History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, Part 30

Author: N. N. Hill, Jr.
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 826

USA > Ohio > Licking County > History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present > Part 30

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).

A deep pre-glacial channel from the north en- ters the county a little west of the Sandusky branch of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, extend- ing southward to Newark, and is now occupied by the northern branch of Licking river. At New- ark it divides; one branch turning directly to the east, in the valley of Licking river, and one branch extending northwesterly, through what was evi- dently, at one period, a broad lake, and in which now flows the south branch of the Licking, with a reversed current to join the main stream at Newark.

A smaller channel, coming from near Martins- burgh, Knox county, passes through Eden town- ship and the valley occupied by the Rocky fork of the Licking, to its junction with the main stream. This channel is marked by debris of adjacent bluffs, and has had less influence upon the topogra- phy of the county than the others named. -

The larger channels are now filled with water- washed pebbles, resting, ordinarily, upon the old rocky bed, but in places upon the remains of the original drift clay, covered with alluvium, and sandy ridges marked by a succession of terraces and corresponding water-plains.

South and southwest of Newark these water- plains expand, covering a large area. Borings for wells indicate that the rock has been here exca- vated to a depth corresponding to that of the old channels, and that in the latter part of the glacial epoch a lake of considerable size covered the sur- face. These old flood-plains are exceedingly fer- tile. The surface above them is divided into four topographical areas.

In the district north of the Licking and east of Rocky fork, including the townships of Perry and Fallsbury, are a succession of hills rising to the rocks above the third coal seam, and are separted by the deep and narrow valleys of the streams, which generally have a rock bottom and bluff banks.

The slopes of the hills are usually covered with the debris of the local rocks. North of the Lick- ing, and between the North fork and Rocky fork, are similar hills in Mary Ann township, rising to a height sufficient to catch the lower coal, and, in Newton township, to the horizon of the carbonif- erous conglomerate, which is here mainly repre- sented by a stratum of silicious iron ore.

Digitized by Google

166

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

In the southeastern part of the county are hills of like character; the surface diversified in a simi- lar manner by a net-work of deep ravines, the channels of recent streams.

In the northeastern part of the county is a high, undulating table land, the rocks all Waverly, and in the northern and central part deeply covered with unmodified drift clay. The undisturbed, billowy surface of the original deposit still re- mains, except upon the borders of the streams and upon the southern slope, where the clay of the drift has all been carried away, and the evidences of its presence remain only in the pebbles of the streams and occasional erratics of the slopes of the hills.

In the southwestern part of the county an irreg- ular series of low hills project into the old water- plains of the valleys, in part covered with drift, the latter in places extending below the beds of the present streams.

The extreme width of Licking county is twenty- two and a half miles from north to south, and, in length, thirty miles from east to west. It contains six hundred and fifty-eight square miles, and was originally thickly covered with a great variety of huge forest trees, and a dense and almost impene- trable undergrowth of shrubs and bushes. The earth was also thickly clad with a luxuriant growth of indigenous grasses, weeds and trailing vines, with the exception of a very brief period during the winter months.

Of prairies, there were few and none contained more than a very limited number of acres.

Among the principal of these was the Bowling Green prairie, or rather series of prairies, com- mencing about four miles below Newark and ex- tending eastward along the Licking bottoms for a mile or more. Here it was that Hughes and Rat- liff erected their cabins in 1798, and raised a crop of corn during that and a number of subsequent seasons, and which was the first corn ever raised by white men within the present limits of the county.

One mile below Newark, in the valley of the Licking, was another one, or more, on which Isaac and John Stadden raised corn in the year 1800. There were several prairies of smaller extent down the Licking valley.

There was a prairie in Washington township,

north of St. Louisville, called the Cranberry prai- rie, known, also, in early times, as the Warthen prairie. It was large compared with most of Lick- ing county prairies, and in portions of it partook more of the character of a swamp than a prairie.

One of the most celebrated prairies in the county was situated a little over a mile west of Newark, and was generally known as Cherry Val- ley prairie. It was extensively used as a race- course by the early settlers a number of years. Ultimately, most of its surface became measurably covered with water, and hence unfitted for tillage or horse-racing. In this condition it remained nearly thirty years, and until drained by ditching, when much of the area composing it became plough land, and most of the remainder good grass land for pasturage.

