History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 79

Author: Sutton, R., & Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio, pub
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Wapakoneta, Ohio : R. Sutton
Number of Pages: 878

USA > Ohio > Mercer County > History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 79
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 79

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guards the white man, and will not fail to punish excesses on their part, well remembering all he told them in council, etc. The country near Defiance is level, the land good, and timber large. The rock form- ing the bed of the Maumee and Auglaize within ten miles of the post is a sort of junk slate or bituminous shale, that will burn like mineral coal, though not so free. The distance from Fort Wayne to Defiance by land is computed (following the Indian trace, which is very crooked ) at seventy- five miles, and by water one hundred and twenty miles. Many streams enter the Matice between these two stations on both sides sufficiently large for milling purposes; and the gullies or ravines they have formed are steep and difficult to cross on horseback. Along the banks of the river mill-sites may be hag at a trifling comparative expense, by cutting races at small rapids without damming or obstructing the channel. There are three or four families settled on the public lands bear this station that furnish travellers with shelter and provisions for their money. To- morrow morning we intend to set out for Fort Meigs and Port Law. rence, from whence I shall probably write you again, and am in haste yours, etc., JAMES RILEY.

B. SANDFOR ", EFQ.

PORT LAWRENCE, NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE MAUMKE, November 28, 1819.

DEAR SIR: We left Fort Defiance on the 29th, at an early hour, forded the Maumee at the foot of the nine-mile rapids, just above the forts, and proceeded along the left bank of the river to Camp No. 3, -ix miles, where three or four families have squatted on the public land .. They have fenced in and cultivated, according to my estimation, one hun- dred acres or ingre, which have been crowned with a heavy crop of corn. yielding sixty bushels at least to the acre. Here is a rapid of four or five miles. Pursuing our journey with diligence, we reached the head of the lower rapids (forty miles by computation) at dusk, where we found shelter with a Mr. Menard. All thisday the gentlemen in company. Mr. Stickney, Mr. Caloin Dennison, and a Frenchman of Detroit and myself. were delighted with the country we travelled over; the soil of the upland (which is level or gently rolling, and inclines gradually towards Lake Erie) is rich and sufficiently dry. Many streams of considerable mag. nitude enter the river along both its banks, in which the water runy swiftly. The river itself expands to the breadth of a mile above the rapids, and its surface is for many miles up unruffled by fall. On this part of the river lie very extensive bottom lands, whose soil is the richest alluvian, the principal timber, black walnut, measuring in many instances more than six feet in diameter, and of an astonishing height ; it has be- sides abundance of sugar-trees, with some other timber. Grape-vines, of ten inches diameter or more near the root, are frequently seen. Their vines almost cover the trees, and form a thicket difficult to pass on horseback. They are said to produce grapes of an excellent flavor, and in great abundance. From the head to the foot of the rapids is eighteen miles by computation, the first twelve of which have no more than six rapids of less than a fourth of a mile each, as I supposed from their appearance. At the rapids called Roche Debout, five miles above Fort Meigs, a wing dam bas been constructed and a race dug, on which stand a grist-mill and saw-mill, nearly ready for operation. From there down nearly all the way to the fort, is a continual rapid; the whole sheet of water (which is thus very much contracted) falls over a bed of limestone rock lying in the strata and graduated in a manner resembling stepping-stones, the surfaces of which are worn smooth by the continual friction of this ma-s of waters, and which at Fort Meigs become smooth, being on a level with Lake Erie, and affected by its tide waters. In the whole course of this river the rapids (which are numerous) are occasioned by masses of pebbles, rolled together by the current or by smooth rocks over which it glides without occasioning much noise or ascension of vapors. Very few single rocks protrude above the surface even in the lowest stages of the river, which renders navigation with the current very safe at all times. Large pirogues or canoes of three or four tons burthen are now going to Fort Wayne, having passed the lower rapids. By calculation made for the fall by mill-dam and other data the best I could obtain, a !- most amounting to demonstration, it is my opinion that from Fort Wayne to the lake level there is a fall of about one thousand feet, and that the distance is about two hundred miles. In order to render this river navigable at all seasons of the year it will, in my opinion, be neces- sary to cut a canal along the river bank round the eighteen-mile rapi.t. and to improve the navigation of the five-mile and also at the nine-mile rapids, by cutting or removing part of the rock in the bed of the river, Bo as to form a channel sufficiently broad for small keel boats. That this can be effected easily and at little expense, as the rock is shelly, and that without any improvement this river is navigable for about half of the year. The land from Roche Debout to Fort Wayne is excellent on both sides of the river, and I was assured by some of the most reste .. able inhabitants that the crops of corn this year, and which they were now gathering, will average eighty bushels to the aere, and several fil :.. more than one hundred. Proceeding from opposite Fort Meigs towants this place, the river assumes more the appearance of a bay. Its su; .. is unbroken, except by islands, and by marshes covered with will i which grows in these waters very luxuriantty, and affords food for it . merable wild ducks and aquatic fowl, which at this season darken t. whole river. Twelve miles below Fort Meigs, at the bank of the site? at the mouth of Swan Creek, a town is laid out bearing the name .: Port Lawrence (Toledo), situated on the margin of the river, on the . bank of the creek. Its site appears to be well chosen, standing pants

HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.

295

on the bottom land and partly on an elevated plain, and has an excel- Jent view of the river. for many miles of the Maumee bay, and part of Lake Erie. Two large and commodious hewed log stores staud at the month of the creek, and several dwelling houses (kg) in its vicinity. This creek forms an elegant and safe harbor for vessels in stormy seasons. The depth of water is sufficient for any craft that can enter and cross the bar, and here are usually laid up during winter many of the vessels belonging to other and less accessible ports on the lake. At this place I was informed of respectability that (contrary to the general impression) the tides flow and ebb in twenty-four hours, as on the coast of the ocean, that in still weather and in spring-tides the difference between high and low water is from three to five feet by a series of observations, and its usual rise and fall of neap tides is about two feet, varying by the action of the winds. Upon the whole, philosophers may, if they can, explain this phenomenon. What was within my own knowledge strengthens the opinion I had before formed, viz., that through the channels of the Maumee and Wabash rivers will soon be opened the shortest and best natural route between Buffalo and the Mississippi River. That canals uniting the rivers will shortly be projected and finished, and that this will prove an immense thoroughfare for supplying much of the vast fer- tile interior of the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Hlinois with goods and commodities from the Atlantic States, and that returns will be made through the same channels in the productions of these luxuriant regions, through the great western channel to the city of New York, and thence to any part of the globe.

To-morrow morning I propose visiting Fort Meigs, ou my return towards the Auglaize, etc. Yours, etc.,

JAMES RILEY.

B. SANDFORD, EsQ.

The following letter, addressed to Edward Tiffin, Surveyor-General, will show Captain Riley's suggestions touching the development of this section, and, it may be observed, they were adopted and carried out to the letter.

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, NOV. 14, 1820.

SIR: A snow-storm raged the 11th, 12th, and 13th instant, and fell to the depth of about a foot on a level. making it impossible for me to con- tinue my surveys ; and as my men were not provided with winter clothing, and being on Town No. 1 N., and learning from travellers that stopped at our camp over night that the Indians were congregated at this place in order to receive their annuities from goverment, curiosity, and a desire to view the country, determined me to come to this place and re- main in this vicinity, until it shall be in my power to continue my labors in the forest, and which I hope to finish in three weeks.

The Maumee River is a clear and delightful stream, its banks rich and fertile, in many places already cleared of the forest by the Indians, and in some places large bodies of the best soil are ready for plowing. , The meandering course of the river, and its various ripples aul rapids, will afford mill-seats in abundance for all kinds of manufactories, and highway and thoroughfare for products of the soil of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to the shores of Lake Erie, and for the commodities used for supporting the external comforts and necessaries of their inhabitants. The site of Fort Wayne is high and commanding, its situation directly at the confluence of the Saint Joseph anl Saint Marys rivers, of con- siderable magnitude, and navigable for several months of the year for the largest flat bottom, and keel boats, for a distance of two hundred miles, and run through a rich and fertile country. The said Marys has been almost covered with boats every freshet for several years back. and now, although the land on its banks in Ohio has only been for sale two months, more than one hundred families have already established themselves along its borders. This central point combines more natural advantages to build up and support a town of importance, as a place of deposit and exchange and thoroughfare, than any point I have yet seen in the western country.

Here the Indians used to hold their great councils, and from here launched forth by water, east by the Maumee, south by the St. Marys, west by the Wabash, and northwest by the St. Josephs and the St. Josephs of Lake Michigan.

