History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c., Part 31

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c. > 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).

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115

STONE RELICS.

(See page 184.)

HISTORY OF RICHILAND COUNTY.

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ancient earthwork, the principal one in Rich- land County. About two miles south of this "fort." as it may well be termed, there is a mound about five feet high and twenty feet in diameter. that has never been opened.

Outside of the present limits of this county, in that part now comprised in Ashland County, there are several remains, all of which have been examined by Dr. Geo. W. Hill, of Ash- land, and descriptions of them made. Only an abridged description of each can be given here.

his face. The other cranial bones showed this was truly a giant.

About one-fourth of a mile southwest of the village of Orange, in a sugar-grove belonging to the estate of the Norris family, exists an ancient mount, four or five feet high, and of considerable extent in outline. When the first settlers located here, large trees grew upon the mound. About forty years ago, Dr. Deming and others excavated the mound and found well- preserved skeletons, with remnants of pottery.

CHISELS, GOUGES AND ADZES.

In Orange Township, about thirty-five years ago, while excavating a bluff on the creek, east of the residence of the late Patrick Murray, for the purpose of improving the road, a num- ber of skeletons were unearthed, among which was one supposed to have been over seven feet high. The bones of this giant were in a good state of preservation, but it is a little doubtful if his height was equal to that given by his ex- cited discoverers.

Col. John Murray, who found the bones, found no difficulty in passing the under jawbone over

flints, ete. In 1850, George Barrick, when dig- ging a well for Isaac Stull, near his residence. one-half mile south of Orange Village, at the depth of five feet below the surface found an earthen vessel that would hold perhaps two gal- lons. He unfortunately broke this valuable relic. It was found mouth upward, and resem- bled in many respects a common two-gallon erock. The rim around the top was artistically made and was intended to be used in lifting the vessel. It was formed of bluish earth, and seemed to have been subjected to the action of

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

heat. It was ornamented all over the exterior surface by finely pulverized white' flint, some- what resembling rice grains, which adhered firmly to it. A short time after the discovery of this vessel, Mr. Stull plowed up a fragment of the same kind of ware in a field northwest

work when the first settlers came. showing that it had existed for centuries.

Vermilion, Hanover and Green Townships possess but few remains of a prehistorie age. In the latter township, near Perrysville, was an inclosure of an oblong form. containing about

STONE PESTLE.

of his house. He found several specimens of the same earthware on his place. The Indians are not known to have manufactured or used anything of the kind.

On the fifth tier of sections in Montgomery Township. the surveyors found an ancient in-

one acre. In this inclosure was a conical stone mound. About one-fourth of a mile east of this mound there was a similar stone mound, also one to the west of it. The purpose of these stone mounds is not clearly defined, unless they were sentinel posts.

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CLUB-HEADED STONES.

trenchment containing about two acres. It was situated on the north side of Ashland. This earthwork was circular in form, and had a gateway facing the west. Its walls were about four feet high, and perhaps twice as wide at the base. A forest of timber grew on the old earth-

In Mifflin Township great numbers of arrow and spear heads are found. Stone axes, wedges and other prehistoric signs, as well as Indian relics, are plentiful. In a ravine, in the north- east part of the township, an old stone mortar, twenty inches across the top and seven across

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

the bottom, was found. It is about fifteen inches deep, and contains four distinct impres- sions of a drill, one and a fourth inches in diam- eter, and seven inches long. The inside of this block has been neatly dressed, and would answer well for the purpose for which it evi- dently was intended. Investigations proved the block to be the work of an old pioneer. front- iersman. by the name of Horrick. hence dis- pelling the romance of its supposed origin.

Clear Creek Township contains more relics for the archaeologist than any in this part of the county. The nature of the soil enabled the Mound-Builders to erect earthworks that can yet be seen. On Section 36. there was an ancient embankment. known as the -Square Fort." very few of which have been found in Ohio. Mr. John Bryte entered the land on which the fort was situated, about half a cen- tury ago. Then huge forest trees grew about and on the fort, showing its antiquity. At the time Mr. Bryte entered the land, the walls of this embankment were about three feet high, and probably twenty feet wide at the base. The east and west sides were about 300 feet long ; the north and south 200. At the south- west corner was a gateway leading to a very fine spring. Dr. Hill thinks the walls were at one time probably seven feet high, as sufficient soil has been worn down to have made them that height, if not greater.