The "Little Bowling Green" situated between the National road and the Perry county line, in Bowling Green township, on the waters of the Moxahala, was a small prairie. It was first culti- vated in 1802, and was well known by the early settlers. It gave name to the township in which it is situated, organized in 1808.

There were several prairies along the southern borders of Union township, one being of consid- erable magnitude; also one or two, separated by a narrow belt of timber, at the junction of the Bloody run and Brushy fork, in Mckean town- ship, called Plum prairie, and sometimes Plum orchard. It was famous for its abundant yield of prairie rattlesnakes.

Besides these there were a number of others in different sections of the county, but they were generally of very small size. The county may, therefore, be considered as belonging to the class known as wilderness, or, heavily timbered; the superficial area of prairie bearing too insignificant a proportion to the timbered land to be taken into account.

Of swamps there were many, but mostly small. Most of the prairies had the characteristics of swamps as much as of prairies, rendering their correct classification somewhat difficult.

Some of the most notable swamps were on the Bowling Green, five miles below Newark, and at several other points in the Licking valley; one a mile north of Newark, on the farm of Captain

Digitized by Google

167

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

Archibald Wilson, where he settled in 1806; also the Bloody Run swamp, near the Fairfield county line, as well as others in the same township, and those in the vicinity of the reservoir; besides many others of smaller size; one in the southeastern part of Lima, Wolf swamp in Liberty, and several in the southern portion of Hartford township.

Ponds were numerous but not of large size. The Goose pond, two miles northwest of Newark, covering from fifty to sixty acres, was one of the largest. The Deweese ponds in the southern part of Union township; the Log pond a mile north- west of Newark; and the famous pond that orna- mented the public square of Newark as late as 1830, were among the principal ones.

Of lakes, there is but one, so small, however, that it should be called a lakelet. It is situated near the mouth of Lake fork, in Washington town- ship, and covers fifty or sixty acres.

It abounded in fish, aquatic plants, some am- phibious animals, as well as wild geese and ducks, and was the scene in early times of much sport for anglers and hunters. The water is of very considerable depth in places. It is generally known as "Smoot's lake," a gentleman of that name being owner of most of it.

If the reservoir may be included in the cate- gory of lakes, it makes the second, though only a portion of it is in Licking county. It is located in the southern portion of Licking and Union townships, and in the counties of Fairfield and Perry; and now embraces an area of more than three thousand acres; probably one-third belong- ing to Licking county. Its limits were somewhat extended in 1828 by the construction of the Ohio canal, of which it is a feeder, and made navigable to Thornport from the canal. The depth of water is considerable, and in early times it was regarded as a paradise by the sportsman.

Springs are numerous, but there are few of large size. The Big spring upon the farm originally settled by General John Spencer, in Newton town- ship, in 1805, is among the most noteworthy. It is made up of the united waters of several springs, and the volume of water was sufficient to propel the machinery of a grist- and saw-mill for many years after the first settlement of the county. It has yielded to the general law, and now dis-

charges a reduced quantity of water, no longer furnishing motive power for machinery, although there is still sufficiency of water for that purpose on a more limited scale.

Among the large springs are several north of Centerville street, in Granville township; and another, or rather two that form one, on the Welsh hills, being the head or source of the Goose Pond run. The two rise within two feet of each other, and flowing together, make one spring. The one is what is called hard water, and the other soft water, thus presenting the anomalous feature of being hard water on one side and soft water on the other. It is on the farm of William Cramer in Granville township. It had a copious flow of water in early times, and was reckoned among the largest springs of the county.

One or two of the largest springs are situated about a mile north of Newark, near the North fork, on the farm first settled by Mr. Jacob Wil- son. Of chalybeate or mineral springs, there are none of any note.