Having my chain, compass, and level along with me, I yester lay went towards the southwest one and a half miles, to the St. Marys, crossed that stream, and measured the distance from that river to Little River, (a branch of the Wabash, and navigable in times of high water without improvement). The distance is not quite seven miles, and nearly the whole of it through a soft, wet prairie, affording abundance of water, in all seasons, for canal navigation. The summit, for three miles, is a per- fect level, and thence its descent to the portage, a navigable point of Little River, is about three feet, and the course south, 50 - west.

From the summit level to the St. Mary's is a fall of about twenty fect. Two locks would therefore be sufficient, and the whole expense of a canal uniting the northern Lakes with the Mississippi and Missouri, at this point, would not be beyond the means of a few individuals of enterprise, and ordinary capital. I have not been so careful in levelling as I should have been, owing to the severity of the cold, but the results will be found nearly correct.

In touching on the natural advantages of the site of Fort Wayne, I must remark that they have been already observed by every traveller in. this quarter, and hy every individual that visits this place, and I am certain they are fully known to you already, but as the public interest is deeply concerned, and as it appears to me a due proportion of atten- tion would speedily promote the settlement and safety of this frontier, it ought to be surveyed and sold.

If proof of this fact is wanting, there are now settled at this place and its vicinity more than forty families of squatters and traders, besides a great number of young men, each with his bundle or shop of goods. For their numerous buildings, for fire-wood, etc., they are depredating on the public lands, and as they have no interest in the soil, and little hope of being able to purchase the land when sold, a system of waste and destruction is apparently entered into by all, so that the whole, or nearly so, of the timber has been cut off for about three miles around this place, making the land of little comparative value when it shall be brought into market. Another fact. Here are now assembled, I judge from their appearance, at least one thousand white persons, from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and New York. Their object is stated to be that of trade with the Indians, in order to carry off some part of the specie paid them by the government. They have brought whiskey in abandance, which they pretend to deposit with the agent until he shall have finished his business with the Indians, but yet contrived to deal out large quan- tities from their depositories in the woods, so that the savages are kept constantly drunk and anfit to attend to anything else.

Horse-racing, drinking, gambling, and every kind of debauchery, ex- travagance and waste, are the order of the day, and night too, and, in my opinion, the savages themselves are in comparison the less savage. Here the whites set the example to the Indians, too indelicate to name. and that cannot fail to produce in their minds disgust for the American character.

The only means of stopping this career of vice and immorality that occur to my mind, are the speedy survey and sale of the lands from the mouth of the Maumee to this place, and from hence down to and along the banks of the Wabash to the surveys already made in that quarter.

Thus a cordon of hardy and respectable settlers, owners of the soil on which they tread, would soon be formed along the Maumee and Wabash, and taking advantage of their natural position, woukl not fail to render essential services to the frontier in case of war, and in time of peace give a spur and a new energy to agriculture, commerce, and manufac- tures in these regions.

At present there is no security to him that seats himself on the public lands, nor do I think there should be, because every citizen ought to en- joy equal advantages.

This place, if laid out as a town, and sold by government, would bring a large sum of money, and give to the President of the United States the power of selection for a name, and a character of bestowing liberally land on which to place the public buildings which soon will be needed at this emporium of Indiana.

Hundreds of families of squatters have settled themselves on the pub- lie lands along down the Maumee River, no less than twenty at and shout the junction of the Auglaize, where Fort Defiance formerly stond.

That situation is very high and beautiful; the lands in its vicinity are

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HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.

of the very finest quality ; several thousand of prairie, very rich, lie im- mediately east of that point, so desirable on many accounts, and hun- dreds of people have called on me this season, in the woods, begging to be informed when the lands at and about Defiance, as well as Fort Wayne, were to be surveyed and offered for sale, as they were waiting with the greatest impatience to make purchases, either in those towns or their vicinity.

If it should meet your views, sir, you would render very essential benefits to Ohio and Indiana, and to thousands of their inhabitants, by recommending to the honorable the Secretary of the Treasury, the propriety of having the whole of the lands on the Maumee and down the Wabash surveyed and sold, and that towns, on such seale as might be thought advisable, be laid off and offered for sale, as early as practicable, and on account of government at Fort Wayne and Defiance.

Most of the lands ou the Auglaize, Blanchards Fork, Hog Creek, Ot- towa Creek, and Flat Rock Creek, and on both banks of the Little Au- glaize, are fertile and very desirable.

