History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, Part 31

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 31

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).

This rock lies immediately under the coal field. In the coal field there is the carbonaceous shale, the iron ore, the small veins of coal, each , alter- nately with shale and sandstone.

Then comes the limestone where it appears on the top of what is called the McFarland hill, two

miles southeast of Newark. Next and above this, and a mile south, is a coarse-grained sandstone, with the beautiful fossil plants of the coal period. To the east of this there is the buhr of silicate of lime; and on Flint ridge is the crystallized quartz.

Regarding the geology of Flint ridge, Hon. Isaac Smucker thus writes:

"The geology and geological manifestations of Flint ridge present some features which afford a high degree of interest to the student of nature. As has already appeared, its surface, when first settled, was largely covered with a compact silicious material known as quartz, or in common language, flint rock or buhr-stone. The late Dr. Hildreth, an eminent geologist of Marietta, and member of the first corps of geologists of our State, in his first annual report on the geology of Ohio, made in 1838, observed that the quartz or buhr-stone was found on the surface of the elevation known as the Flint ridge, covering miles of its territory, and that, too, frequently in extensive masses, and that it had been an object of peculiar interest to the aboriginal inhabitants and pioneer settlers, as well as to the then occupants of the ridge, and of the surrounding country, who appreciated and utilized it on account of its commercial value.

"The geologist and mineralogist have found Flint ridge to be a rich field for investigation-rich in geological strata and in mineral deposits. I have already mentioned the buhr-stone of the surface-it is also found in liberal quantities beneath the surface. Professor E. B. Andrews, on page 105, of the "Pre- liminary Geological Report of 1869," represents it to be a de- posit of variable thickness, attaining in places a maximum depth of eight feet. Dr. Hildreth said that sulphate of baryta, crystallized carbonate of lime, and crystals of quartz are all the mineral substances that have been associated with the buhr- stone of the Flint ridge; the first being rare, the second not abundant, but that the last named was found in brilliant druses, with regular faces, in some portions of those deposits. Some of them he characterized as very beautiful, furnishing fine specimens for the cabinet, being occasionally tinged red or brown by some metallic oxyd. The striking similarity, he con- tinues, between these crystals and those about the lead mines of Missouri, had led to some expensive, but fruitless, searches for lead and copper ores. Professor E. B. Andrews remarks, in his report of 1869, that it was found difficult to determine the exact stratigraphical position of the Flint ridge buhr, as it lies upon the top of the ridge, more like a blanket than like a rigid stratum, conforming more or less to the undulating surface of the general top of the ridge, and, therefore, many feet higher at some points than at others. He found the buhr of Flint ridge to be porous and often cracked, and that water had prob- ably passed through it, carrying away the soft shale underlying it, and consequently lowering its stratum along its border.

"The late Colonel J. W. Foster, of the geological corps of Ohio, of 1837-39, makes the buhr deposit of the Flint ridge to range in thickness from two to six feet. He subjoins the fol- lowing section to show the relation between the buhr and the associated rocks, at a point on the eastern half of the ridge; and I submit it to give the geological manifestations of the locality :

Digitized by Google

172

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

I. Buhr.

4 ft.

2. Shale. IO "

3. Hornstone. H

4 in.

Grey cherty limestone. 5 "

5. Shale-dark. 30 “

6. Shale-light blue. 10 "

7. Coal

8 in.

8: Shale-light blue

Slaty sandstone 8"

IO.

Yellow shale 15 "

II. Iron ore.

8 in.

12. Shale-dark ..

10 “

13. Iron ore.

4 in.

14.

Limestone-brown

5 "

15. Limestone-light blue.

6 "

16. Compact sandstone.

40 "

157

"According to Mr. Leo Lesquereaux, there is a thin seam of coal of six inches, resting on two feet of fire-clay, immediately be- neath the flint or buhr, on a section of Flint ridge, which he measured, and that said seam of coal had the stratigraphical position of the Nelsonville or Straitsville coal, being seventy- seven and one-half feet above the Putnam hill limestone, which is found in unusual thickness above the cannel coal, thereby giving the position of the buhr to be just over the Nelsonville coal.

