The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 35

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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Bedded Rock-Niagara .- There are three distinct geological formations exposed, in Miami County, below the drift, belonging to era known as Silurian. The lower Silurian is seen at all exposures below the horizon of the base of the cliffs at Charlestown, and Col. Woodward's, at Tippecanoe. The rock composing the cliffs next to that just mentioned, is that known in geology as Clinton, called, often in the county, sandstone. The cliffs in Ludlow Creek are in the same form- ation. Next above the Clinton, and the only remaining bedded rock in the county, is that known as Niagara. The Niagara extends on a horizon throughout the county, from the upper parts of the abrupt cliffs mentioned, to the drift above. The falls and bluffs on Greenville Creek, near Covington, are in the Niagara. The upper surface of the Niagara is made uneven by the wearing away of portions of it by the action of the drift period. When it was formed, it extended over the entire county in a bed of a thickness, no doubt, much greater than the thickest portion which remains. How much of its original thickness was abraded by drift action, we have no means of ascertaining. But a small part remains of that which formerly existed. The water-courses have worn off both Niagara and Clinton. In some places all the Niagara is abraded, and the Clinton is the surface rock, as at all horizons below that of the top of the cliffs named as composed of Clinton. In other places the Niagara is but a few feet thick, as at the Piqua quarries. At Kerr's quarry, in the south, at those in Ludlow, Panther and Greenville Creeks, and at the lime-kilns, north of Clayton, the formation remains of considerable thickness.

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

The fragments of the upper beds of Niagara which escaped the denuding effects of the Drift period, are of a soft, porous rock, highly fossiliferous. This. portion of the formation makes building lime of the best quality. At Brant, in the south, and at Clayton, in the north, exposures of this upper portion of the. system remain, and a large quantity of lime has been manufactured and com- mands the highest price in the market. Practically, the quantity is sufficient for all demands likely to be made upon it. The lack of transportation hinders the development of the resources of the localities named for lime-making.

The quarried stone of this county comes mostly from the Niagara. I place the Piqua stone in the Niagara. I am aware that it is in lithological characters anomalous when compared with this formation as developed in this section. It is equally so with the Clinton. It is extremely local and lies, without any transi- tional strata, immediately upon undoubted Clinton. It may represent the trans- ition of Clinton to Niagara. Itis a finer grained, mostly sedimentary stone, without a large proportion of fossils. It probably thins out in all directions. It dresses extremely well, and is a stone of rare excellence. The Clinton underlies this stone, and has an uneven upper surface. This unevenness consists of mound-like elevations, sometimes twenty feet in diameter and four feet high in the center. Upon these little mounds, composed of species of branching corals, the Piqua stone lies, conforming to its unevenness of surface. I have spoken of the worn surface of this stone by the action of the drift. The drift has removed the Cov- ington type of stone from the top of this at Piqua.

Passing to the other quarries in the Niagara, for a connected view of the whole, with the subjacent formation, I refer the reader to sections at the end of this article, showing the thickness of the stone at several of the best exposures in the county.

The other exposures of the Niagara are those at the quarries at Covington, and at Kerr's, and at Ellis', on Ludlow Creek. Good building stone is obtained at all of these. At Kerr's and Covington, fine blocks are obtained, containing very large and fine specimens of Pentamerus oblongus ; trilobites of the species Calymene Blumenbachii occur frequently here. The quarry of Mr. Ellis, on Lud- low Creek, not many feet above the upper part of the Clinton, contains stone in its lowest part approximating more nearly to that of the Piqua quarries than any observed in the other quarries. I am inclined to believe it may be of the same age, and that it really lies lower than the lowest beds quarried at Covington.

