USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 8
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Rising sometimes to 164 feet, maintained generally at a level ranging from figures but a little lower than this, down to 75 feet ( seldom going lower), we may conclude that there is an average depth of drift in the county of 100 feet. This depth of drift is not equaled in any of the counties which lie south of this. We are here on the line which bounds the deep drift on the south.
The opportunities to ascertain the nature of the drift are numerous in the excavations made in constructing the canal and railroads, especially the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine branch of the Cleveland. Columbus, Cincin- nati, and Indianapolis railroad, which runs at a considerably lower level than the Dayton and Michigan road, which runs through the county in a north and south direction. At the point where the east and west road runs below the track of the Dayton and Michigan, on the western border of Sidney, a good opportunity is afforded of seeing the nature of the drift for a distance of 30 or 40 feet below the surface. About one mile east of the bridge over the river, on this road, is a still deeper cut. There is little stratification observed in the deposit as seen through these deep cuts. Sand and gravel largely predominate in the composition of the drift as seen here. mixed with clay and numerous granitic or quartz bowlders, varying in size from mere pebbles to masses containing from 10 to 20 cubic feet. The gravel, sand, and bowlders are distributed through the clay, and all are lying in confusion. It seems to me safe to say that fully 25 feet in thickness of clear gravel, were it separated from the clay, would be found in the drift throughout this county-a quantity so inconceivableat that I will not undertake to express it in figures, more than to say that it would yield 25,000,000 cubic yards to the square mile. But this gravel is too munch con- mingled with clay to make it available, in general, for ballasting or road- making, and with all this the county is not abundantly supplied with good gravel for such uses, well distributed in different localities. Enough has, however, been found to construct a system of free turnpikes not surpassed, in extent or excellence, by those of any county of similar size and situation in the state, although the material has had to be hauled, in some instances, for inconvenient distances. I will make special mention of one of the roads,
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
constructed by Mr. D. W. Pampell as engineer-I refer to the one called at Sidney "the St. Marys road," on the line of an old road formerly projected to connect Sidney with the town of St. Marys. This road, of excellent width, careful and full grading, and well graveled, is carried on a perfectly straight line for a distance which falls short by but a few rods of 13 miles, wholly in this county. The numerous excellent roads which have been recently constructed through all portions of the county must have an impor- tant influence on its future development.
The total number of miles of turnpike roads in Shelby county, at the present time is 159. of which only 18 miles are toll-roads. The free turn- pikes extend to all parts of the county and intersect nearly every important neighborhood, and are the means of the development now seen in progress of the material, moral, and intellectual interests of the county. The cost of these roads I ascertained, from the county auditor, Mr. Guthrie, who kindly furnished me with the statement, to be about $4,000 per mile, or an aggre- gate of $564,000 for the 141 miles of free turnpike road within the county. While there has been found an abundance of gravel for these roads, it has not always been convenient, and the distance it has been necessary to haul it has enhanced the cost considerably. But for this expense the people of the county have obtained good roads, carefully laid out, and well graded and drained.
