USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 11
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The writer knows of but one complete vessel found in the county. This was encountered while workmen were grading a hill of undisturbed glacial gravel south of Wooster for an addition to the Wooster cemetery. The relic was about three feet from the surface when struck and shattered by the plough. It was a large and well formed bowl with unique decorations on the sides and an artistically fashioned rim; it was shaped like an old-fashioned boiling pot, with bulging sides. The depth was nine inches, the diameter at bulge fifteen inches and at the rim twelve inches. The bottom was very thin, one-fourth inch, but very compact, while the rim showed a band one-half inch thick and one inch wide around the top and this embellished and strength- ened by graceful elevations at intervals. In the bowl was only a few hand- fuls of dark oily mould, and the writer's opinion is that the vessel was a mor- tuary bowl.
BURIALS.
Except the cemeteries of the late, white contaminated Indians and in- trusive burials in mounds, I have found but two sepulchres worthy of record. The first is a "stone grave" on the farm of the late. John Culbertson. It is located on a terrace of the Little Killbuck just opposite "Fort Hill," above described. It was made of shale flagging, from the brook. A layer of slabs for bottom, sides and top ; was about three feet deep, but the skeleton was so decayed that nothing was left but a line of dark mould and a few undistin- guishable bones that went to powder when exposed to the air.
The second was found on a promontory of shale, capped by forty feet of glacial gravel abutting on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad in section 29. Wooster township, and above the terrace on which the three- ply village site is located. Workmen, in cutting a new road through the hill. came across a unique grave. As soon as discovered, the writer was sent for
Stone and Iron Ear Rings and Pendant. About two-thirds natural size.
a
ERRATA.
On page 57, line 37, "Christian" should read "Christmas."
On page 66, lines 37 and 38, "one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five" should read "one hundred and eighty-five."
On page 67, line 1, "one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five" should read "one hundred and eighty-five."
On page 74, line 24, "making" should read "marking."
On page 79, line 4, "1884" should read "1894."
On page 92, line 30, "is found" should read "are found."
On page 95, line 1, "every known form" should read "every form."
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After this brain storm that cleared his perception and added purpose to his conception, primitive man's first thought was to better and beautify his game-killing implements, and, second, to create more useful and artistic furnishings for his household. Hides must be tanned to preserve and render them supple, and the rude and fragile drinking and cooking utensils must be made more durable and attractive, and in this inspiration is to be found the nucleus of pottery making and of pottery decoration.
The remains of primitive pottery in Wayne county are very meager in comparison with those of southern Ohio and are mostly confined to separate fragments or pot sherds, and these seem to be largely mortuary, as but few fragments are found on the surface or in the kitchen refuse.
The writer knows of but one complete vessel found in the county. This was encountered while workmen were grading a hill of undisturbed glacial gravel south of Wooster for an addition to the Wooster cemetery. The relic was about three feet from the surface when struck and shattered by the plough. It was a large and well formed bowl with unique decorations on the sides and an artistically fashioned rim ; it was shaped like an old-fashioned boiling pot, with bulging sides. The depth was nine inches, the diameter at bulge fifteen inches and at the rim twelve inches. The bottom was very thin, one-fourth inch, but very compact, while the rim showed a band one-half inch thick and one inch wide around the top and this embellished and strength-
1
Stone and Iron Ear Rings and Pendant. About two-thirds natural size.
Two sides of a Totem, or Tribal Symbol; One side representing the head of a Bear, the other that of a Mountain Lion. About three-fifths natural size.
So-called "Bird" or "Saddle" Stones, Specialized in Black Slate. About two-thirds natural size.