"Professor M. C. Read, of the corps of Ohio geologists, who surveyed Flint ridge, also found a thin vein of coal resting upon a bed of fire-clay, immediately under the flint or buhr, as will appear, by reference to the third volume of Ohio Geology, page 353, where he gives a general section of the rocks exposed in Licking county."

B. C. Woodward, in a paper read before the Pioneer Association of Licking county, gives the following regarding the geology of the eastern por- tion of the county, taken mostly from a publica- tion by Mr. Dille:

"It would, perhaps, be difficult to find any equal territory containing so practical a summary of geology as Licking county. It embraces so many of the various formations of which that science treats, that whoever would investigate these subjects will find it a most desirable field to explore. In the western borders are found the carboniferous shales, with the sub-carboniferous; fine grains of sandstone and shales, over which lies the drift, composed of the debris of all the older formations from the granite to the recent plutonic, with the spoils of the post-pliocene and intermediate types from the si- lurian up to the diluvian. The records of all ages during the organic.series of the earth's progress, are kept in nature's great vaults in Licking county.

"The mineral resources of the eastern half of Licking county are more in place, and less disturbed by the drift, or covered by it, than the western; though there is scarcely a township in the county that has not been more or less invaded by the Great Flood.

"Wherever the drift extends the soil is improved by its de- posits, but there are some places in which, instead of depositing, it denuded the original earth, and in such case it impoverished rather than fructified the soil. There are some such places in the eastern part of the county.

"The supply of stone for all purposes of building is abund-

ant, and the quality may be ranked among the best. The fme granite sandstone, called, by Ohio geologists, the Waverly rock, by those of New York, the Chemung, and, in Nova Scotia, the grindstone grit, when properly worked is among the most bean- tiful building stones in the United States. The stratum of this rock is about two hundred feet thick in this county, and its su- perficial face some twenty miles wide. Those who have exam- ined the fine structures of this stone in Cincinnati must admit that no stone equals it as an architectural material. Its sober drab or neutral color, and smooth surface, has a most pleasing effect in a large house or block of buildings. When near the ground, exposed to wetting and drying, freezing and thawing, it does not weather well, and is liable to disintegrate; but when not thus exposed, if free from sulphur, it is one of the most dur- able of building rocks.

"The conglomerate, or coarse-grained stone, overlies the fine-grained; is a stratum of one hundred and twenty to two hundred feet thick, and of a superficial width from east to west of some thirty miles. It weathers well, and is a durable building stone; standing all temperatures and seasons, and is a favorite wherever attainable. Small cubes of galena and sulphuret of lead are occasionally found in this rock, but never in workable quantities. These two last named formations are persistent and run regularly from north to south as a line of bearing with a dip to the eastward.

"There are occasional rock formations, like coal beds, that may have a value when properly developed and managed, of no little economical interest. The first worthy of the name is the carbonate of lime. This is found in Madison, Franklin, Hope- well, and one or two other townships. The nearest to Newark is on Metcalf's and Smith's hills, in the two first named town- ships. It nowhere produces the best lime, yet it is said to make a strong cement, and may be used as a fertilizer with good effect.

"Secondly, waterlime. This exists in at least two places, viz .: near the opening of the Flint Ridge cannel coal mine, and on the road from Hoskinson's to the National road, which crosses the latter some two miles west of Brownsville. I am not aware that this water-lime has been tested.

"Thirdly, sulphate of pyrites is found in small masses on Flint ridge.

"The fossil remains of the county are not equaled by any equal area in the State. These are nearly all confined to the eastern part of the county. They consist of plants and shells. The ubiquitous seas, with their myriads have rolled over the lands, which, under other conditions, rejoice under the green foliage of prismatic vegetation. Wherever the fine-grained sandstone is found, the shells of marine animals are abundant, and the occasional patches of limestone are full of them; but the coarse-grained sandstone, near many of the coal beds, are marked with beautiful impressions, or casts of plants of the coal period. The coarseness of the material is not favorable for the delicate impressions of the leaves, but the shales associated with the coal, frequently yielded the very finest specimens of the foliage of primitive time.

