The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Part 22

Author: Warner, Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017

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The boundaries of Tuscarawas County are adapted to give completeness and uniformity to its physical features. It is distinctively the region of the valley of the Tuscarawas River. This stream has a total length of about eighty miles, fifty of which are embraced within the limits of the county that bears its name. Entering from the north, soon after it has attained sufficient size to bear with dignity the appellation river, the stream pursues a winding southerly direction, dividing the county by its meandering course into two parts of almost equal size. It makes its exit in the southwestern corner of the county, soon after having taken the westerly trend, which is continued until the river mingles its waters with those of the Walhonding, and thus forms the Muskingum. Tributaries which drain the surface of the county reach the river from either side. The most important of these are Sandy, One Leg and Stillwater Creek from the east, and Sugar Creek from the west. The latter has its source in Bucks Township, flows northward twenty miles till it almost reaches the border of the county, then, bending sharply to the southeast, crosses Franklin and Dover Townships, and reaches the river. The surface of the county is greatly diversified; the broad valley of the river, the more contracted bottom lands of its numerous tributaries, and the hills which rise in unbroken ranges beyond afford a rich and varied scenery. In general, the hills are high and steep, but in northern portions of the county they melt away into beautiful rolling fields.

The Tuscarawas Valley 120 years ago was a wilderness peopled by the Delaware nation, who were singularly fortunate in their possessions, for the

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valley abounded in everything that makes the hunting grounds of the Indian attractive. The plains were sparsely timbered, but in places the oak and the hickory grew, and groves of ash, chestnut and maple flourished comparatively free from underbrush. The river bottoms below were wilder, and contained a more luxurious growth. Bushes, yielding berries and fruit, were found in rich profusion, the tendrils of vines clasped the branches of tall trees, and beneath, tall matted grasses afforded abundant food for horse and deer. The river teemed with fish, and the forests were filled with all kinds of wild game. The climate of this region, as it then appeared, is thus described by Zeis- berger: The summer was hot, especially during July and August; the winter very mild; little frost occurred before January; throughout the winter were few bright days, and rain fell in great quantities; the grass of the river bot- toms remained green, and was found in full luxuriance by the end of March; with every variety of game, with fish and fowl, with vegetables, berries, plums and other wild fruit, the valley was a veritable paradise to the untu- tored savage. With its rich verdure, its capable soil and auspicious weather, it was the garden spot of the West, and the favorite haunt of the red man.

The fifty or more miles of the valley embraced within the limits of Tus- carawas County lay in the heart of the Delawares' territory. Its early capital, Tuscarawas, stood near the northern confines of the county, opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek. The valley was threaded with well-beaten trails, often traversed by bands of savages on hunting or predatory excursions. This beautiful valley came to the knowledge of the white explorer. Hunters and traders, penetrating far into the wilds of the red man's country, saw and described its wealth and beauty. Prisoners of war found captivity tolerable along its placid waters. When the hush of peace gave place to the storm of open warfare, plans for distant raids were here concocted and arranged. When the punishment of the savages was determined upon by the colonies, and Gen. Bouquet given the command of an invading army, his approach to the Tuscarawas Valley, in 1764, was witnessed with consternation and alarm. The Delawares abandoned their capital before his irresistible advance, and fled in terror down the river. Perceiving the folly of opposition, they readily acquiesced to his demands, and surrendered to him all the white captives who had been adopted in the tribe and were dwelling in their midst. A new cap- ital was founded at Gekelemnkpechunk, near the exit of the river from the county, where the thriving town of Newcomerstown now stands. When hostil- ities began between the colonies and England, at this capital the Indian warriors gathered and sat in council; here they smoked the pipe of peace, and har- angued in burning Indian eloquence; here they deliberated and decided questions of policy, involving war or peace with the border settlers. The region was familiar to surrounding tribes, who often sent embassies to the Delaware capital.

The Delawares had formerly occupied Western Pennsylvania, and there had come in contact with the zealous Moravian missionaries, who were aggressively engaged in propagating the Gospel among the natives of America. After their

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removal to the Tuscarawas Valley, an invitation was extended to the missionaries to engage in their work of evangelization in the heart of the Indian nation. Post and Heckewelder had attempted it here in 1762, but the outbreak of hostili. ties speedily brought their labors to a close. Ten years elapsed before Zeis- berger brought his Indian converts from Pennsylvania to the banks of Tusca. rawas. Pittsburgh, or Fort Pitt, was then on the extreme Indian frontier, or in fact, in the midst of the Indian country, but with intent to establish a per- manent field of labor which would be remote from the disturbing influence of a depraved civilization, Zeisberger and his co-laborers came with their Indian followers, seventy five miles beyond Fort Pitt to the wild solitudes of a valley which the feet of white men seldom trod. The wonderful success of the mis- sionaries in turning the bent of Indian disposition from passion to meditation and prayer, and in converting the hostile weapons of the savage into imple. ments of peace and husbandry, followed by calamities and ultimate destruc- tion, consequent upon the sanguinary border struggle during the Revolutionary war, forms one of the most tragic and thrilling chapters of that period.