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and found a skeleton in a sitting position, facing the south; the knees were drawn up and arms extended over them or to the side. The grave was elab- orately prepared, the bottom being seven feet from the surface. The en- closure resembled a large old-fashioned store box, three by four by three feet in size. The sides, back and front were formed of a double thickness of heavy bark, with bottom and top of split puncheon, three and four inches thick and six to ten inches wide. At the right hand of the pelvis was the half of a huge mussel shell, four by seven inches, in which was two ounces of red paint, and on the left was a duplicate shell containing white paint. Bark and puncheon, shells and skeleton went to pieces when exposed to the air, only the paint remaining. Burials of this kind are very rare. Gerard Fowke, the most experienced archaeologist and field worker in Ohio, says in his "Archaeo- logical History of Ohio:" "I have never found a skeleton which had been placed in a sitting posture," yet I have found one other in a similar gravel hill near Captain Pipe's cabin at old Jerome Town. The prime fact in these burials was that the skeletons were without their skulls, the heads had evi- dently been removed before burial; whether to retain the vigor of the chief, or other noted personage,-as the medicine man-to the tribe, or on account of the superstition that the spirit of the dead should not be given to the worms, is all conjecture-exercise your imagination.
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CHAPTER IV.
TOPOGRAPHY AND GENERAL FEATURES.
[For the facts herein stated, the author of this work is indebted to a like article written prior to 1877 by Hon. John P. Jeffries, of Wooster, hence it comes with almost undisputed authority.]
Wayne county, located on the southern declivity of the dividing ridge intervening between the northern lakes and the Ohio river, has been in all ages past the theatre of marked changes prior, as well as subsequent, to the time of the elevation of the Alleghanies and the formation of the northern lakes. The whole face of the country shows the action of the flowing water, and that the entire surface many centuries ago was covered by a deep sea, and wrought upon by its turbulent action, is plainly manifested upon the elevations in the valleys and the alluvial plains.
The territory of Wayne county is a part of that great topographical dis- trict reaching from the lakes to the gulf of Mexico, and from the Alleghany to the Rocky mountains. The northern limits of this county, extending within a few miles of the southern rim of the Lake Erie basin, is the water- shed, or divide between the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. The spill, or summit level, is at Summit Lake, near the city of Akron, in Summit county, and is three hundred and ninety-five feet above Lake Erie, while the summit dividing the waters of the Black river and the Killbuck, north of Bridgeport, near Lodi, Medina county, is at an altitude of three hundred and eighty-two feet above the lake level. The highest land in Wayne county is in the vicinity of Doylestown, Chippewa township, which is four hundred and thirty feet above Lake Erie and one thousand forty-two feet above the Atlantic ocean.
The main portion of Wayne county-indeed, nearly every part of it- is covered with drift, and the value and nature of the soil is regulated by the character of the drift spread over the surface, varying in depth from ten to seventy or eighty feet in vertical thickness, the average drift deposit being about twenty-five feet.
The mass of soil is generally composed of sand, gravel, clay and loam, though in some portions the clay predominates, as in the beech district in
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the northern part of the county; but mixed with these leading constituents in proper proportions are those essentials which make the soil productive and produce the abundant crops for which this county is so noted, such as silica, lime, magnesia, alumnia, iron, phosphorus and soda. The soil is not, as some suppose, limited to a few inches of surface, but is as deep as the drift itself, though, properly speaking, the soil, so called by the farmers, is confined to a few inches in depth from the surface.
The whole surface of Wayne county contains 342,805 acres, the area of which, by the territory of the several townships, is as follows: Paint, 15,552; Sugarcreek, 22,984; Baughman, 22,659; Chippewa, 22,443; Green, 22,456; Milton, 22,664; East Union, 22,441; Saltcreek, 14,871; Franklin, 23,005 ; Wooster, 14,591 ; Wayne, 23,084; Canaan, 23,194; Congress, 23,007 ; Chester, 26,283 ; Clinton, 17,211 ; Plain, 26,359.
The marshes of the county are chiefly confined to Wooster, Plain, Frank- lin, Clinton, Sugarcreek and Baughman townships.
The early settlers of this county found it densely wooded, except the marshy districts and the plain of lands of Wooster, Chester, Plain and Clinton townships. The Plains (then termed the Glades upon the presumption, from appearance, that they were of the character of glade lands in Pennsylvania, poor and worthless) turned out to be the most productive lands of the county. When first visited by white men they were barrens, thickly wooded with low, bushy oak, from three to four feet high, which gave evidence of being the product of an impoverished soil, and the early settlers, being of this opinion, shunned these glades, preferring rather to clear away the heavy forests and open up their farms, instead of attempting the cultivation of this land.
