USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > History of the city of Columbus, capital of Ohio, Volume I > Part 8
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ANCIENT MOUND ON THE POPE FARM.
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ANCIENT EARTHWORKS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.
These circular works, according to the same authority, were about eight hundred and five hundred feet in diameter. At this time little if any trace remains to at- traet the inexperienced eye.
Upon insufficient authority it has been stated that remnants of earthworks, supposed to be ancient forts, existed on the second. castern terrace of the Scioto River, about two and a half to three miles south and southeast of Columbus. No such traces, faint or otherwise, are now to be found. Not only have the socalled earthworks vanished, but all recollection of them has faded from the minds of men who can remember when agricultural labor was new in the Scioto Valley. The most easterly and southerly work was said to have been situated on the level, mid- way between Alum Creek and the Scioto. The others were assigned to a situation directly south of the city, on the brow of the terrace. It is more than doubtful whether these small enclosures ever existed, and the strong probability is that some low mounds, perhaps surrounded by the ditch and embankment, slight in form, were accepted as places of defense and called "forts" in lieu of a better name.
On the farm of Absalom Borror, one mile south of Shadeville, on the western side of the Scioto, is a circular embankment with low but very distinct walls. The diameter is about one hundred feet. It is situated on the level near the river and at the opening of a large ravine which extends towards the west. There are no accompanying evidences of ancient work.
About ten miles southeast of Columbus, on the second terrace of Big Walnut Creek and midway between that stream and the eastern line of the county, there is to be found on the farm of Thomas Patterson a nearly obliterated embankment, which is now beyond satisfactory measurement. A similar embankment or enclos- ure is found on Noah Leahman's place, on George Creek, a mile southeast of the Patterson remnant. It is partly in the woods, and, from the distinct trace there, is supposed to have been circular, or approximately so.
The late Joseph Sullivant, of Columbus, who took a great interest in these ancient works, said that parallel lines of embankment existed near the old site of Franklinton, now enlarged into West Columbus. These works cannot now be dis- covered ; they vanished with the coming of the pioneers.
Besides these well authenticated works in Franklin County, there are two which have often been credited to Franklin, but which really belong to Delaware and Pickaway Counties. The first of these is situated on the eastern side of the Whetstone, four and a half miles above Worthington. The artificial defenses con- sist simply of an embankment of earth, three feet in height, with an exterior ditch of corresponding depth. This embankment, which formed the arc of a cirele, when combined with the high bluff of the creek and the two ravines leading east- ward, made a place of strong defensive advantages. The Pickaway County work is situated on the eastern side of the Scioto River, some distance south of the Franklin County line. Colonel Whittlesey said of it: "The ditches are here interior to the walls, which circumstance is averse to the idea of a defensive origin. The situation, however, with a steep bank and deep water on one side, and deep ravines with precipitous banks on the others, is one of great natural strength and adaptation for defense."
4
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.
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51
ANCIENT EARTHWORKS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.
A circular work about one mile west of Alum Creek, and five miles distant from Columbus, near the Westerville Road, has been called an "ancient fort," but its authenticity as a product of the moundbuilding race has been seriously ques- tioned on aeconnt of a tradition that the embankment was the base of a stockade constructed by General Harrison's Indian-fighting force in 1812. Some old settlers declare that the stockade was garrisoned for some time, and that the slight em- bankment is the only remaining vestige of that work. How trne this may be cannot now be definitely ascertained, but the weight of opinion inclines to the theory that the circle is of ancient origin, because if a stockade had been a feature of the embankment, some trace of it would have been left, whereas there is none. Moreover, no mention is made in history of an outpost established by General Harrison so near to Franklinton. At any rate, whoever may have built the cir- cular work, it possesses little that can attract attention. It is small and isolated, and there are no mounds near it.