It is my intention to return to the forest to-morrow, as the snow is fast going off.

With great consideration, I have the honor to be your most faithful and devoted servant. Most respectfully,

JAMES RILEY.

GEOLOGY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES.

BY N. H. WINCHELL.

VAN WERT COUNTY.

Van Wert County is bounded on the north by Paulding, east by Put- nam and Allen, south by Mercer, and west by Indiana, and embraces the following-named twelve townships: Tully, Union, Hoaglin, Jackson, Washington, Ridge, Pleasant, Harrison, Willshire, Liberty, York, and Jennings.

NATURAL DRAINAGE.

The surface drainage consists of a number of gentle, small streams that flow northeasterly, joining the Auglaize River in Putnam and Paul- ding counties. There are several large, uncultivated prairies, or marshes, which are subject to inundation in spring-time. These give rise to some of these small drainage streams.

SURFACE FEATURES.

By saying the county is flat the general character of the surface is expressed, as it lies in the Black Swamp. In the southwest corner this county is crossed by the St. Mary's River, which brings into that part of the county a few miles of the more undulating surface characterizing the St. Mary's ridge. Through the centre of the county, in a northwest and southeast course, ruus the gravelly Van Wert ridge. North of this ridge there is no variety of surface whatever. There is a gentle, very regular descent, sometimes hardly enough to sufficiently drain the land for easy agriculture, from this ridge to the north line of the county, and beyond to the Auglaize River.

The following points of elevation above Lake Erie are obtained from the surveys and profile of the Pittsburg. Fort Wayne, and Chicago Rail- road. It will be remembered that Lake Erie is 565 feet above the ocean:

Fort.

Delphna 211

Middlepoint

Van Wert 213

Convey. 218

Dixon . 225

The following elevations were derived by aneroid barometer, making connection with the above railroad elevations :-

Jennings's Prairie F1. 1.

S. W. J. rec. 31. Union Township, on the ridge

Section 24, Tully, on the Van Wert ridge ITM

- bench

Soil and Timber .- The soil is clayey, and is in need of artificial drain- age. The farms that are located on the Van Wert ridge have a greater market valuation than any others in the county. The whole county was originally densely forest-covered, with the exception of the marshes, called prairies, in Jennings, Willshire, Liberty, Harrison, and Tully townships. -

In the survey of the county the following species of trees were seen growing native :-

Fagus ferruginea-Beech Ait.

Quereus alba -- White Oak L.

Acer sarcharinum-Sugar Maple Wang.

Platauus occidentalis-Sycamore

Carya alba-Shag-bark Hickory. Nutt.

Fraxinus Americana- White Ash

Cornus florida-Flowering Derwood L.

Ulmus Americana-American Elm (pl. Clayt., Willd.)

Xanthoxyhan Americanum-Prickly Ash

Mitt.

Quereus rubra-Red Oak ..

Fraxinus quadrangulata-Blue Ash

Michs.

Amelanchier Canadensis-June Berry. Torr. and Gray.

Crataegns coccinea-Thorn .

Quercus Prinus -Swamp White Oak

Gledit chia triacanthos-Honey Locust

Carpinus Americana-Water Beech

Mich,

Juglans nigra-Black Walnut

Ostrya Virginica-Ironwood

Willd.

Salix nigra-Black Willow

Marsh.

Morus rubra-Mulberry

Tilia Americana-Basswood

Populus monililera-Cottonwood

Ait.

Asculu- glabra-Buckeye .

Willd.

Quercus macrocarpa-Burr Oak

Michx.

Populus grandidentata-Large-touthed Aspen

Michx.

Prunus Americana-Plum . .

Marsh.

Acer rubrum-Swamp Maple L.

Lam.

Gymnocladus Canadeusis-Kentucky Coffee Bean

Lam,

Prunus serotina-Black Cherry.

Ehr.

Populus tremuloides-Trembling Aspen

Michx.

Rhus glabra-Sumnach.

Cratagus tomentosa-Black Thorn

Populus balsamifera-Bahn of Gilead

Quercus palustris-Pin Oak. .

Du Roi.

Juglans cinerea-Butternut. [Seen only on the Van Wert ridge] L.

Asimina triloba-Pawpaw

Dunal.

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.