Of running streams the county is abundantly furnished. Nearly all the waters of Licking county flow into the Muskingum river, by way of the Pataskala or Licking river, and the Wakatomika. The exceptions are that the rains falling upon the southern portions of Hopewell, Bowling Green, Franklin, and Licking townships, run into the Moxahala or Jonathan's creek, which, after passing through a portion of Perry county, empties into the Muskingum three miles below Zanesville; and the rains falling upon the western portions of the townships of Hartford, Monroe, Jersey, Lima, and Etna flow, by way of the Black Lick and Big Walnut creeks into the Scioto river.

The South fork of Licking rises in the north- west corner of Jersey and runs through Lima, Harrison, Union, Licking and Newark townships, passing, in its meanderings, a short distance into Fairfield county, and unites with the North fork at Newark, the two forming the Licking river.

Hog run and Ramp creek are tributaries of the South fork, both entering that stream at nearly the same point in Licking township.

The former rises in Franklin township and runs westwardly; and the latter in Harrison township, running easterly through Union township.

Digitized by Google

168

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

The Raccoon or Middle fork, another tributary of the South fork, has its sources in the townships of Hartford and Monroe, and after passing through the townships of St. Albans, Granville and New- ark, empties into the South fork half a mile above the junction of the latter with the north fork at Newark.

The, Otter fork rises in Knox county, passing through Hartford and Bennington into Burlington township, where it, with other small streams from Knox county, flows into the North fork of Licking.

Lake fork rises in Bennington and Liberty town- ships, and after passing through Burlington town- ship, discharges itself into the North fork two miles south of Utica, in Washington township.

Clear fork and Brushy fork rise in Liberty town- ship, and both find their way into the North fork; the former at Vanattasburgh, and the latter one mile further south, both in Newton township.

North fork rises in Knox county, and after flow- ing through the townships of Bennington, Bur- lington, Washington, Newton and Newark, unites at the city of Newark, with the South fork, the two forming the Licking or Pataskala river, the main stream of the county, which, after passing through Madison and Hanover townships, empties into the Muskingum river at Zanesville.

Brushy fork and the Clay Lick are both tribu- taries of Licking river. The former has its source in Muskingum, and after winding around through the valleys and rocky, mountainous regions of Flint ridge, passes through Hopewell and Hanover townships, and empties, in the last named town- ship, into the Licking. Clay Lick rises in Hope- well, and after passing through Franklin empties into the Licking at the township line between -Madison and Hanover.

Rocky fork heads in Washington township, and after meandering through the deep gorges, pre- cipitous banks, abrubt slopes and steep bluffs of Eden, Mary Ann and Hanover townships, empties into the Licking at the head of the "Licking nar- . rows" in Hanover township.

Wakatomika rises in Knox county, and after flowing through Fallsbury and Perry townships empties into the Muskingum river at Dresden.

In addition to these streams there are many small tributaries, not necessary to mention.

The "Flint ridge" is a section of country of a mountainous character, situated principally in Hopewell township, extending entirely across it from east to west. It slopes off into Muskingum county on the east, and on the west into Franklin township, Licking county; making its extreme length from six to eight miles, and its average breadth less than two miles from north to south, not counting the length of the spurs that diverge from both sides of it, into the more level land.

It is extensively covered with flints and buhr- stone, the latter being largely used by mill-owners, - in pioneer times, as a substitute of the French buhr, for making flour.

The Licking narrows, when the pioneers first settled here, was probably one of the most pictur- esque places in Ohio. It was a romantic, gloomy gorge, about two miles in length through which flowed Licking river.

Cliffs of enormous rocks lined the banks and presented a steep front on the south side, of very irregular height, covered with laurel and evergreen trees, and shrubbery or undergrowth peculiar to mountain regions. The north, or left bank of this dark ravine was formed by a line of nearly solid, sandy rocks, generally from fifty to sixty feet high, and varying in position but slightly from perpen- dicular, rising out of the water, which washed their base in many places, and no where left more than a narrow strip of land, of a few feet between this bank and the river. This stream had an average breadth of a hundred feet or more, and the branches of the trees which stood on its banks al- most ran together; indeed in places they inter- locked, carrying the grape-vines, growing on one side, into the branches of the trees which stood on the other, thus giving the Narrows, during the season of full foliage, a dark, gloomy, cavernous appearance. In places on the left bank, this bed of gray sand-rock stood in a position not perpen- dicular, but overhanging the water in a sort of semi-circular form. On the face or front of one of these overhanging rocks had been rudely drawn, probably by Indians, the outlines of various animals, and also the form of a large human hand ; hence the name of "Black Hand Narrows," by which the place was known by the early time hunt- ers and pioneer settlers. They found on the front