At some remote period there may have been other earthworks along the high- lands bordering the various watercourses of Franklin County, but at this time no record or knowledge of them seems to be extant. If probabilities are to be con- sulted, it may be said that from the location of several mounds along the valleys of Big Walnut, Rocky Fork and Black Liek Creeks in the northeastern part of the county, it could be imagined that some earthworks existed there, it not for defen- sive purposes perhaps for sacred observances. But since other more thickly settled portions of the county are barren of these works, the theory fails unless other embankments and the like are discovered. It can be stated, therefore, that as far as known the works above described constitute the only anthentie and easily recognized remains of the kind in this immediate vicinity.
That Franklin County, especially the portions of it contiguous to the Seioto River and extending eastward along its tributaries, had once many specimens of ancient mounds of nearly all classes and sizes, can be perceived even at this time. Although the present generation, and its predecessors, of our people have shown little respect for these interesting works, a sufficient number of mounds exist, in whole or in part, to prove that we now dwell in what was once a district thickly settled by the moundbuilding race. This is proven not only by many visible ves- tiges, but also by numerous traditions relating to aneient works which have been obliterated. The heedless destruction of these works has made it difficult to ascertain where they were situated, and the ill-treatment accorded to those remaining has necessitated conjectural descriptions to some extent. But with the assistance of old county maps, the recollections of citizens who may now be called pioneers, the notes1 of the earlier observers, and personal investigations during many days of rambling over the country in Franklin County, a compara- tively accurate record of the mounds it now contains has been obtained.
One of the most pretentious mounds of the county was that which formerly occupied the crowning point of the highland on the eastern side of the Scioto River at the spot where now rises St. Paul's Lutheran Church and adjoining build- ings, on the southeast corner of High and Mound Streets, in Columbus. Not a trace of this work is left, save the terraces of the church, although if it were yet standing as it stood a century ago it would be remarked as one of the most impos- ing monuments of the original Scioto race. When the first settlers came it was
52
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.
regarded as a wonder, and yet it was not spared. The expansion of the city de- manded its demolition, and therefore this grand relic of Ohio's antiquity was swept away. From the best information? to be had at this time this mound must have been quite forty feet in height above the natural surface of the river terrace or bluff It is said to bave been a shapely and graceful structure, with gradual slopes in all directions save to the south ward, where the declination was somewhat abrupt. Standing as it did at the very crest of a natural shoulder of the highland, it must have been a giant among mounds. As was usual with such works, it was in the form of a truncated cone, and if we accept its reported height, its diameter on the level surface at the top was certainly one hundred or more feet. Its base diameter cannot be estimated accurately, but was probably not less than three hundred feet. That its proportions were ample is attested by the fact that a large double frame house stood on its summit. Doctor Young, who erected this build- ing, was in later years succeeded in its occupancy by several well-known families of the town. Oak trees three feet in diameter grew upon the mound in those days, and it is stated that five large locust trees were rooted in the level surface on its summit. Such was the condition of the work up to the time when the city's streets encroached upon its slopes. When its destruction began, two forces of ex- cavators pushed into it from north and south until they met, and High Street became continuous in a straight line. The outer covering of the mound consisted of hard clay followed successively and regularly down to the base by stratifica- tions of gravel and sand, much of which now forms the bed of some of the princi- pal streets of that neighborhood. While the excavation was going on many human bones were unearthed which crumbled to dust as soon as exposed to the air, but were probably not remains of the moundbuilding race. Inasmuch as the Indians buried their dead in the upper portions of these mounds, it is reasonable to assume that these bones belonged to the red men. All who remember the opening of this mound have a mite of information to add to the story of its demolition. One says " utensils" of various kinds were found; another that " trinkets " were discovered; a third, that the father of the late William Platt found a skull so large that it would go over his head ; a fourth that a silver buckle was turned up by the spade, and so on. But none of these statements can now be verified by the identi- fication of the articles taken from the mound, every trace of them having been lost. It is therefore safest to assume that, with the exception of the silver buckle report- ed, the finds are to be classed as relics of uncertain origin and doubtful antiquity. The buckle was probably the treasured possession of some Indian who had been in commercial relations with the French or English at Montreal, or their emissaries in the wilderness.