Clinton Formation .- The horizon of this formation has been already indi- cated. Whether the Clinton rises somewhat to the north or not, I had not the instruments to ascertain. A plane drawn through the upper portions of the cliffs at Charlestown, Col. Woodward's, Milton, Ludlow Creek, and extending to the rock-bank of the Miami River, at Bogg's Mill, in the edge of Shelby County, would nearly show the upper limit of the Clinton. Whether this plane would be horizontal or not, remains to be ascertained. I shall mention the prin- cipal exposures of the Clinton. The cliffs referred to several times are in this formation ; the sections given will show its. thickness at the places named. The lime-kiln quarry of Mr. John Brown is in the Clinton. The lime burned at these kilns is very pure lime, strong and valued highly by paper- makers, who make use of lime to soften the straw used in the manufacture of paper ; at Mr. Rudell's, on the Tippecanoe and Carlisle road, and on the farm of Mr. J. H. Harter, north of Honey Creek, can be seen good exposures of the Clinton. On the roadside, at his gate, a very friable stone may be seen, called sandstone ; it is of a reddish color, and may be easily crumbled in the hand. On this farm are cliffs of the Clinton about fifteen feet in altitude.

On the farm of the Messrs. Nooks the Clinton has been quarried for their own use. Here a Syringopora coral was highly developed and some masses of Favistella stelleta. The quarrying has been carried to a depth of about fifteen feet, everywhere characteristic rock of this formation.

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

The highest locality, in Lost Creek, where the shale underlying the Clinton, can be seen, is in a ravine on Mr. John Lefevre's farm, below the old dam on the creek.

In all exposures observed, the lower strata of the Clinton are of a coarse and sandy nature. The characteristic unevenness of the bedding renders the quarry- ing of it difficult, and makes it necessary, before it can be used for masonry, to cut it on all sides. The lower strata are used for fire-stones and hearths, and endure the greatest heat of the ordinary fire-place, as lining stones, for many years.

At Mr. S. D. Green's, one mile east of Lost Creek, the Clinton appears about twenty feet above the bed of the creek, and attains a thickness of some thirty feet on his farm. While the lower exposures are composed, in a large measure, of fragments of encrinites, the upper is made up of various species of coral. At the highest exposure, on Mr. Green's farm, is a very good quality of stone for lime. Very fine specimens of Syringopora can be obtained in the old quarry, 88 well as of Halysites.

Between Troy and Piqua the new Troy hydraulic was cut for several hundred feet through the solid Clinton formation. Near this point the same stone may be seen exposed on the river bank.

The lime-quarries, on the south of Piqua, are in the Clinton. The lime has nearly the same properties as that burned in Mr. Brown's quarries. Here the Clinton seems to be but a mass of fossils, mostly corals of the genera Stromato- pora, Halysites, Favosites and Syringopora.

At the falls of Ludlow Creek, attempts were' made to open a quarry, a few years ago, to obtain building stone, particularly of a fine quality. It is called the " marble quarry." The stone is of a good quality, crystalline, even-grained lime- stone, which takes a fine polish ; but its hardness, and the frequent fractures and anevenness of strata, made it unprofitable as a business operation. I have given enough instances of the occurrence of this stone. Any one observing with care the horizon of each formation, and the character of the stone, can readily decide as to any exposure where it belongs.

The Blue Limestone of the Cincinnati Group .- I shall attempt to do nothing more than indicate the horizon of this group, and refer the reader to the volumes of these reports in which this formation is specially treated of.

The blue limestone comes in below the base of the Clinton. In some places heavy beds of shale intervene. It will be observed in the sections given, that various transitional strata exist between this formation and the next above. Whether these represent formations which are more distinctly developed in other localities, I do not undertake to decide.

The blue limestone may be regarded as practically, in this county, coming in next below the Clinton. The Clinton is succeeded downward by blue or red shales. These may be observed at the base of the Charlestown cliffs and then at Col. Woodward's. On the same line of cliffs, further south of the National road, the blue shale is manufactured into a good article of drain tile by Mr. Mark Allen. It is to be seen in the railroad cut north of Tippecanoe. On the Stillwater, near Milton, the same shale is seen at the base of the cliff, and on the east of the river on the hill-side opposite. From the horizon of these localities, all below belongs to the Cincinnati group. All the streams below this horizon cut through the upper strata of this group. The outcrop of the blue limestone must be looked for up all the streams, far enough above these localities to allow the rise to reach the horizon of the base of the cliffs.

SECTION AT KERR'S QUARRY.