Washed Gravel-Wherever the drift has been washed into troughs or valleys, more or less gravel has been deposited in beds, generally at the junc- tion of two such valleys. Usually these depressions are far from any water- course that could in the least affect them at present. They are on the higher levels where no streams of water exist now, and show the effect of the washing of the water which once covered over the whole surface as it ebbed and flowed when it was gradually subsiding, or they are more visibly related to the water-course of to-day and serve to mark the stations where the water stood successively during the time in which the deep valleys, in which the streams now flow, were being excavated. In this county, the gravel of the higher beds is less abundant, is not so coarse or so free from clay. This must have resulted from the condition of the higher deposits of the drift, in which a gravel of a smaller grain was found; as if there had been coarser gravel in this portion of the drift, not it, but the finer, would have been the sooner washed onward, and the coarser would have been left in the higher beds. Above and separated from the portion of the valleys of the water- courses, particularly of the river, affected by the action of the water at any stage, at the present time, are some fine beds of washed gravel, showing the effect of moving water in varying circumstances of force and velocity. Near Port Jefferson is the best example of gravel beds of this description in the county. It occurs at the junction of two valleys now threaded by two brooks, the shrunken successors of broad streams of former remote ages. Here are the wide channels which they cut, wide compared with the small paths of the creeks which now meander by a struggling course to reach the river channel. At the point of land where these two waters joined, and
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where their streams mingled with that of the Miami, is a grand deposit of alternating layers of gravel and sand, heaped up 30 or 40 feet deep and exposed now, by the removal of the extreme point to a width of about 100 feet. When one or the other, or both, the streams which excavated the unequal channels (for one greatly exceeds the other in magnitude) which join at this point, were swollen and were carrying onward a load of sand and gravel, as well as clay, and meeting here, and one spreading over the valley of the other, if unswollen, or both widening as they entered the broad valley of the river and losing a part of their momentum and carrying power, they deposited a portion of their freight at the point of junction where the rapidity of the current was first checked. In these strata can be read the history of the currents which flowed here, and left their records, not in rocks, but in sands. There is first, in nearly horizontal layers, a suc- cession of strata composed of clean gravel (the lowest exposed at the time of my visit, the lower had been covered previously), then one of coarse, gray sand; another next of fine sand: then ten feet of sand finely stratified; then to the top alternating layers of gravel and sand. After these layers now referred to were deposited, another deposit of clean gravel was made, not parallel with these, but covering the ends of all of them from the highest to the lowest. I will simply refer to another deposit of gravel. near the south end of the iron bridge over the river south of Sidney. This large accumulation is less available for road-making than it would have been had it not become so cemented together by a deposit of carbonate of lime. I dis- tinguished from these beds of gravel that large accumulation, at a lower level, and underlying the "river bottom," or the "second bottom," exemplified by an accumulation of clean sand, used for building purposes, just below the west end of the railroad bridge, east of Sidney, over the Miami river, and perhaps underlying more or less the town of Sidney.
The broad excavation made by the Miami river through the drift of this county and the counties above, has exposed to the transporting action of water countless thousands of perches of sand and gravel which have been removed down the course of this river, and even into the Ohio and far down it, strewing its beaches with these materials so useful to man. Per- haps no water-course in the state has borne so much sand and gravel along its course and lodged it in places where it is accessible to man. This is a striking peculiarity of the Miami river; its broad terraces are underlain with a bed of the cleanest, finest gravel for road-making in quantities prac- tically inexhaustible. I have but to cite the immense deposits beneath the alluvium at Middletown, on both sides of the river at Hamilton, and indeed along its whole course, culminating in that bed at Harrison junction, cut and exposed by the Indianapolis and Cincinnati railroad.
Bowlders-while the transported rocks do not constitute a marked feature in Shelby county, still there are many of them. ' The largest bowlder, however, that has yet come under my observation in the state lies near the
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
railroad, one mile east of Sidney. It contains 1,250 cubic feet, and weighs about 103 tons. *
Remains of Human Art-I did not see as many flint and stone imple- ments among the people in this county as I have in some others, though such articles are not uncommon even here. There may be ancient mounds in the county, though I did not see any. Along the Miami river and other water-courses are localities where a variety of flint arrow-points and spear- points in considerable numbers have from time to time been found, though but few seem to have been preserved. Other classes of implements, as stone hammers and pestles, seem not to be common, and I did not see any place where indications were found which would lead any one to suppose that these or other implements had been manufactured there. The most favored localities for arrow-points are along the water-courses and on the highest points in the county. But the larger number are found on the river and its tributaries. It is worth remark that the indications in the position of the flints do not point to an extreme antiquity as the time of their manufacture. There are many places along our larger water-courses in the west where extensive manufactories of arrow-points, stone axes, and pestles, etc., have existed, and where pottery ware has been manufactured and burned. These localities have never before been disturbed by the inroads of the rivers, but are now being undermined and washed down for the first time. The imple- ments in all stages of manufacture are found in great numbers: old bark peelers and pestles, which had been injured by use, or from some fault in original construction did not give satisfaction, were undergoing repair or remodeling : heaps of chips are found, and great numbers of lap-stones. hammers in connection with hearthis, and remains of fire together with crockery, are found in these localities at no great depth below the present surface of the soil, where overflows are still a common occurrence. A very remote antiquity could not be ascribed to these remains of human art and industry from anything in their situation. In the course of a few centuries the rivers in the secular oscillations which they execute from bank to bank. a result of laws in constant operation, must disturb and redistribute, by the constant eating away of the bank, the whole of the alluvial deposit near its own level. Nothing is more constant, nothing more certain than the wear of an abrupt alluvial bank during high water, with a regularity which admits of calculation. The great number of such stone-tool mannfactories, which are now disclosed along the course of the Ohio river, afford evidence that their age was not far back in gray antiquity. A few banks that are now crumbling might have escaped the erosion of the surging waters for a very long period: but it is incredible that so many as are now delivering up their relics of human art, their evidences of human industry and ingenuity. places in which for the first time since the ancient workman finally laid down his tools or kindled his fire upon his well-made hearth of bowlder pebbles. for the last time, should have escaped for indefinite ages just such action of the water as they are now yielding to.