Two old and curiously constructed mounds were found by the pioneers on Section 35. An elevation, composed of well-rounded bowlders. gravel and light loam-ancient glacial drift- lifts its head over one hundred feet above the surrounding valleys. When the glacial flow occurred, this large mound, containing over six acres, was left intact, alone on the plain. The surface on the top is about one hundred and twenty-five feet long from north to south, and about one hundred feet wide. Mr. Thomas Sprott, one of the early pioneers of this section, owns the farm on which this mound is placed,

and when he settled here, says he found on the summit two smaller mounds, about twenty-five feet apart, nearly four feet high, and about thirty feet in size at the base. Large forest trees grew on the summit of this mound, and on the mounds on its crest. In making exca- vations about one of the smaller mounds, he found bones, Indian paint, arrow heads. etc., showing that the locality was used by the abo- rigines as a place of burial.

The principal mounds in this county have now been mentioned. They open a wide field of investigation, and may throw light on the problem that shrouds their makers in the dark- ness of antiquity. It will also be well to notice the implements made by this race, especially those found in Richland County.

Very few, if any, copper implements have been found in this part of Ohio, owing partly to the fact of the unexplored condition of many of the mounds, and to the fact that little, if any. copper exists in this part of the United States. What does exist is in loose fragments that have been washed down from the upper lake region. When mounds are explored, great care is neces- sary lest these small utensils be lost, as they are commonly scattered through the mass, and not always in close proximity to the skeletons. The copper deposits about Lake Superior fur- nished the prehistoric man with this metal. and. judging from the amount of relies made of this metal now found. it must have been quite abundant. The population of the country then must have been quite numerous, as occasional copper implements, tempered to an exceeding hardness. are still found about the country. These implements are small, generally less than half a pound in weight. and seldom exceeding three pounds. There were millions of these in use during the period of the ancient dwellers, which must have been thousands of years in duration. The copper implements left on the surface soon dis- appeared by decomposition. to which copper is

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

nearly as liable as iron. Only a part of the dead Mound-Builders were placed in burial mounds, and of these only a part were buried with their copper ornaments and implements on and about them. Of those that were, only a. small part have been discovered, and, in many instances, the slight depth of earth over them has not prevented the decay and disappearance of the copper relies.

sertion of a helve or handles, but were grooved to receive a withe twisted into the form of a handle. Under the head of axes, archaeologists include all wrought stones with a groove, a bit and a poll. They are found unpolished, partly polished and polished. The bit was made sharp by rubbing, and the material is hard and tough, generally of trachyte, greenstone, granite, quartz or basalt. Most of them are straight

PERFORATED PLATES, THREAD SIZERS, SHUTTLES, ETC.

Articles of bronze or brass are not found with the builders of the mounds. It is evident they knew nothing of these metals in the Ohio Valley, nor did they possess any of the copper that had been melted or cast in molds.

Stone relics are very numerous and well preserved. Stone axes, stone mauls, stone hammers, stone chisels, etc., are very plentiful yet, and were the common implements of the prehistorie man in this part of the West. None were made with holes or eyes for the in-

on one edge. In Ohio, it is very rare that stone axes are found in the mounds, indicating that they are modern, or were not so much prized by the Mound-Builders as to be objects of burial. Occasionally, axes of softer material are found, such as slate, hematite and sand- stone, but these are small in size and not com- mon. They appear to have been manufactured from small, oblong bowlders, first brought into shape by a pick, or chipping instrument, the marks of which are visible on nearly all of

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

185

them. They were made more perfect by rub- bing and polishing, probably done from time to

time after they were brought into use. A handle or helve, made of a withe or split stick, was fastened in the groove by thongs of hide. The bit is narrower than the body of the ax, which is generally not well enough balanced to be of much value as a cutting instrument.

pounds, but are generally less than three pounds. The very heavy ones must have been kept at the regular camps and villages, as they could not have been carried far, even in canoes. Such axes are occasionally found in the Indian towns on the frontier, as they were found in Ohio, among the aborigines. . The Mound- Builders apparently did not give them as much

PERFORATED PLATES, THREAD SIZERS, SHUTTLES, ETC.