Flinty courses overlying Springfield stone, containing Pentamerus oblongus and FT. characteristic corals ... 20 Niagara shales-covered 25

Clinton limestone-partially exposed. 58 Cincinnati group ..

40 Level of Miami & Erie Canal.

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

SECTION AT WOODWARD'S.

Clinton limestone-top of cliff, near residence-corals abundant in upper bed ...

85 Iron-stained limestone-firestone, called " sandstone," 6-inch course, fine- grained

Light blue clay. ( dividing strata between

Red shale.

Lower and Upper Silurian.

Blue shale, of Cincinnati group.

Blue limestone, of Cincinnati group, in solid layers.

15 Level of Miami River.

FALLS AT MILTON.

Clinton limestone, with characteristic fossils-Chatetes, Favorites, Halysites, etc. -layers often iron-stained-encrinal.

.. 20

Cincinnati group-blue shale and limestone, containing Orthis occidentalis, Orthis biforata, and other characteristic fossils. 18 Unseen at this locality ..

55 Level of Stillwater River.

PRAIRIES.

One of the attractive features of this county in a very early day were the various tracts of land, devoid of timber, called prairies. We venture the opinion that these did not arise from natural causes, but that, long prior to the advent of white settlements, the forests in these localities had been cut off by the Indians, for the purpose of raising maize; and the fact that they were found by the whites covered with growing corn, confirms this opinion. The different expeditions of Clarke, Harmer and others, destroyed vast amounts of corn raised by the Indians on these so-called prairies. Prairies are formed by dynamical causes, as explained by geological conformations, and, though we have not examined these localities, we do not understand them to be the result of any such agency, but, on the con- trary, wholly the result of the agency of man. We take our description from Dr. A. Coleman. Beginning at the south side of the county, we will first mention Freeman's Prairie, which was named after Samuel Freeman, who entered a portion of it. It is about two miles southeast from Tippecanoe, opposite the mouth of Honey Creek, west of the river, in Monroe Township. It is said there were some two or three hundred acres ready for the plow, which was utilized by the early set- tlers, on the east side of the river. The second, about two miles north, on the east side of the river, in Staunton Township. was called Gerard's Prairie, for Judge John Gerard, who was one of the first white men to cultivate it. The next was called Gahagan's Prairie, located in Concord Township, below Troy, directly oppo- site the old village of Staunton, or the original "Dutch station" of 1798. The last two were largely cultivated by the first settlers of the above station, and yielded them a bountiful support for themselves and animals. The fourth was a small tract situated in the bend of the river, now embraced within the corporate limits of Piqua. The fifth was in Washington Township, west of the river, begin- ning three miles north of the city of Piqua, with the farm of Col. Johnston and James Johnston, and extending two or three miles northeast to the mouth of Lor- aimie Creek, and was known as Johnston's Prairie, after Col. Johnston. All these prairies were subject to overflow except the last, which was called "second bottom," and was rolling. Being high and free from inundation, it was the favorite resort of the Indians, and many of their densely populated villages were located here. The Indian Piqua towns were located here, which were invaded by the Kentuck- ians ; this was the dwelling-place of the ancient Twigtwees ; here were many bat- tles fought, many war-dances celebrated, many feasts, scalp-dances, torturings and all other characteristic scenes and features incident to Indian savage life. Here, too, Tecumseh, when a boy, swam in the Miami River and shot at a mark with his tiny bow. In addition to those already enumerated, we may mention two on Still- water, one near the county line in Union Township, the other in Newton Township,

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

known as Williams' Prairie, named from Michael Williams, who settled on it in 1800 or 1801. While these latter were much smaller than those previously men- tioned, they were utilized by the early settlers in the same way, and were a great advantage to them in furnishing products to sustain them while clearing out and improving their new homes.

PLUM THICKETS.

One peculiar feature of these prairies was the existence of plum thickets, covering their borders and in clumps over their entire area. Gerard's Prairie especially abounded with them. They were a source of some benefit to the early settlers, in the direction of a rather delicious fruit, which was of various colors and quality-yellow, red, and occasionally purple. Some were of large size, and, though thick-skinned, were very palatable. The yield was abundant, continuing to the year 1825 or later, when the curculio destroyed the fruit, and the trees, being no longer of any benefit, were cut down.