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Remains of Extinct Animals-A few bones of animals not now found in the state-as a few teeth of the beaver, and portions of the antlers of one or two elk, and some reports of discoveries of mammoth or mastodon remains-were all that came to my knowledge of fossils of this character. We may be prepared to hear of the discovery of such fossils in the peat beds, if they are ever much worked. Peat seems to possess the property of preserving the bodies of animals which become mired in it.
Bedded Stone-We come now to speak of the underlying consolidated strata which are exposed within the county. The only bedded stone found within Shelby county, lies in a narrow strip bordering the river, extending from the southern boundary of the county to within a mile of the town of Sidney. From the county line to a locality known as Boggs' Mill, wherever stone is seen in situ, it belongs to the formation called by geologists the Clinton. It is the stone which immediately underlies the building stone in the suburbs of Piqua, in Miami county, and which is burned into lime so extensively just south of that town. It possesses, in the locality in Shelby county referred to, all the characteristics by which the stone of this forma- tion is so surely detected. The physical characteristics of being unevenly bedded, highly crystallized, of sandy texture, and of a rust color from the presence of iron, and withal a hard stone, here show themselves. The fossils common to the Clinton in the vicinity of Piqua, are here abundantly seen- Halysites catenulata, Stromatopora, Asyrinyipora. and some species of Fovo- sites. These were exposed on the surface. No fossil shells were to be seen. Fragments of crinoid stems seemed to compose a considerable por- tion of the rock, and several species of Fenestella abounded. This forma- tion has never been quarried here, apparently, for any economical purpose. It is in the neighborhood of an excellent limestone belonging higher up, and which furnishes lime of the first quality. The Clinton formation furnishes no good building stone in this part of the state, and, while it makes the strongest kind of lime, it is hard to burn, and heats greatly in slaking, and sets rapidly when mixed. It is highly esteemed in paper-mills, where a strong lime is desired. as it more readily softens the material used in the manufacture of paper.
The next formation ascending, is that known as the Niagara. It is not seen here in actual contact with the preceding, as the exposure is not continu- ous; but within about a mile of the river, an outcrop of stone is observed on and near the banks of the river. A casual examination shows that a great change has taken place in the character of the stone. We have not only passed to a new formation, but into the upper strata of it. The stone is neither well stratified nor compact, and not suitable for building pur- poses. It is porous, comparatively soft, and very fossiliferous, and of a light blue color. It is burned here into an excellent lime, known locally as the Pontiac lime. The strata of the Niagara, so much prized for building purposes, found at Piqua, and also those found at Covington, Miami county, belong below this horizon. The superposition of this quality of stone upon that of the Covington quarries, is ocularly demonstrated on the Stillwater.