It is very seldom the material is hard enough to cut green and sound timber. The poll is usually round, but sometimes flat, and, rarely, pointed. It is much better adapted to breaking than cutting, while the smaller ones are better fitted for war-clubs than tools. As a maul to break dry limbs, they were very efficient, which was probably the use made of them. In weight they range from half a pound to sixteen

prominence among their implements as their savage successors. Double-headed hammers have the groove in the middle. They were made of the same material as the axes, so bal- anced as to give a blow with equal force at either end. Their mechanical symmetry is often perfect. As a weapon in war, they were indeed formidable, for which purpose they are yet used among the Indians on the Pacific Coast.

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

Implements, known as " fleshers " and " skin- ners," chisel-formed, commonly called "celts," were probably used as aids in peeling the skins of animals from the meat and bones. For the purpose of cutting tools for wood, they were not sufficiently hard, and do not show such use, excepting a few flint chisels. They may have been applied as coal scrapers where wood had been burned; but this could not have been a general thing without destroying the perfect edge most of them now exhibit. The grooved axes were much better adapted to this purpose.

Stone pestles are not plentiful in this county, while stone mortars are rare, indicating that they were made of wood, which is, lighter and more easily transported. Most of the pestles are short, with a wide base, tapering toward the top. They were probably used with one hand, and moved about in the mortar in a circle. The long, round instrument, usually called a pestle, does not appear to be fitted for crushing seeds and grain by pounding or turning in the mortar. It was probably used as a rolling-pin, perhaps on a board or leveled log, not upon stone. It is seldom found smooth or polished, and varies from seven to thirteen inches in length. In out- line they taper toward each end, which is gen- erally smooth, and circular in form, as though it had been twirled in an upright position.

There is almost an endless variety of perfo- rated plates, thread-sizers, shuttles, etc. They are usually made of striped slate, most of which have tapering holes through them flat-wise, the use of which has been much disenssed. The accompanying plates exhibit several specimens of these; but there are, doubtless, many other forms and styles. They are generally sym- metrieal, the material fine-grained, and their pro- portions graceful, as though their principal use was that of ornamentation. Many of them may well have been worn suspended as beads or ornaments. Some partake of the character of badges or ensigns of authority. Others, if strung together on thongs or belts, would serve

as a coat of mail, protecting the breast or baek against the arrows of an enemy. A number of them would serve to size and twist twine or coarse thread made of bark, raw-hide, or sinew. The most common theory regarding their use is, however, lacking one important feature. None of them show signs of wear by use. The edges of the holes through them are sharp and per- fect. This objection applies equally well to their use as suspended ornaments. Some of them are shuttle-form, through which coarse threads might have been passed, for weaving rude cloth of bark or of fibrous plants, such as milk-weed or thistles. There are also double- ended and pointed ones, with a cross section, about the middle of which is a cirele. and through which is a perforation.

A great variety of wands or badges of dis- tinction are found. They are nearly all fab- ricated from striped and variegated slate, highly finished, very symmetrical and elegant in pro- portion, evidently designed to be ornamental. If they were stronger and heavier, some of them would serve the purpose of hatchets or battle-axes. The material is compact and fine grained ; but the eyes, or holes for handles or staves, are quite small, seldom half an inch in diameter. Their edges are not sharp, but rounded, and the body is thin, usually less than one-fourth an inch in thickness.

The form of badges known as " double-cres- cents " are the most elegant and expensive of any yet brought to notice. They were probably used to indicate the highest rank or office. The single crescent perhaps signified a rank next below the double. In Mr. John B. Mat- son's* collection there is a rough-hewn double one in process of construction, the horns of which turn inward. In nearly or quite all the finished ones the points turn outward. The

* Mr. Matson resides in Springfield Township, not far from Spring Mills. He has one of the largest and finest collections in the county. Dr. J. P. Henderson, at Newville; Gen. R. Brinkerhoff, Dr. J. W. Craig, the Library Rooms, and Mr. Edward Wilkinson, at Mansfield, have large and interesting collections, showing quite fully the archæology, not only of this county, but of Ohio.