Thirty years prior to settlement, as this undergrowth would indicate, these plains were entirely destitute of wood except a few scattering oaks, pre- served, as if by design, for shade. These plains were doubtless cultivated fields of a pre-historic race, whose works of art are still manifest in and around them, such as the mounds, fortifications and tumuli of Wooster, Plain and other townships.
Today the leading forest trees are the oaks, with some hickory, chest- nut, sugar maple, ash, walnut, butternut, cherry, gum, quaking asp, cucumber, mulberry, buckeye, plum, crab, thorn, willow, prickly ash, locust, hawthorn, dogwood, alder, etc. The dogwood during May, even at this date, orna- ments every highland wood with its beautiful flowers, and the lower wood- lands still teem with fragrance from the blossoms of the thorn and crab.
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STREAMS OF THE COUNTY.
The main stream of Wayne county is the Killbuck; then come the Chippewa, Mohican, Salt creek, Apple creek and Sugar creek. Killbuck takes its rise in Canaan and Wayne townships and is in three small branches, that form junction beyond the center of Canaan township, its waters flowing toward the north into Medina county, then turning almost west into Con- gress township, this county, wherein for about one mile it flows in a southerly course, meanders through various townships and finally runs about a mile west of Wooster, leaving Wayne county from Franklin township, entering Holmes county.
The Chippewa, the next largest water course, has its origin in Chippewa lake, Medina county. It enters Wayne county near the northwest corner of Milton township and flows in a southerly direction, thence into Chippewa township to the east line of Wayne into Stark county. This stream, also Sugar creek and Newman's creek, are tributaries of the Tuscarawas, while the others above named, with their branches, find their way into the Killbuck.
Sugar creek's source is in East Union and Baughman townships, with tributaries in Sugarcreek and Paint townships, the chief of which is Grable's Fork.
Apple creek has its rise in Wayne and Saltcreek townships, the main branch flowing through East Union, into Wooster township, and unites with the Killbuck about one-fourth of a mile southwest of the city of Wooster. The northern branch rises near the south line of Canaan township and flows south into Wooster township, uniting with the main stream near Stibb's old factory, about a mile east of the city.
Salt creek takes its rise in East Union township and some of its forked heads come from Saltcreek township. The main stream passes out into Holmes county.
Newman's creek consists of two main branches, one rising in Sugar- creek township and the other in Baughman township. The main stream rises near Dalton village, flows north to near Fairview, where it turns east. and after uniting with the north branch, runs into Stark county, forming junction with the Tuscarawas north of Massillon.
Muddy fork of the Mohican makes a circuit through the southwest corner of Chester into Plain township, through which it extends in a southeasterly course to near the center of the township, where it turns to the west and flows out of the county two miles northwest of the corner of Plain township.
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Little Killbuck creek rises mainly in Chester township, extends into Wooster township, and unites with the main stream three miles northwest of the city of Wooster.
Clear creek and Christmas run rise in Wayne township and flow south, forming junction with the Killbuck in Wooster township, two miles west of Wooster, on the old Eicher farm; the Christmas run joins the Killbuck a mile southwest of the city of Wooster. Reddick's Springs, one of the branches of Christmas run, at one date furnished an abundant supply of pure water for the city of Wooster.
The Spring Mills run issues from springs in Plain township, flows south through the village of Millbrook and about a mile farther south unites with the Killbuck.
Crawford run, also known as Bahl's Mill run, has its source in springs in Wooster and Plain townships, flows southeast and enters the Killbuck about three miles southwest of Wooster city. It furnishes power for saw-mills and two grist-mills, yet is only a few miles in length.
Cedar run, a small, pure stream, flowing into Cedar valley, issues from springs in the highlands of Congress township and from parts of Chester, uniting with the Killbuck a short distance from where it debouches from the Cedar valley.
Little Sugar creek is a small stream of some importance, as is also the north branch of Apple creek. It rises in Canaan and Wayne townships, flow- ing down through Wayne and Greene, across the corner of East Union into Sugar creek. This stream runs through the village of Smithville and a short distance south of Orrville.
The north branch of Apple creek has its source in Wayne township, near the south line, and flows southwest of Madisonville into Wooster township, uniting with the east branch near the Stibb's factory site, one mile east of Wooster city.