It will be seen from this story of the High Street mound that its value as a meansofunlocking the secrets of its builders was completely lost. If it was reared over the treasures of a tribe or the bones of its dead, the excavators did not go ‹leepenough to discover them, and they may still lie beneath the massive church, or its adjuncts. This theory has often been advanced, but putting aside such con- jectures, attention may be given to another possible purpose of this work. For many centuries the great earth-pile rose above the primeval forest of the river terrace. The natural elevation is such that when artificially increased forty feet, an extensive view of the upper Scioto Valley was obtained, and this has led to the gen-
53
ANCIENT EARTHWORKS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.
eral belief that the mound was a prominent signal station from which communication by beacon-light could be bad with distant points in the valley. The facts which support this theory will develop as other mounds in this vicinity are mentioned.
It has been maintained by intelligent persons who have studied this subject, and partienlarly by the late Joseph Sullivant, that upon the bottom lands near the junction of the Scioto and the Whetstone, were several well-defined specimens of mounds of which the pioneers availed themselves when they needed earth or gravel. One of these is said to have been situated in the central part of Frankhu- ton ; another where the Ohio Penitentiary now stands, and several smaller ones immediately sonth of these on the west side of the river. Not a vestige or even a record of these works remains.
The next mentionable mound stands on high lands which forms the terrace of the Scioto, about two and a half miles northwest of the State Capitol. It is on the northern side of the river, and in such a favorable location that from its summit the whole southward sweep of bottom lands may be seen. It may have been due to this fact that local tradition has assigned to this mound the purpose of marking the head of the valley together with that of serving as a station for one of a chain of signals. Of all the mounds in Franklin County this is the best preserved. The owners of the land on which it stands have jealously guarded it, and to-day it exists in a state as nearly perfect as the lapse of time and the fret of the elements will permit. A symmetrical truncated cone, graced with trees of modern growth, it is and may always be an inviting mystery. It is twentyone feet in height, one hundred and eleven feet in diameter at the base, and fifty feet in diameter at the summit. Its present owner, Mr. William A. Pope, takes great pride in it, en- courages nature in covering its surface every season with a beautiful sod and care- fully preserves it from any kind of injury. Concerning this work Mr. Pope recently gave the writer some interesting information. In planting a tree at a due east point on its circumference, he discovered several large stones, which, with much regularity, were set at nearly a right angle from the slope, and adjacent to this curbing was a mass of hard burned clay. At another time, when digging a hole for a flagstaff which now rises from the summit of the mound, he noticed that the stratification was clearly defined, and, at a depth of about three feet, clay con- taining charred wood was reached. This is the extent of the exploration of the work yet made, but from these discoveries it may reasonably be inferred that extremely interesting revelations await further investigation. The portion of curbing unearthed would indicate that the mound has a continuous base protection of that kind, and the burned clay discovered may be part of one of the sacrificial altars so common to these works. The antiquity of this mound is indicated by the fact that several years ago Mr. Pope dng ont of it stumps of black walnut trees three feet in diameter.
On the second terrace of the river, a short distance north of the mound last described, is a smaller one which was recently explored by Mr. Pope. In it were found five skeletons which were undoubtedly of the later Indians. They were placed in a sitting posture, and were above the original level, a fact which disposes of any theory that they were remains of the ancient race. As the excavation was not complete, more important developments may reward a careful investigation. The mound was originally about ten feet in height, and possibly sixtyfive feet in diameter at the base.
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.
North west of these mounds, on the west side of the river, about a quarter of a mile from the locality which for nearly a century has been designated by the rather misleading name of " Marble Cliff," is a mound of about fifteen feet in height and eighty feet base diameter. It is on the Shrumm farm, and quite near the Dublin Pike. Although much overgrown with brush and trees, it is in a fair state of preservation, and has never been explored. The location is such as to justify the assumption that it could well have been utilized as a signal station.
About a mile and a half north of the work just mentioned, and on the same side of the river, are said to exist the cultivated remnants of two once pretentious mounds. The writer has not been able to locate these works and must therefore accept, on seemingly good authority, the assurance of their existence.