Digitized by Google

169

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

surface of this projecting rock, some ten or fifteen feet above its base, at the water's edge, the impres- sion of a large hand and wrist, the thumb and fingers distended, and being in dimensions about double that of the hand of a common-sized man. It had been chiseled or scratched out, probably with a sharp-pointed, or thin-edged flint wedge or chisel, and the hollowed grooves thus made had become blackened from the action of the atmos- phere; or perhaps the growth of a coat of black moss had given it its color.

This curious black hand pointed east, and was destroyed by the blowing away of the rock on which it was inscribed; this much-to-be-regretted act becoming a necessity in the construction of the Ohio canal; the river the whole length of the Narrows being made slack-water, by means of a dam at the lower end. The Black Hand rock was removed to make room for the towpath. This slack-water canal arrangement was effected by means of a lock at the upper end and a dam, as already stated, at the lower. The interest of the Narrows was also increased somewhat by a beauti- ful miniature cascade on the left bank of the river, formed by a small gurgling rill which fell over this perpendicular bank of rock, sixty feet in height, into the stream below.

The Licking Narrows was a spot abounding in interest to the pioneers, and was the scene of many an ancient legend-of wild hunting stories and thrilling, romantic adventures. The scenery in its primitive state, before man laid his heavy destructive hand upon it, was surpassingly grand, gloomy, picturesque and magnificent. Nature here presented such a splendid exhibition of her her works as to command the admiration of all votaries, under whose observation they came. Here, indeed, is one of Nature's master-pieces

-a deeply interesting manifestation of her power.

"The pines bowed over, the stream bent under The cabin cover'd with thatches of palm, Down in a canon so deep, the wonder Was what it could know in its clime but calm. Down in a canon so cleft asunder By sabre-stroke in the young world's prime, It look'd as broken by bolts of thunder, And burst asunder and rent and riven By earthquakes, driven the turbulent time A red cross lifted red hands to heaven."

The presence of marine shells and other diluvial deposits, together with many other geological in- dications, seem to favor the opinion that these Narrows were formed by the waters of the valley to the west, which were believed to have been a lake or sea at some period of remote antiquity, the surface of which was on or above the level of the tops of the banks forming the Narrows, and discharged its surplus waters over them, gradually washing out and deepening the channel as time rolled on, thus ultimately draining the sea . or lake, leaving only the stream that now flows through the gorge, as the outlet for the waters that accumulate in the valley above-a valley extend- ing almost to the western limits of the county, and northward, beyond its limits, embracing an area of hundreds of square miles of most fertile and beautiful lands.

This may account for the sandy condition of the soil of the larger part of Licking county-it was once the bed of a lake. At what period of time this lake existed is unknown; probably many centuries have intervened.

Another deeply interesting locality in the topog- raphy of the county is the region of the Rocky fork, and especially, of Rain rock in Eden town- ship. These localities will receive attention in the township in which they are located.

Digitized by Google

CHAPTER XVIII. GEOLOGY.

THE POSITION OF THE COUNTY GEOLOGICALLY-EVIDENCES OF FORMER EXISTENCE OF LAKES-BLUE CLAY-PEAT BOGS-COAL-HYDRAULIC LIME-FLINT RIDGE-GEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE COUNTY.

Search the mysterious recesses of The great walled earth, and find the handiwork Of God. Pile is heaped on pile, and shaped through A million years. Race on race of men, beasts And vegetation, sink down, perish and Are built upon; and countless ages hence, a Race of pigmies, called men, will then, as now, Drag up from hidden depths these other forms, and, Chattering like monkeys, warm themselves by The fire built of the debris of lost and 1. Forgotten ages. And they, too, shall perish, Miserably, to fructify the world.