The rocks of the county belong to the Upper Silurian. The upper member of the Niagara, the equivalent of the Guelph of Canada, or of the Racine limestone of the West, is the lowest in outerop in the county. It underlies a tract of uncertain limit in the southwestern part of the county, and is exposed in the St. Mary's River at Willshire. Over this lies the Waterlime, belonging to the Lower Helderberg.

The former is a porous magnesian limestone of rather repulsive aspect, its naturally light color being generally stained with iron-rust. In quar- rying it shows a blue color. It lies in thin beds of three to five inches, occupying usually the protected and most retired points of outerop, owing to the rapidity with which it disintegrates under the forces of nature.

The latter is, in Van Wert County, very similar in general appearance, but it has different fossils, and is harder. It is less porous. It has a drab color, but the color is lighter in Van Wert County, and in counties further north, than it is in Allen and Hardin counties, where it is often blue, or even becomes so bituminous as to be black and slaty. Its most slaty character is seen in Wyandot County. In Van Wert County, and also in Putnam, it is not slaty, or very rarely so, and shows very little bituminous matter. It burns to a very white lime in the township of Union, where there is a surface-exposure, but in Washington Township. near Delphos, it is thinner bedded and more bituminous, the lime also becoming darker.

Niagara Limestone .- The only exposure of this stone known within the county is at Will-hire, in the bed of the St. Marys River, and in a small ravine tributary to it at the same place. It is here porous and somewhat fossiliferous, in heds of about three inches. It has been wrought to a limited extent for quicklime and common foundations.

The Watertime .- This limestone underlies the remainder of the county. but affords but few known exposures. It has been burned for quicklime at Straughn. The stone here is the same as that seen in Union Town- ship, where it is also quarried and caleined on an extensive scale. It is of a light color, with a little tendency to a drab, porous and fossiliferous.

Fraxinus sambneifolia- Black Ash

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HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.

It makes a beautiful white lime, the average weight of which is said by the owners to be sixty pounds per bushel. At Straugh it rises to within four feet of the surface, and is overlain by hard-pan Drift. Gla- cier marks immediately below the Drift run north 15º E., by pocket compass. The section at Straughn is as follows :-

Section in the Waterlime at Straughn.

No. 1. Hard-pan 4 ft.

" 2. " Gray stone," i. e., spotted, drab, porous and compact ; the porous parts of a lighter color and show no bituminots matter, glistening and cryst.hue ; not difficult to quarry; beds two to four inches 5 .

" 3. " Black stone," i. e., bituminons; but the bituminons matter is evenly disseminated through the whole, so as to color it uniformly, shghtly porous; withont visible fossils ; har-h to the touch; heavier and in heavier beds than No. 2; seen 2 "

Total

Both these members make an excellent white lime. The stone has much the aspect of the Fremont stone, in Sandusky County, but it is not so hard nor so close-grained. The fossils seen are principally a small shell resembling Leperditia alta. But there are also one or two species of brachiopods, commonly seen in this formation; yet the lithological characters of No. 2 are not those common to the Waterlime. It is with some difficulty distinguished from the Niagara. This outerop occurs in a very flat and monotonous tract of country, but the upward swell in the rock surface produces a slight clevation in the surface of the Drift. The exposure is not due to erosion, as that of a stream, but is in the open plains, and is owing to the unusual thiuness of the Drift.

At Delphos, S. W. { section 24. Washington, the Waterlime has for- merly been taken from the bed of Jennings's Creek, and burned for quicklime. The stone is rather rough, and in thick, somewhat cavernous beds, with considerable caleite. Thinner beds also occur.

In Union Township (N. W. } section 8). is a gentle antielinal in the Waterlime, or in that member of the Lower Silurian which is quarried at Straughn. It may be some other member of the Lower Hellerberg. The exposure is not sufficient in the county to identify, without doubt, its horizon. It is hard, light-drab, yet often porous, in beds of two to six inches, which run irregularly and break into angular pieces of all sizes. Although its color is a light drab, yet it has some spots alnost a cream color. It is occasionally variegated somewhat with blue, and looks then very much like Niagara. No fossils are visible except a fine Favosites coral, a small Orthoceras, Atrypa sulcata, and Leperditia alta.(?) It shows about eight feet.

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History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 79

Author: Sutton, R., & Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio, pub Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Wapakoneta, Ohio : R. Sutton Number of Pages: 878

Author: Sutton, R., & Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio, pub
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Wapakoneta, Ohio : R. Sutton
Number of Pages: 878