The mounds near Dublin have already been described in connection with the circles. These, so far as can be ascertained, conclude the list of mounds on the west side of the river. To the Pope Mound and its neighbor on the east side can be added the record of two remnants of ancient works, now nearly plowed away, on the Legg land, one mile north of Marble Cliff, and of another on the Davis farm, five miles north of the works last named. The Davis Mound stands on clear ground which has been cultivated for half a century, and is therefore much damaged. Its original dimensions probably measured fifteen feet in height and one hundred feet in base diameter. These are all the mounds of the most northerly Scioto group. Those of the Worthington work, and the ones attached to the embankment on the Cook farm have already been referred to, but concerning the first named some additional information can be given. The large mound which interrupts the southern wall of the enclosure remained untouched by ex- plorers for a long time, but early in the autumn of 1866, it was partially investi- gated by Mr. William McK. Heath, of Worthington, who, after much difficulty, obtained permission from the Vining family, who owned the land on which the works are situated, to explore these mounds and circles. From the Ohio State Jour- nal of October 1, 1866, the following account of the exploration is taken :
Mr. Heath ran a tunnel from eastward to centre, and sank a shaft from the top intersect- ing the tunnel, developing hundreds of fine beads, ashes, charcoal, etc., fragments of antique pottery, and remains of two skeletons, much decayed of course, surrounded on all sides by multitudinous layers and carvings of wood now decayed. The positions of the skeletons were nearly east and west. Mr. Heath was prevented from pushing his explorations further on account of want of time. He is confident that interesting developments await the explorer.
This account is introduced here because it has a decided bearing upon the ques- tion of classification of other mounds in Franklin County. In Ross County, where such mounds abound, explorers have had almost the same results as those obtained by Mr. Heath. The same traces of fire, the beads and shells, the pottery aud the human bones covered with vegetable mold, have been found in the more southern mounds. The evidence is therefore practically conclusive that the customs of the ancients who inhabited Franklin County territory were identical with those of the race which dwelt in other counties of the Scioto Valley. It may further be re- marked that Mr. Heath probably discovered all the articles of any consequence in the mound which he explored. From the fact, clearly established by many ex- plorations, that the altar in this class of mounds was usually in the line of the axis of the cone, or, if the mound was elliptical, then near its center, and on the
55
ANCIENT EARTHIWORKS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY.
original surface of the ground, we may reasonably infer that Mr. Henth exhausted the secrets of this work. So far as known no attempt has ever been made to ex- plore the small mound in the center of the enclosure.
Along the Whetstone is found a series of small mounds, one of which, on the Kenney farm, east side of the river, was originally fifteen feet high and seventy- five feet in diameter at the base but is now nearly extinet. It occupies a site on an elevated terrace from which a wide view of the bottom lands can be obtained. On the Coe farm, on the west side, is the remnant of another work which originally was ten feet in height and nearly seventy feet in diameter at the base. One mile north stands another which once may have been a distinct feature of the landscape, but is now of greatly diminished size. With the additional mention of a cache on the Wetmore land, a short distance south of Worthington, it may be said that the field of the Whetstone has been exhausted. This statement, however, depends upon the identity of the field to which some of the mounds situated immediately northeast of Worthington are assigned. The first of these is on the farm of G. J. White, one mile and a quarter north of Worthington and near a small run called the " Narrows." North of that, about half a mile, and within view from the C. C. C. & St. L. Railway, stands a mound which was originally about twelve feet in beight and seventy feet in diameter at the base. The first named is much smaller. Both have been considerably damaged by the cultivation of the land.
In going toward the northern central part of the county, we observe the first of the most northerly mounds on Alum Creek. It is situated on the Samuel farm, one mile west of Alum Creek, on the high land near the Westerville road. It has been greatly reduced by the plow, and no estimate of its original size can be made at this time.
Six miles, or thereabouts, to the southward from this work stands a mound oeenpying the high lands west of the creek. Its dimensions are small. Remains of a small mound once existed on the old Buttles farm two-thirds of a mile west of the creek, and about two and a half miles northeast of the geographical center of Columbus. The traces of this work are now so slight that they admit of no de- scription, brief or otherwise.