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

187

finish around the bore of all winged badges and the crescents is the same, and the size of the bore abont the same .- from two-fifths to three- fifths of an inch. On one side of all is a nar- row ridge ; on the other. a flat band. length-

are also made of green striped slate, highly polished, with a bore of about one-half' inch in diameter, apparently to insert a ,light wooden rod or staff. They were probably emblems of distinction, and were not ornaments. Nothing

DRILLED CEREMONIAL WEAPONS OF SLATE.

Fig. 87 is a fac-simile of a double crescent, owned by Gen. R. Brinkerhoff, at Newville.

wise, like a ridge that has been ground down to a width of one to two tenths of an inch. Badges and crescents are invariably made of banded slate, generally of a greenish shade of color. The other forms of wands or badges, such as those with symmetrical wings or blades,

like them is known among the modern tribes, in form or use, hence they are attributed to the Mound-Builders.

In addition to stone ornaments, the prehis- toric man seems to have had a penchant, like his savage successors, to bedaub his body

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

PERFORATORS-FLINT.

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ARROW AND SPEAR HEADS.

(See page 191.)

14.

HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

191

with various colors, derived from different col- ored minerals. These compounds were mixed in hollowed stones or diminutive mortars- " paint cups,"-in which the mineral mass of colored clay was reduced to powder and pre- pared for application to the body. Such paint eups are not common in this county ; in fact. they are quite rare, but one being known to exist-that in the collection of Dr. Craig.

The comparative rarity of aboriginal smok- ing pipes is easily explained by the fact that they were not discarded, as were weapons, when those by whom they were fashioned entered upon the iron age. The advances of the whites

lost tribes of America. Arrow and spear heads and other similar pieces of flaked flints are the most abundant of any aboriginal relies in the United States. They are chiefly made of hard and brittle siliceous materials; are easily dam- aged in hitting any object at which they are aimed, henee many of them bear marks of violent use. Perfect specimens are, however, by no means rare. The art of arrow-making survives to the present day among certain Indian tribes, from whom is learned the art practiced that produces them.

A classification of arrow-heads is not within the scope of this work; indeed, it is rarely at-

RICHESCOL.O.

HEAVY STONE AX.

in no way lessened the demand for pipes, nor did the whites substitute a better implement. The pipes were retained and used until worn out or broken, save the few that were buried with their dead owners. What was the ultimate fate of these can only be conjectured. In very few instances does an Indian grave contain a pipe. If the practice of burying the pipe with its owner was common, it is probable that the graves were opened and robbed of this coveted article by members of the same or some other tribes.

It only remains to notice the "flints," in ad- dition to which a few other archæological relics of minor importance are found about the country, but none of sufficient import to merit mention, or to throw additional light on the

tempted by archæologists. The styles are almost as numerous as their makers. In gen- eral, they are all the same in outline, mostly leaf-shaped. varying according to the taste of their makers. The accompanying ent exhibits a few of the common forms, though the num- ber is infinite. They may have been chipped- probably most were -- and some may have been ground. Spear-heads exhibit as large a variety as arrow-heads. Like arrow-heads, spear-heads were inserted in wooden handles of various lengths, though in many tribes they were fastened by thongs of untanned leather or sinews.

Their modes of mannfacture were generally the same. Sometimes tribes contained "arrow- makers." whose business was to make these

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

implements, selling them to, or exchanging them with, their neighbors for wampum or peltry. When the Indian desired an arrow- head. he could buy one of the "arrow-maker" or make one himself. The common method was to take a chipping implement, generally made of the pointed rods of a deer horn, from eight to sixteen inches in length. or of slender. short pieces of the same material, bound with

sinews to wooden sticks resembling arrow shafts. The "arrow-maker" held in his left hand the flake of flint or obsidian on which he intended to operate, and. pressing the point of the tool against its edge, detached scale after scale, until the flake assumed the desired form.