OLD FORTIFICATION AT PIQUA.

On Wednesday, March 21, 1823, an expedition, under the care of Major S. H. Long, left Columbus, its ultimate object being the source of the St. Peter's River. Passing through Piqua on its route, the expedition remained a few days for the purpose of surveying the old fortifications in this locality, a graphic description of which we here reproduce in the author's language : "Piqua is a small incorpo- rated town, situated on the west bank of the Miami River, and on a spot which appears to have been the site of a numerous Indian population. The river is nav- igable for keel boats a few miles above the town, during half the year. The town is built in a semi-circular bend of the river, so that its streets, which are rectilinear, and parallel to the chord of the arc, are terminated at both ends by the water. The spot is one of the most advantageous in the country for a large population ; the situation is very fine for defense against aggressors; and we find that, with their accustomed discrimination, the Indians had made this one of their principal seats. The remains of their works are very interesting, and being, as we believe, as yet undescribed, we surveyed them with such means as were at our disposal. They consist, for the most part, of circular parapets, the elevation of which varies at present from three to five or six feet, but which bear evident marks of having been at one time much higher ; many of them are found in the neighborhood of the town, and several of them in the town itself. The plow passes every year over some parts of these works, and will probably continue to unite its leveling influ- ence with that of time to obliterate the last remains of a people, who, judging from the monuments it has left behind, must have been far more advanced in civilization than the Indians who were found there a century or two ago, and of whom a few may still be seen occasionally roving about the spot where their fathers met in council. We observed one elliptic, and five circular works, two of which are on the east bank of the river, the others are on the west. The ground appears, in all cases, to have been taken from the inside, which forms a ditch in the interior ; its depth cannot, of course, be ascertained at present, as it is in a great measure filled up, but it must have been considerable. The area within the ditch, probably retained the level of the surrounding country. The parapet may have been from three to four feet wide, but from slow decay it appears much wider. The first which we visited is situated at about a quarter of a mile to the southwest of the town and half a mile westward to the river. It appears to have been the most important of all, and forms, as it were, the center round which the others are disposed. Its form is circular ; its diameter is about one hundred and fifty feet ; it has a gateway from eight to ten feet wide, which faces the river. Immediately connected, and in close contact with it, to the south-southeast, there is a small circular work, the parapet of which is considerably higher ; its diameter is about forty feet ; it has no gateway or open- ing whatsoever. It has generally been considered as intended for a look-out post, but this opinion appears incorrect, from the circumstance that it is not raised high

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enough for this purpose ; that its size is much greater than what would be required for a mere post of observation ; and, finally, that its construction essentially differs from that which is recorded by Mr. Atwater and other observers, as belonging to such posts of observation.

"There is nothing to support this opinion but its situation, which is in the most elevated part of the plain. We, however, think it more probable that it was considered as a stronghold which should be resorted to in the last extremity. This opinion accounts for all the characters which we observe about it. Its situation near the main fort at the center of the works ; its smaller dimensions, which, while they would admit a considerable force, would permit it to be defended more easily than the extensive works with which it is connected ; the height and thickness of its parapet-confirm this belief. The circumstance of there being no gateway, is an additional proof for us, that it was intended to be used, like the citadel of a modern fortress, as the last spot in which the remnants of a defeated army might be con- centrated in order to make a decisive stand against their aggressors.