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
This river rises gradually up to the level of and above the stone of the Cov- ington quarries above Covington. At the village of Clayton, on the Still- water, about two miles north of Covington, the banks of the river are formed of the same strata as those from which the Pontiac lime es made, within about a mile of the last exposure of the Clinton, on the Great Miami. The last exposure of the Clinton on the Stillwater, is several miles south of Cov- ington; and a familiar example of the Clinton stone may be given in the falls of the Panther creek. It will be seen that all that thickness of building stone about the town of Covington, and exhibited so well at the falls of Greenville creek, as well as that of the Piqua quarries, belongs above the Clinton and below the strata which first appear above it on the Miami, near where the "Pontiac" lime-kilns are situated. The inference follows, that if there is any good building stone within Shelby county, it will be found somewhere between Bogg's mill-seat and the Pontiac lime-kilns. The short- ness of the distance, together with the slight fall in the river, would pre- clude the existence of any extensive strata in this locality. There may exist here a few feet of evenly layered rock, corresponding with the upper layers of the Covington stone; but the hope of very much good stone, even if any is found, is too slight to encourage much expense in searching for it. It will be thus seen that the Niagara thins out in this direction, especially the lower strata, while the upper strata maintain a considerable thickness. Indeed, it is possible that the upper strata of the Niagara lie here immediately upon the Clinton. The thickness of the strata is not known with certainty, but can be approximately made out. The Pontiac limestone is but little, if any, above the surface of water in the river in its lower layers, and a mile south of Sidney the top of it is about 25 feet above the water. With a fall of 50 feet in that distance, there would be a thickness of 75 feet of this quality of limestone. I think there is as much as this. We do not know that this is its greatest thickness, for it may rise higher under the drift in some places. It is a soft stone, and has, no doubt, been ploughed down by the forces which deposited the drift. It would not retain any marks of wearing forces on its surface. Although not valuable for building purposes, it con- tains an inexhaustible store of the best quality of lime. The lime manufac- tured from this stone is of a pure white when slaked, and is suitable for all purposes for which lime is used. From a previous volume of this Survey (1870, p. 449) I make an extract, showing the composition of the limestone taken from one of the quarries of this county. I will add the remark, that the locality from which the specimen submitted to examination was taken, is about midway between the lowest and the highest strata. I will say also, that from the appearance of the weathered surfaces of the stone at Dugan's quarries, I concluded that there was a larger quantity of oxide of iron in the stone of this locality, than would be found either above or below, espe- cially below. The rusty color indicated the presence of iron. From the porous nature of the stone, I supposed the iron may have been filtered out of
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water which has run through it. There was an entire absence of that rust color in the Pontiac quarry, and the same might be said of the quarries near Sidney.
Silicious Alumina and Carbonate Carbonate
matter
sesquioxide of iron
of lime
of mag- nesia
Total
Niagara, Sidney, Dugan's,
trace.
1.60
55.00
42.92
99.52
Niagara, Sidney, Dugan's
.20
.50
54.40
44.58
99.68
Holcomb's limestone, Spg'fl'd
.10
1.70
55.10
43.05
99.95
Frey's limestone, Springfield
.IO
.20
54.70
44.93
99.93
It will be seen that there is little to choose between the best Springfield lime and the Shelby county lime. The former is a little nearer the best markets in Ohio, and enjoys the additional advantage of the competition of several independent lines of railroads leading to the best markets. The Shelby county lime could perhaps be burned a little cheaper on account of the lower price of fuel, but not enough so to overcome the disadvantage before referred to. When it shall be burned more extensively, which will be done when it can find a market at less expense of freight, it will become an import- ant article of commerce between this county and other places.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
The county comprises an area of 413 square miles, or more than 256,000 acres. The soil is varied in character, but extremely fertile throughout the county. The county is bounded north by Auglaize, east by Logan and Cham- paign, south by Miami, and west by Darke and Auglaize counties. For the most part the surface may be called level, although the southern part and the lands adjacent to the Miami river and Loramie creek partake of a rolling character, sometimes deserving to be called hilly. The altitude is such that Lockington, within the county, marks the summit of the Miami and Erie canal, the waters from the Miami feeder being here diverted to both the north and south. The natural water-shed, however, is deflected southward for the whole county, for all natural streams find a final outlet through the Great Miami, which enters the county from the cast and flowing to the south- west, crosses the line to immediately receive the waters of Loramie creek, which carries the drainage of the whole west side of the county. Owing to these larger streams and their smaller tributaries the drainage of the county is effected without great difficulty. although necessarily extensive. That artificial drainage is still carrying forward, but is so far complete as to reduce that which is yet to do to the level of mere auxiliary work. This is viewing the county as a whole, for when viewed by localities there will be found sections still calling for not the spade and tile alone, but for the axe as well. This applies perhaps more particularly to the northeast corner of the county, comprising a large fraction of Jackson township. Still a few years more will develop a system of drainage for the whole area, not only compre- hensive, but also perfect. Of the streams, the Great Miami river and Loramie creek are the most important. In addition to these as contributing to the drain-
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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY
age must be mentioned Muchanippi, Turtle, Tawawa, Rush, Nine Mile, Brush, and Turkey Foot creeks, as well as Panther Run and Count's Run.