"The pipe clay so extensively used in the manufacture of stone-ware must not be overlooked. This almost universal as- sociate of the coal bed is suggestive of the probability that each earth was a necessary sub-soil of the swamp or marsh in which the coal plants grow. If such was the fact this fine clay sub- serves a two-fold economy-first, giving that valuable fuel to the

Digitized by Google

173

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

world, and secondly, furnishing a material for a valuable manu- factured article. The pipe or fine clay in the vicinity of Flint ridge, is a superior article, and with skill in the art, would probably produce an excellent and beautiful pottery.

"As a study, the theorist in geology would do well to consult the broad page of this county before he forms his conclusions. "Professor Aggasiz, in maintaining his glacial theory, in op- position to the iceberg hypothesis, to account for the transpor- tation of large masses of rocks and earth from such places, said: 'If icebergs were the floats upon which such burdens were borne, the drift would be found to be stratified, for each succes- sive field of icebergs would deposit its load wherever it was stranded, and the next would drop its load over the other, soon, therefore, exhibiting a well defined stratification, which is never the case.' Had he visited Licking county, he would have found facts to overturn his objections. Nothing is more clear than the stratification of the drift in all parts of the county where the drift exists.

"This drift lies unconformably upon the older rocks every- where. The older structure is the blue clay, and if it is examined carefully, we may come with a reasonable certainty to the source of this material in the black shales which crop out on Walnut

creek, twenty-five miles west of Newark. Pieces of this shale are frequently found in the clay, and we can hardly be mistaken as to its origin. In the clayey earth, overlying the blue clay, the Cliff limestone, in places just west of Columbus, is found in some places abundantly.

"Next in ascent is the blue limestone from the Cincinnati range. And in the upper, or last, is to be found the plutonic, primitive rocks of the great chain of the Rocky mountains, as- sociated with the last drift. Small grains of gold are frequently found. A confirmation of this statement as to the stratified drift should be carefully made, as it is of scientific value."

From the foregoing glance at its geologic wealth, it is obvious that Licking county presents greater facilities for the practical study of this science, and of the causes which have contributed to form the pro- lific soil than any other single locality in Ohio.

The Flint ridge alone is one of the most interest- ing regions of the State, either for the geologist or the antiquarian.

Digitized by Google

CHAPTER XIX.

FLORA AND FAUNA.

BEAUTY OF THE LICKING VALLEY-VARIETIES OF TIMBER-WILD GRAPES AND OTHER FRUITS-GINSENG-THE ORCHARD OF WILD CHERRY TREES-ANIMALS :- BUFFALO-ELK-PANTHERS-BEAR-WOLVES-DEER-FOXES-RABBITS, AND OTHER SMALL ANIMALS-WILD TURKEYS-PHEASANTS-QUAILS, ETC .- SINGING BIRDS-DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF FISH-SNAKES AND CREEPING THINGS-INSECTS, ETC.

"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen And waste its sweetness on the desert air."

THE territory of Licking county in its wilder- ness state, presented landscapes of a greatly diversified character, from the comparative tame- ness of a commonplace oak forest, without under- growth, to that presented by the romantic wildness of such mountain scenery as the rough, almost im- passable spurs and buhr-covered steeps of Flint ridge, and the high, rocky bluffs, towering peaks and dark glens of Licking narrows and the Rocky fork.

When seventy years or more ago Hughes and Ratliff, the earliest settlers, occupied Licking valley they must have been surprised at the variety and beauty of its vegetable productions. The silence of the primeval woods had until then been un- broken; the forest was here in all its native ma- jesty and beauty; the gigantic size and venerable antiquity of the trees, the rankness of the weeds, grasses and trailing vines which formed a thick covering for the ground, the luxuriance and va- riety of the underbrush, the long vines that reached to the tops of the tallest trees, the para- sites that hung in clusters from the loftiest boughs, the brilliancy of the autumnal foliage, the splendor and variety of the vernal flowers, the snowy white- ness of the dog-wood blossoms of early spring and the exuberance of the fruits that were maturing during the summer and autumn, were undoubted manifestations of the most vigorous vegetable life, and an encouraging proof of the quality of the soil. The yield of nuts, berries, grapes, plums, and other wild fruits, was immense, and these for years, perhaps centuries, had been dropping and

wasting, save, only, the few gathered by the red man.

The surface of the country was beautifully di- versified by hill and valley; by the rough, moun- tainous region of the eastern half of the county, and the level, beautifully undulating lands of the western half, varied by, here and there, a small swamp, pond, prairie, lakelet, spring or running stream-almost every variety of natural scenery appeared to the eye of the pioneer.