THE geologic record of this county is, for inter- T est, second to few regions, if any, in the United States. The disturbed stratification of the Atlantic States, Missouri and Arkansas abound in interesting facts, but they are disconnected chap- ters in the history of creation, while the strata of Licking county furnish an almost unbroken nar- rative from the Silurian up to the Tertiary; and, to complete the panorama of the great past, the arch- æological remains wonderfully continue the story down to the historic period.

The apparently missing chapter between the coal period and the great drift area is supplied to the careful student by the basins in which the drift is deposited. These basins are as serviceable in teaching the student the features of the primeval world as are fossils. From fossils may be learned where plants grew, and animals lived; but those lakes which dotted the face of this country, and were the homes of life in various forms, when the world warmed by internal heat up to more than tropical temperature, are perpetual witnesses of the great and terrific revolutions which have changed the face of nature, and made this modern world so capable of supporting and developing man,- the crowning work of the Creator.

The evidence of the former existence of these

lakes is found throughout the county in the town- ships of Monroe, Hartford, Jersey, Mckean, Etna, Union, Licking, Franklin, Newark, Madison, Han- over and Perry. In some places the proof is clear that the bottom of those lakes was seventy feet below the present surface of the soil.

Blue clay is everywhere in this county the lowest drift deposit. It underlies all other drift. Conse- quently, wherever it is found, whatever lies above it is drift or earthy material brought from a dis tance. It is believed that the blue clay has its origin in the black shales found in the western part of Licking county, and cropping out on Walnut creek, where it is crossed by the railroad. The decomposing and grinding up of those shales have formed the blue clays.

The peat bogs are an interesting feature, and worthy of careful study. The large ones were formerly cedar swamps, and it is probable that some would well repay the experiment of mining for cedar logs. The great peat bog along the North Fork feeder, in the out-lots of Newark, was a cedar swamp, and the logs lie beneath and upon its surface. It is a rare thing to find a peat bog in any country south of latitude forty degrees, and this circumstance makes the geology of this county still more interesting. East and west, moreover, the county is the limit of peat formation, and north and south of the drift. How long these cedar trees have lain buried in the bog may never be known, but each one is a record of the season while it was alive and growing.

Within two miles of Newark coal is found, not extensive, but limited in area. The western edge of the great coal fields of Ohio passes through the eastern part of the county. The coal formation ex- tends only into the eastern tier of townships, and

Digitized by Google

170

171

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

in these it is only found to a limited extent. The field includes a large part of Fallsbury, a small proportion of Perry and Mary Ann; the larger part of Hanover and all of Franklin, Hopewell and Bowling Green townships. It also extends into the southern portion of Madison.

In what is called Metcalf's hill there are two or three strata of coal, with intervening strata, abounding in the prints of coal flora; then of marine naida ; then of coal again, with other forms of flora, and finally capped by a lime rock, which seems to be a mere aggregation of sea-shells.

Farther east, passing other coal beds, is found a superior article of hydraulic lime, deposited at a different period, from a similar and less valuable material of Flint ridge. The ridge itself is an anomaly in Ohio geology, and its silicious masses were probably deposited by hot or warm water. In mining the cannel coal in its western spur, many proofs of disturbance are found in the level of that formation. The force which elevated it, probably heated the water, saturated with silica in solution, which was precipitated by cooling, and from which came those beautiful quartz crystals so much sought after. In the whole west and north- west there are but two formations to study,-the Silurian and Drift. In the eastern part of the State is the valuable coal formation alone, with neither the Silurian nor the Drift; but Licking county comprises them all.

In short, there are in the county all the various geological outcroppings of the strata belonging to the States, with the exception of the cliff and blue limestone. These two make their appearance west of the Scioto river, and extend to the State of Indiana.

In the northwestern townships of the county is found the black shale; through the middle of the county north and south, the fine grained or Waverly sandstone; and east of Newark, at the mouth of the Rocky fork, the conglomerate rock appears in great abundance.

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.

History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, Part 30

Author: N. N. Hill, Jr. Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Number of Pages: 826

Author: N. N. Hill, Jr.
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 826