" Proceeding in a direction south sixty-five degrees east from the first work, at a distance of about 760 feet, we find another fortification, which, like the former, is partly situated in a plowed field, but which passes also over a by-road. In this old work, the white man has built his barns, stables, etc., and appears anxious to hurry on the destruction of what would, if uninjured by him, have withstood the assaults of time. The parapet of the fort is not quite so elevated as that of the former ; its dimensions are larger, being about 225 feet in diameter ; it has a gate- way fronting that in the first fort, and similar to it. If any covered way existed by which these two works were connected, it has disappeared, no trace of it being at present visible. Taking again the first fort as a center, and proceeding from it in a course north eighty-five degrees east, we find another circular inclosure, distant 750 feet from the first, and about 540 feet in a northerly course from the second ; its parapets are higher than those of the other two ; its diameter is about 150 feet ; it is provided with a gateway fronting that of the first fort. Between the second and third forts, and near the bank of the river, there are remains of a water-way, formerly connected, as we suppose, with the third fort. These remains consist of a ditch dug down to the edge of the river ; the earth from the same having been thrown up principally on the south side, or that which fronts down the river; the breadth between the two parapets is wider near the water than some distance from it, so that it may have been used either for the purpose of offering a safe passage down the river, or as a sort of harbor, in which canoes might be drawn up, or, perhaps, as is most probable, it was intended to serve both pur- poses. This water-way resembles, in some respects, that found near Marietta, but its dimensions are smaller. The remains of this work are at present very incon- siderable, and are fast wasting away, as the road which runs along the bank of the river intersects it, and, in the making of it, the parapet has been leveled and the ditch filled up. This is much to be regretted, as this work, if it could be seen in its perfect state, would, perhaps, discover the motive which led to the erection of these fortifications, the attacks against which they were intended to provide, and the means with which the resistance was to be effected. But the largest of the works on the western banks still remains to be noticed. This is an elliptical construction of great eccentricity, its conjugate and transverse diameters measur- ing 83 and 295 feet; it is situated 600 feet in a direction north forty degrees east from the first fort; its transverse axis extends nearly east and west ; we observed no gateways. This work is almost effaced ; its parapet does not rise quite one foot above the ground. We crossed the river in a canoe and landed at the foot of a very steep hill, about 100 feet high. On the top of this hill, remains of a fort, in a very good state of preservation, are to be seen ; it lies in a direction north sixty degrees east from the first fort which we visited, and is 123 feet in diameter. It is placed on a very commanding position on the brow of the hill, which has, unfortunately, been partially washed away, and has carried down with it about one-fourth of the work. There is at present but one gateway visible, which is on

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the east side, and is about six or eight feet wide. This part of the works is one of the most interesting, it having, as yet, received no injury from the hands of man. It is covered with trees of a very large size. Upon the top of the parapet we found the trunk of a tree, which had evidently grown long after the rampart had been constructed, and probably much after it had ceased to be the theater of bloodshed and of assault.

"The interior part of the trunk was very much decayed, but we counted 250 concentric layers, in what appeared to be less than the outer half, whence we con- cluded that this tree was certainly upward of five-hundred years old at the time it was cut down. These works all bear the impress of a very remote antiquity. In some cases, trees of very large size are seen growing upon the trunks of still larger trees. We have, as we conceive, no data to enable us to refer to them any definite date ; but we are well warranted, from all their characters, in assigning to them an antiquity of upward of 1,000 years. At about fifty rods to the north- northwest of the last-mentioned work, there is another which is circular, and of a much larger size. It has two gateways, one fronting east and the other west. We did not see this last, but we are indebted to some of the inhabitants of Piqua for a description of it. About these forts there are, as might be expected, many Indian arrow-heads, and other remains to be found. Those which we saw present, however, nothing peculiar. We observed both the war and peace arrow-head, or that which is used in hunting, and which is distinguished from the war arrow- head by the absence of the acute shoulder with which the war arrow is always provided, in order to cause it to remain in the wound, from which it cannot be extricated without much danger and pain to the patient ; whereas, that used in hunting, is such that it can be withdrawn without difficulty. For the same reason, while the latter is attached to the arrow-head very firmly, the war-head adheres to it but imperfectly, so that, after it has entered into the body, if the arrow be withdrawn, the head remains buried in the flesh. Among other things found near these fortifications, was a piece of broken pottery, which was considered as of Indian manufacture ; but, upon examining it closely, we immediately recognized it to be a fragment of a small earthen crucible, and, from its appearance, we believe it to be of French manufacture, as it resembles more the French than the German crucibles. Taking this into consideration, and bearing in mind that the first French settlers in this country were constantly looking out for ores of gold, silver, etc., we entertain no doubt that this, instead of being of Indian manufacture, is & fragment of a crucible, probably imported from France, and used in some docimastic experiment.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 35

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051