Until the last five years, a mound of fifteen feet in height and of a diameter of seventyfive feet at the base, stood on the crest of the creek's eastern terrace, about two hundred yards south of the present extension of Broad Street. Its excellence as a gravel bed led to its partial destruction, and now only a confused mass of earth remains from it. During its excavation a variety of relics were found, but prob- ably none of importance, since no record of them has been preserved.
The monnds along the northern portion of Big Walnut Creek next claim at- tention. Those found in the southern part of the county along this watercourse will be mentioned later.
One mile and a half north of Central College, in Blendon Township, on the west side of the creek, rises a mound the dimensions of which cannot be ascertained at this time. One mile south of Central College, and also on the west bank of the creek, is a small mound which constitutes a topographical feature of the farm of M. Dickey. For a long distance from that point southward no mounds are to be found, but finally, on the high land of the farm of A. Morrison, one-fourth of a mile north of the tracks of the Pau Handle Railway, on the east side of the creek, we
56
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.
encounter a mound of perhaps ten feet in height and eighty feet in diameter at the base. It has for some time been subjected to the work of the plow. To com- plete the record of the most northerly mounds of the Big Walnut, it is necessary to mention one which is situated on the land of W. Cornell, on the east side of the creek, about seven miles from Columbus. Although greatly marred by the exca- vation for the Old National Road, which cuts into its southern slope, enough of this work remains to show that it was originally symmetrical and of large dimensions. Probably it was thirty feet in height and two hundred feet in diameter at the base. No one seems to know whether it has ever been explored.
Rocky Fork, a tributary of the Big Walnut, flowing through Plain, Jefferson and a small part of Mifflin Townships, has several mounds along its Franklin County course. The most northerly of these works is on the Shull farm, in Jeffer- son Township, two miles northeast of Gahanna. It stands on the east side of the creek. This mound is elliptical in shape, its greatest dimensions (estimated) being three hundred feet long by two hundred feet wide and about forty feet in height. A small conical excrescence marks its summit. Trees of large size are growing upon this work.
One-half a mile east of Gahanna, on the western terrace of the creek, is found a large formation usually called the " Table Mound." This may or may not be an artificial work, the strong probability being that it is not, because it occupies an area of at least eight acres, and is decidedly unlike other products of the ancients. Being a slightly elevated plateau, it has a shape which perhaps justifies the name given it. A small mound is reported as having once occupied the crown of this plateau, but no vestige of it now remains. On the opposite bank of the creek, near the Table Mound, on the Dryer land, is a much-plowed over mound, which was originally fifteen feet in height and one hundred feet in diameter at the base.
Black Lick, another tributary of the Big Walnut, and a much larger stream than Rocky Fork, is bordered in Jefferson and Plain Townships by some mounds of great size. Three miles north of Black Lick Station, on the Pan Handle Railway, rises an immense mound on the farm of Amba Mann. Although no accurate measure- ments of this work have been taken, it is certainly thirty feet in height and over three hundred feet in diameter at the base. The cultivation of the land has some- what reduced its size, but in its present shape it is one of the largest ancient works in the county. It is rather oblong than circular in its form. One mile north of it, on the west side of Black Lick, stands a mound now about ten feet high and nearly one hundred feet in diameter at the base. A group of three mounds is found iu Plain Township on the Headley farm, almost due north of the works last described. One of the members of this group which immediately arrests the eye on account of its irregularity and great size, has been suspected of being a natural rather than an artificial work. Competent and trustworthy judges, however, have pronounced it a work of the moundbuilders which was probably left in an un- finished state. It is nearly forty feet in height and, by moderate estimate, three hundred feet in (its longest) diameter at the base. The second mound of this group is forty rods, or thereabouts, northeast of the one just mentioned, and was origi- nally very large, but has been nearly leveled down. The third mound of the group is about sixty rods south of the one last named, and is ten feet in height and
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