiges of an . unknown and populous age so abundant as in the alluvial bottoms and adjacent neighborhoods of the Miami. They are to be met with at al- most every step, and in groups so numerous that the eye can scarcely embrace their number. Mounds of every description, size, and shape, circular forts, embankments miles in length, and of great size, point ont the immense labors and workmanship of a mysterions people. Allow- ing for the probable absence of the requisite implements for their erec- tion, and the washing of their friable soil for centuries, they may be truly
reckoned as successful rivals to the greatest of their prototypes of the sandy plains of Egypt. Some are even so stupendous that, were it not for the evident signs of human mechanism that mark their construction, they might claim the impress of a mightier hand.
About a mile east of Newtown, in this county, on the farm of Levi Martin, is a mound of the largest class. Its shape is an oval oblong, rounding to its apex with the most perfect accuracy. It is situated on a shelf of land abont thirty feet above the alluvial bottom of the Little Miami. The soil around it is gravelly, but the material of its structure, as usual, is a brick clay. Near its summit is a large beech, probably two feet in diameter, and its sides are covered with a thick growth of underwood, with several large forest trees. It is within three hundred yards of a high range of hills, and could not, therefore, have been erected as a watch-tower or a place of defence. It has never been opened, but the most probable conjecture is that it is the monument of some mighty chief, who lies interred in its centre. The plain around its base is perfectly level, except within twenty feet of what was proba- bly its original circumference; the washing of rains has filled it up to a considerable height. The dimensions of the mound, from actual ad- measurement, are as follows:
Circumference at the base. .600 feet.
Width at the base 150 feet.
Length at the base. . 250 feet.
Perpendicular height 40 feet.
covering an area of about an acre.
Last summer the workmen, in procuring gravel for the Batavia turn- pike, immediately in the rear of Newtown, in the bank of a small stream called Jennie's run, disinterred an immense number of human skele- tons. This ancient burial ground is on a gravelly point that jnts out from the bank into the run, forming an acute bend. The graves are not, on an average, more than two feet in depth, though probably they were originally a great deal deeper, as the ridge has evidently washed to a considerable degree. As far as caved, the point is a solid body of coarse gravel till within about two and a half feet of the surface, which is composed of sand and loam. The skeletons lay in the sandy stratum, between the gravel and earth; and so far as preservation is concerned, it has answered the purpose well. Whole anatomies have been exhumed in an excellent state of soundness-the teeth particularly, some of them, as white as ivory, and perfect in every respect. Forest trees, such as beech, sugar, and oak, some at least two feet in diameter, were growing immediately over the graves, and their gnarled roots twisted fantastic- ally through the skulls of these remnants of an ancient people.
A fall of gravel would frequently leave bare the whole front of a grin- ning skeleton, seemingly thrust in the grave feet foremost; and, in fact, the whole of the bodies bore evidence of a promiscuous burial, some placed horizontally facing the west, others level, anon a group of four heads within the space of two feet, and in every imaginable position. About twenty feet from the first discovery of the bones, the workmen came to a large body of charcoal and the remains of a stone fire-place. An earthen vessel was found by some boys, which was broken and de- stroyed before an actnal description could be obtained. Several of the skulls exhibited traces of violence, such as would lead one to suppose that this had been a scene of carnage, and the dead bodies thus fur- nished a rude and hasty burial.
Several curiosities have been found in the neighborhood, such as pipes, earthen pots, and copper plates. Two small limestones, hol- lowed ont from an inch on the onter edge to an eighth in the center, were found in a ploughed field. They are perfectly round, and are very neatly carved, the one about two-thirds the size of the other. The largest is abont four inches in diameter.
The principal pre-historic monuments in Anderson township, as previously intimated, are found, like those generally in the eastern parts of Hamilton county, in or near the valley of the Little Miami. They are :
I. A large mound in the doorway of the old Turpin homestead, now occupied by Philip Turpin, esq., about a mile northeast of the Union bridge, on the Batavia turnpike. Although undoubtedly much smaller than when first heaped, it is now ten feet in height, with a cir- cumference at the base of one hundred and seventy-five feet. It is situated directly in a line between the front gate and front door of the premises, and the foot-way be- tween these points runs around it. It thus forms a com-
244
HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
manding and very interesting object in the scene, as viewed by the passer-by on the turnpike. About it is an ancient cemetery, probably not older than the Indian period, however, from which human remains may be ex- humed with almost every lift of spade or shovel. Upon the same premises, it may be here remarked, was the camp of Tod's company of independent scouts, for some time during the Morgan raid and scare of 1863. It was, although bearing an "independent" name, a regularly organized command under the leadership of Captain Wheeler, and named from Governor Tod, then at the helm of the State. While here it did considerable scout- ing, marching, and countermarching, but was not called upon to burn much powder in the face of the enemy. The marks of its occupancy are yet to be seen in the boards and fences gnawed by the horses, in the stabs of bayonets upon the house-doors, and otherwise. Some distance south of Union bridge is a rather curious old brick school-house, situated below the roadway to Mount Washington. It was built in 1847, and is still used with tolerable convenience for the needs of the sub-district.
2. Nearly a mile and a half across the hills from the Turpin homestead, and about three-quarters of a mile south of Newtown, in the valley of a small tributary of the Little Dry run, on Colonel Jewett's farm, is a large mound. This reaches fifteen feet in altitude, and is two hundred and twenty-five feet in circumference at the base. It is further in the interior than any of the important tumuli of this part of the valley.
3. In Newtown itself formerly, immediately before the old Methodist church, at the junction of the Plainville road with the Batavia turnpike, was a mound of size enough to make its removal worth while for the sake of the material, which was used in the construction of the Plainville highway. We do not learn that any specially noticeable relics were discovered in the process of re- moval.
4. Near this spot, east of Newtown, and on the line of the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad, is the Odd Fellows' cemetery, in which is a beautiful mound of ten feet height and a base circumference of two hundred and ten feet. It is a very appropriate mark and ornament of the cemetery.
5. A tumulus existed until recently on the Plainville road, three hundred yards northwest of the cemetery mound. It was about seven feet high and one hundred and fifty feet around at the base. It was thoughtlessly and remorselessly removed two or three years ago, simply to fill hollows in the road; and in the process of removal sundry bones, pieces of charcoal, and other objects came to light, unmistakably identifying it as an artificial work and a veritable relic of the Mound Builders.
6. Southwest of both these, on the bank of the Lit- tle Dry run, on the "first bottom" of the Little Miami, and at the foot of the hill cut by the Batavia turnpike, was a mound which was destroyed when that road was built, and some bones and other relics were found in it, as described in the article of "T. C. D."
7. A few score yards due south of this site is an arti- ficial eminence of about three feet high -much reduced
from its ancient height by the long processes of cultivation upon it, its surface having been annually plowed over for many years. Its site is upon the Levi Martin estate, south of Little Dry run.
8. Upon the same property, three hundred yards south of east from the last mentioned, is the "Big Mound," as it is familiarly known. Says Dr. Metz, in his article on "The Pre-historic Monuments of the Little Miami Valley" (Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, October, 1878):
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.