Little Chippewa creek rises in Canaan township, being formed from a series of pure, cold springs. The main branch runs north into section 13 to the southwest quarter, where it turns northeast and flows into Milton township and there unites with the Chippewa, west of the village of Amwell.
Besides the streams enumerated, there are smaller ones, which, with numerous springs, provide an abundance of good water throughout the county.
SURFACE OF THE COUNTY.
The general surface of Wayne county is more rolling than otherwise. yet it is sufficiently low and level to be well adapted to farming, grazing and
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general agriculture. The whole face of the county shows the action of water, from the lowest valleys to the summit of the highest elevation; but when it was acted upon, is mere conjecture. It is supposed by some that this section was once a part of one great sea. It should be stated, in this connection, that the greater portion of the land within Wayne county is susceptible of cultivation.
PRAIRIES.
There are several large bodies of prairie lands in this county, located near Wooster, in Wooster, Plain, Canaan, Milton, Clinton, Franklin, Baugh- man and Sugarcreek townships, the chief, however, being situated in Plain and Clinton. The origin is not well established, but there is evidence of such lands having once been under water-probably lakes and marshes-and in time's course were encroached upon and overgrown by vegetation. In some places it appears as if islands had once here existed, sometime covered with timber and often large and aged trees. Some of them, such as Newman's creek swamp, were covered with a thick underbrush, while others, such as may be seen near Wooster, contained thrifty trees, with wide, far-reaching roots. This was tested in Canaan township, near Pike township, during the construction of the Atlantic & Great Western railway. The surface of the land there being covered with underbrush and thick sod, was appropriated by the company for the bed of the road, but suddenly and unexpectedly, with- out previous indications, a large portion of the track disappeared, passing be- neath into a hidden lake.
The botany of the prairies presents a wonderful array of rare flora. Such lands, during the summer blooming period, are literally covered with the most beautiful and fragrant flowers.
THE LAKES OF WAYNE COUNTY.
There are still several lakes in this county, while there remain signs of many extinct ones-beds where once stood lake water-and the scene a thou- sand or more years ago was a romantic one of river, lake and hillside. Fox lake, in Baughman township, is the largest of the existing true lakes. Its location is in a marshy district, known as Tamarack Swamp, in the south- east corner of sections 1, 2, II and 12. Its waters are cold, pure and wonder- fully clear, indicating a series of springs from which it is fed. This lake was measured or sounded in the seventies, when a man was drowned in its waters, and it is said that in the center it was upwards of one hundred feet
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deep. Before the advent of white men here, it was a popular fishing resort for the Indian tribes. It has been a favorite fishing resort for our people for many decades, and still the fishes are numerous and excellent in quality, Wayne, Stark and Medina county fishermen frequenting its waters annually.
Patton's lake is a body of clear, cold water, of an oblong shape, about one-fourth as large as Fox lake, which is about a third of a mile distant from it, near the center of section 12 of Baughman township, in the Tamarack Swamp district. Three small streams flow into this pretty water sheet, its outlet being on the northwest side. It is not nearly so deep as Fox lake, but abounds in many fine fishes. The crystal character of water justifies the be- lief that it contains an interior fountain. The swampy lands near these two lakes retain a wild condition, and are literally covered (or were in 1878) with tamarack trees, whortleberries, some growing eight feet high, underbrush, flags and tall prairie grass. In the marshes once grew great quantities of cranberries, and as for whortleberries, nowhere in the country can there be found such a large abundance. In an early day this lake region of Wayne county was noted for its being a resort for bears, wolves, panthers and wild cats, which often made night terrible to the hardy pioneers. Deer also took shelter hereabouts as a refuge from the hunter. Smaller animals, such as beaver, otter, raccoons, opossums and minks, also resorted here in search for food and shelter. Once-hundreds of years ago-this entire swamp district must have been a real lake. Year after year the farmer has encroached on this territory and reclaimed much of the once worthless swamp, and now may be seen many luxuriant crops growing on this "rich-as-Nile" soil.
Another lake, called Doner's lake, is located in Chippewa township. It is of a circular form; no stream flows into it and hence it must be fed by in- ternal springs.