NOTE-Of the cuts used in this chapter, those on pages 177. 178, 179, 180, 181, 184, 185, 187, 188, and that of the club-headed stones, page 182, are from the collection of plates belonging to the Smith- sonian Institution, Washington, D. C.

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

CHAPTER XIX.

AGRICULTURE.

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES-THEIR HISTORY AND PROGRESS-THE COUNTY SOCIETY, ITS EXHIBITIONS AND ITS SEVERAL GROUNDS-THE BELLVILLE FAIR-THE PLYMOUTH FAIR-HORTICULTURE AND THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE GROWTH OF FRUIT CULTURE IN THE COUNTY-STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, TAXABLE PROPERTY, ETC.

" He that by the plow would thrive,

Himself must either hold or drive." -- Franklin.

P RECEDING pages. detailing the history of agriculture and agricultural societies in Ohio, give a resume of the growth of that indus- try in the West. from its settlement down to the present time. It only remains to notice the growth of the same industry in Richland County.

The first mention of any effort on the part of any citizens of this county to form a society. whose object should be promotive of agricult- ure, oceurs in the columns of the old Mansfield Gazette, under date of July 8, 1829. Some person had been agitating the subject, evidently, from the tone of the article, as the paper in an editorial states that a committee has been ap- pointed to draft a constitution and by-laws, and. further, that the citizens held an adjourned meeting July 4. for the purpose of forming an agricultural and mechanical society. "S. G. Bushnell was called to the chair, and S. Rug- gles, Esq .. appointed Secretary. Gen. Alex. Enos, of the committee heretofore appointed for that purpose, submitted a constitution, which, after some alteration, was adopted."

The constitution provided that members must be residents of the county, and that, as an ad- mission to the Society, they should pay into the treasury, annually, fifty cents. After providing for the officers, the constitution further stip- ulated that the yearly meeting should be held on the " last Friday of October."

The officers of this pioneers' association elected that day were as follows : M. Bartley, Pres- ident ; John Stewart and John Oldshoe, Vice Presidents ; James Purdy, Corresponding Sec- retary ; Lanus Hays, Recording Secretary, and Robert Roland, Treasurer. The Board of Di- rectors consisted of William Riddle, S. G. Bushnell, Alexander Enos. Robert Bentley, Jonathan Coulter, Spooner Ruggles and Abra- ham Hufman. A committee of two was ap- pointed in each township (twenty-five) to solicit subscriptions and "forward the views of the Society."

Of this Society, the above synopsis is all that is now preserved. It seems never to have attained any further progress. The country was then too new to properly sustain such an enterprise. Very few towns and counties in Ohio at that date were in a position to maintain such things ; and, after a brief struggle, the Society died out.

From this time until after the passage of a law favoring agricultural societies, in 1846, no endeavor seems to have been made to foster such interests. From time to time, however, other and older localities began to hold such fairs, and gradually a spirit of improvement began to appear. This culminated in the law referred to, which gave additional impetus to the question. It revived it again in this county, now diminished in size by the creation of Craw- ford and Ashland Counties, and the prospect of a further reduction by the proposed county of Morrow, created before the agricultural society

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HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

was formed. Three years after the passage of the above-mentioned law, in 1849, a permanent agricultural society was organized. Its growth really began a year or so before, but the organ- ization was not effected until that year. A fair was held that autumn, which, for the first one, was very creditable. The exhibitions were, , it is true, rather meager, yet they showed an advance in many regards. It is not likely that any admission fee was charged, as that was not the custom then. Probably a hat was passed around at the close of each day's exhibition, and what money could be collected was used to defray the light expense. Often the articles exhibited were sold on the ground at the close of the fair.

There is no account of the fairs from 1849 to 1857 ; neither can any one give any definite in- formation. It is pretty certain, however, that the fair was held regularly during that period of eight years. The report of 1857 speaks of the "annual exhibitions." The occasional pa- pers preserved of that period refer to the fair in the same terms, hence the inference is in favor of a regular exhibition. In addition to this, no one remembers other than that the fairs were regularly held. In 1857, the first printed report of the Agricultural Board of the State appeared. Reports from nearly all the county societies are given. That from Richland County reads as follows:

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Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968