Along the streams, on the bottom land, and also on the more level or second bottom lands grew the walnut, butternut, sycamore, hickory, sugar, maple, hackberry, white, black and blue ash, linden, white and red elm, and the beech, which, however, pre- vailed principally in the central and western parts of the county; together with the box-elder, red and yellow plum, black-haw, crab-apple, red-bud, dog-wood, iron-wood, American multi-flora, arrow- wood, kinnakinnick, June berry, and a few others. These were found in various places on the above described lands.

The gum, cucumber and sassafras trees were found on the clay formation, while on the hills, the different varieties of oak abounded, with a small sprinkling of the tulip or yellow poplar, and, in limited numbers, most of the above mentioned as abounding in the level lands.

On Flint ridge the chestnut was the prevailing wood. At the Licking Narrows, in the glens of the Rocky fork and on the tall peaks along that stream generally; and on the eastern bank of North fork, as well as on the south side of Licking river, cedar, pine, hemlock, laurel and other ever- greens peculiar to mountainous regions, prevailed to a considerable extent.

Digitized by Google

174

175

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

Many of the grape-vines on the bottom lands were of enormous size, approximating in thickness a man's body. These sometimes spread them- selves through the branches of half a score or more of the largest trees, completely shutting out the sun-light, and bearing immense quantities of fruit. The huckleberry, confined principally, to the hills, yielded fruit bountifully. Some other berries grew spontaneously, as the strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, dewberry, and, in a few lo- calities, the cranberry. The prairie, or cranberry swamp in the eastern part of Washington town- ship, and the swamp lands about the reservoir, some seasons yielded the cranberry in great abun- dance, which were, even in an early day, an article of traffic, participated in by the Indians as well as the pioneers. The early settlers laid up for use during the winter months, large quantites of these. wild fruits, and also chestnuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, butternuts and hickorynuts. Paw-paws and May- apples were plenty and were used to a considera- ble extent.

The ginseng plant abounded in most localities, in early times, and was an article of extensive traffic, both by whites and Indians, for many years after the first settlement of the county. Every merchant bought it. Beeswax, tallow, furs, hides, feathers, coon-skins and whiskey were not more general articles of trade and barter than ginseng. It disappeared as an article of commerce in the county about 1835, and has not since been known. The plant was exhausted. It was wholly of spon- taneous growth and never an article of culture. It was a jointed taper root as large as a man's finger, and when dry was of a yellowish white color, with a mucilaginous sweetness of taste, somewhat re- sembling licorice, accompanied with a very slight bitterness. It was exported to China, where it was in demand for its real or supposed medicinal virtues.

Between the Raccoon and South fork, near their junction, covering an area of a number of square miles, and extending several miles west of New- ark, existed, at the first settlement of the country, a grove of wild cherry, doubtless the growth of centuries, which for numbers, size and quality were hardly equalled in any section of the United States. They were thick, tall, of wide-spreading

branches, tolerably clear of knots, and generally sound, except those that gave indications of great age. The woodman's axe had been laid upon but few of these splendid trees, when first noticed in 1825; but not long after, their commercial value became known, and when the Ohio canal opened in 1833, they gradually disappeared, being shipped to Cincinnati and converted into lumber for furni- ture. But few of these trees now remain to mark the spot where once stood this famous orchard. The concentric circles of many of them indica- ted that they were centuries old; fixing the date of their origin in the pre-historic age of the country. Many of them stood on the works of the Mound Builders.

When the wave of white settlers first touched the borders of Licking county, a great variety of wild animals contended with the Indian for su- premacy. Some of the native animals of this primeval forest had gradually given way to the general westward movement of the white race. The buffalo was gone, probably never to return, at least in any number. A few years after the first settlement, probably about 1803, a small herd, six or eight in number, strayed from their usual haunts further west, and reached a point a short distance east of where Wills creek empties into the Mus- kingum. Here for a day or two they were pur- sued by the late John Channel, a famous hunter and pioneer, and perhaps by others, but without success so far as Mr. Channel was concerned. This information is given on the authority of Adam Seymour, who was here at that time, and Mr. E. S. Woods, who obtained the information from Mr. Channel himself. This was probably the last sight of wild buffaloes east of the Scioto.