The Miami and Erie canal crosses the county from south to north, and affords shipping facilities to several inland towns. The soil throughout the county, although diversified in character, may be classed as fertile, as will be shown by agricultural statistics.
In 1911 the acres owned were 215,224; the numbers of acres cultivated, 140,208; acres in pasture, 45,744; in woodland, 20,305; lying waste, 8,957.
Wheat produced in 1911, 36,503 bushels; rye. 6,213; oats, 1,334,780; winter barley. 2.420; spring barley, 2,341 ; shelled corn, 1,677,630; broom corn, 3,000 ; sugar corn. 47 tons ; tomatoes, 810 bushels ; Irish potatoes, 55,765 bushels; sweet potatoes, 140; hay, 10,480 tons; clover, 8.726 tons ; Alfalfa, 281 tons ; tobacco, 133.650 pounds : butter, 29,229 pounds ; eggs, 1,099,109 dozens: eggs shipped out of state, 83.570 dozens; sorghum, 1.964 gallons ; maple syrup. 463 gallons : honey, 1,848 pounds; apples, 176,078 bushels ; peaches. 1.885 bushels ; pears, 6,660 bushels : cherries, 954 bushels; plums. 1,683 bushels; number of horses owned. 8,500; beef cattle, 135; milch cows, 8.513; all other, 4,856; sheep. 5,120; hogs, 18,231; wool, pounds shorn, 28,934. In 1825 the number of horses in the county were 535, cattle 1,004, owned by 493 individuals.
CHAPTER VI
ORGANIZATION OF SHELBY COUNTY
Date of Organisation-Naming of the County-Selection of County Scat- Organization of Townships-Ertracts from Commissioners' Journal- Court Minutes-Early Marriages-Pioneer Conditions-Land Entries- Population-Political Parties-County Officials.
Shelby county was formed from Miami in 1819, and was named for Gen. Isaac Shelby, an officer of the Revolution, who, in 1792, when Kentucky was admitted into the Union, was almost unanimously elected its first gover- nor. Miami county, including Shelby, was a part of Montgomery county until January 16, 1807. When Shelby was formed from Miami county, it included Auglaize and Allen counties, which were subsequently detached, Allen county in 1831, and Auglaize in 1848. The population increased rapidly and on May 17, 1819, a court of common pleas convened in Hardin,* which was con- dlucted by the Hon. Joseph H. Crane, of Dayton, as presiding judge. and Robert Houston, Samuel Marshall and William Cecil, associate judges. Har- vey B. Foote was appointed clerk of court and Henry Bacon, prosecuting attorney and. at this time, the first grand jury was called and reported. The term adjourned December 14th, and this sealed the doom of Hardin as a seat of justice, for the next term of court was held in Sidney, with the same judicial executive and clerical officers, on April 24, 1820.
A board of commissioners convened at Hardin on June 17, 1819, con- sisting of Robert MeClure, William Berry and John Wilson, with David Henry as clerk of board, and James Lenox, treasurer of the county. They entered at once upon their respective duties. Archibald Defreer was appointed collector. On June 12th the bonds of John Craig, as coroner, and Daniel V. Dingman, as sheriff, were accepted and after some routine business the board adjourned to September 2d, and Shelby county, armed and equipped, started on its full-fledged career and has been in motion ever since. The epitaph on a day-old baby's tombstone might appropriately be applied to Hardin :
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