Brown's lake is situated in Clinton township, and it is not unlike Doner's lake, appearing to have an internal supply of water and a constantly flowing outlet.
Manley's lake is a small body of clear, cold water in section 16 of Clinton township. It is situated on highly elevated land and from its eastern side issues forth a small, never-failing, stream of pure water, sparkling with life and beauty. From it runs a stream, a branch of the one that flows through the low lands in the neighborhood of Shreve.
NEWMAN'S CREEK SWAMP.
The lowlands in the valley of Newman's creek, extending from the vicinity of Orrville eastward to beyond the east line of Baughman township,
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known as Newman's Creek Swamp when the first settlers came to this county, was the wildest, most inaccessible and dismal district within its boundaries. At first it was styled the Dismal Swamp and later the Shades of Death, and for many years none but the brave and daring hunters from the pioneer band dared enter its confines. It was then literally covered with tall trees and underbrush, and along the streams were low marshy spots, where the choicest of cranberries grew in immense quantities. The stream itself was alive with fishes. Wild potatoes grew there in great abundance, sufficient to supply the settlers with food for miles around.
Before the advent of the white settlers Baughman township was, about this swamp, a safe retreat for game and wild animals and was frequented by the Indians, who made it a lurking place, as well as a fishing and hunt- ing ground. Even after the settlement had grown to considerable impor- tance there might have been seen here bears, panthers and wild cats, as well as elk, deer, etc. Beavers made this their home, as did raccoons and foxes. Such was the condition of this swamp in 1825 and up to 1830. The upper end of this swamp extended over into Green township and from there cov- ered the country pretty much all of the way over east to the Stark county line, thousands of acres being embraced in the swampy wilderness. Since 1838 the woodman's ax has felled and cleared away the trees and the ditcher's spade has drained and reclaimed these once worthless lands. The once "dis- mal swamp" has come to be a veritable garden spot and the wilderness has in truth been made to "blossom as the rose." Today the scene is one of royal beauty, a landscape that is a feast to the eye of the beholder. For six miles the plain is unbroken and covered with good farm improvements, with here and there a clump of native timber. This swamp has long since been. described as the bed of a great lake of pre-glacial times. At one remote time a much larger stream flowed here than is now known as Newman's creek.
KILLBUCK SWAMP.
To the low marshy lands between Wooster and Shreve the name of Killbuck Swamp has long been applied. When the pioneer band first came into this county a continuous swamp existed between these two points. It was no doubt a pre-glacial lake bed. The first visible remains of this ancient- day lake are at the north edge of Wooster city. Seventy-five and eighty years ago all the low lands south and west of Wooster were covered by water the entire year round, until boatmen saw fit to remove some of the flood wood and drift lodged in the main channel of the Killbuck. These lands were then
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valueless. The river gradually receded into its banks and soon the flooded meadows became covered with herbage; but it was long before they became of much value, even for grazing purposes. This territory is also within the limits of an immense pre-glacial lake, elsewhere mentioned in this work by other writers.
The early settlers of Plain and Clinton townships erected their dwellings and opened up their farms on the margin of an ancient lake, which was then a beautiful plain, covered with tall grass, flags and prairie flowers, except that it was studded with ancient islands, then thickly wooded, which re- sembled oases. Blachleyville stands upon table lands, overlooking the "Big Meadows," now styled the Big Prairie, that extends north, west and south of the village. The scene in the district known as the pre-historic lake coun- try and the Killbuck Swamp has in the last half century been completely transformed, and one who saw it then would not know it today were he to come back and visit this location.
COAL MINES OF THE COUNTY.
Perhaps no better description of the coal measure of Wayne county can here be furnished than that given by Hon. John P. Jeffries, who, in the Doug- las history of the county, published in 1878, gave the facts as they then ex- isted, and from which this chapter is largely made up. Before passing to the record made by Mr. Jeffries, a thorough geological student, it may be stated that the United States census reports for 1902 give the total number of tons of coal mined in Wayne county for that year to have been seventy- four thousand eight hundred and twenty-four. Its estimated mine value was fixed at one dollar and seventy-nine cents per ton, or a total of one hun- dred forty thousand one hundred and fifty-three dollars. At the present date Wayne is one of the twenty-nine coal producing counties in Ohio.
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