The elk, too, was gone when the pioneers came, but the numerous wide-spreading antlers he once carried, were found profusely scattered in the for- est, showing conclusively that he had once been here in considerable numbers, and at no remote period; but no living wild elk was ever discovered here by the pioneers.

Panthers were not numerous, but occasionally one was seen or heard, and a few were killed dur- ing the first ten or fifteen years after the first settle- ment. An Indian, early in 1805, killed one near the mouth of Brushy fork, three miles north of

Digitized by Google

176

HISTORY OF LICKING COUNTY.

Newark, which was supposed to have been the mate of one killed in the same year, near his resi- dence, one mile north of Newark, by Mr. Jacob Wilson. Panthers disappeared from this section about 1812.

Bears were more numerous and remained longer; an occasional straggler being seen at intervals of many years, until 1846, when two were killed by Alpheus Channel. These were, probably, the last seen in the county. Lewis Farmer informed Mr. Isaac Smucker that he killed one in 1806, near Granville, that weighed four hundred pounds. Bruin was hard on young domestic animals, pigs particularly, he had a good appetite for, and it was with great difficulty that the pioneers were able to raise their own pork.

Wolves were found in great abundance, and long continued to be a great annoyance to the settlers. The legislature encouraged their extermination by laws which authorized the payment of liberal sums for wolf scalps, both old and young. The records of the county commissioners show that large sums were paid the pioneers of the county for wolf scalps; four dollars being the price for full grown and two dollars for those less than full size. They have long since disappeared.

Deer were very abundant, and for many years after the first settlement, supplied the pioneers with most of their animal food. The pioneers were mostly hunters, and the chase yielded them much profit as well as amusement. So numerous were the deer in early times that an hour's hunt was generally sufficient for securing a fine buck or the more palatable doe or fawn. So plenty and tame were they that they were killed frequently with a shotgun charged only with squirrel shot.

Gray foxes, raccoons and ground-hogs were plen- ty, and hunting them afforded fine sport. The two latter of these are yet found in limited num- bers, but the first has, probably, entirely disappeared.

Red foxes, catamounts, wild-cats and porcupines, were found in large numbers, but they early dis- appeared, except the first named, which may, per- haps, even yet, be occasionally found.

Rabbits and squirrels, if not here before the settle- ment of the county, came soon after in great numbers, and still remain. They seem to follow . rather than precede the settlements.

The beaver and otter were here in considerable numbers, and were much sought after by the trap- per for their valuable furs. The former has long since disappeared, and the latter is exceedingly scarce, if indeed, any remain.

Muskrats were very numerous and have con- tinued so, affording much profit to the hunter and trapper.

Wild turkeys were also very abundant in pioneer days, and so continued for many years, affording no inconsiderable portion of the food of the early settlers. They were so numerous and tame that they could be procured by the hunter on very short notice. They are yet occasionally found in the woods.

Pheasants were not so numerous as the turkey, and have almost wholly disappeared.

Wild geese and ducks were plenty around the little lakes and swamps, and along the streams. These are rarely seen at present.

Quails are not natives of the wilderness; neither are crows, black-birds, blue-birds nor turtle-doves, but they all became plenty after the settlement of the county, and still remain in moderate quantities.

Bees were plenty, and the tables of the pioneers were generally supplied with honey.

Cranes, woodcocks, woodpeckers and pigeons were plenty, and yet remain, with the exception of the first named.

Birds of prey, such as turkey-buzzards or vul- tures, hawks, ravens, owls and eagles, were very numerous, but have been slowly disappearing, par ticularly the eagle, which is now seldom seen.

Singing birds of various kinds became plenty soon after the settlement of the county, and yet remain.

The streams abounded in fish of large size. Elias Hughes once gigged or speared a pike, which, when suspended to the top of his cabin door reached to the floor. The pike were from two to five feet in length. Isaac Stadden once, in early times, shot a pike at "high banks" in the Licking, near his residence, that measured nearly six feet in length. He ran a stick through its gills, and when placed on his shoulder the tail of the fish touched the ground. The pike has almost, if not entirely, disappeared from the waters of the county.

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 31

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