Within a few miles of the mission villages and within the limits of Tus- carawas County, a fort was erected during the struggle for independence to check Indian ravages on the frontier. It was garrisoned, and was besieged by hostile warriors whose strategems accomplished the death of many gallant de- fenders of the fort. Though the soil of Tuscarawas County was remote from the American colonies and far from the settlements of white men, yet it wit- nessed more of the calamities of war than much of the land that was situated in the midst of that memorable struggle. No other portion of Ohio, perhaps, was more intimately associated with the stirring scenes of that eventful period. Thirty years later, when the conflict for independence was renewed with Great Britain, Tuscarawas County was still on the verge of civilization. The Indians were yet occupants of its soil, and at the breaking-out of hostilities many of them put on the war paint and joined the bands of hostile warriors. The early settlers, though near the border and often menaced by savage attacks, were fortunately never disturbed.

The earliest permanent settlement of the county is blended with the his- tory of the Indian missions. After the massacre of 1782, the cultivated fields in the valley relapsed into a state of wildness and produced only a rank growth of weeds and bushes until the missionaries returned in 1797 with the feeble remnant of faithful converts. The grants of land they had obtained from the Government were too large for their own use, and members of the Moravian Church were invited to emigrate from Pennsylvania and settle here. The first arrived in 1799. They were Germans and spoke the German language. The foothold that the people of this nationality thus obtained is still maintained, and it is probable that the German tongue is now as frequently used in this county as the English. The German Moravians for a few years composed al- most the entire white population. Their church is still well represented, and a few years ago no societies of the Moravian faith existed in the State of Ohio ex- cept those of l'uscarawas County. Other Teutonic sects followed; the Omish

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came early and settled on Sugar Creek, where their descendants still prosper, with spacious barns and well-filled granaries, and maintaining the plain, unique dress and the simple manners of their forefathers. The Tuscarawas Valley, tinged with a German cast by its first settlers, attracted others of the same race. They founded the Lutheran Church which is now one of the strongest denom- inations in the county. The Dunkards, or German Baptists, also with their peculiar rites, secured an early recognition among the religious sects, and at present constitute a wealthy and respected part of the population. The Men- nonnites, too, are found here. Most singular of them all are the Separatists of Zoar, whose quaint and quiet village in Lawrence Township has become a widely known resort for excursionists and pleasure seekers. The German em- igrants of a later date have peopled the rugged hills of the county and have dotted their various settlements with sanctuaries of the German Lutheran and the German Reformed persuasions.

Three-fourths of a century have passed away since Tuscarawas County was organized. It then had a population of perhaps 1,000; in 1810, including a large portion of what is now Carroll and Harrison Counties, it summed up over 3,000. To-day the population exceeds 40,000. The seventy-five years that have just closed have perhaps witnessed more changes, more rapid progress than will occur in an equal period hereafter. At its commencement, the old Indian trails and blazed paths through the woods were the only means of ingress and egress. After the earliest pioneers had by following these primitive high- ways, reached their future homes, a limited amount of traffic sprang up on the Tascarawas River. Its volume of water was then greater than now; corn was conveyed from settlement to settlement in canoes, and salt and crockery were paddled up the stream from Zanesville. Wagon roads were prepared slowly and with difficulty. It was a great event in the county when the Ohio Canal was constructed; the counties along its route were rapidly settled, land increased in value, and the production of grain for the Eastern market was stimulated to a high degree. Counties that were remote from a water-course of this kind did not feel the awakened activities experienced by the more fortunate. The canal period, too, has passed away, and the railroad taken its place in the freight and passenger traffic. No county in the State, with towns no larger, is so well supplied with railroads as Tuscarawas. Only three of its twenty-two town- ships are not pierced by the track of the iron horse. Three roads have been constructed and have commenced business during the years 1882-83. The min- eral wealth of the county has drawn them hither. Coal and iron ore, fire-clay and building stone, of superior quality and immense quantities, lie hidden beneath the surface, and are gradually brought from their hiding places and transported to the markets of the world. The wealth of the county is agricult- ural as well. The staple farm products are raised in greater quantities than in the average counties of the State. . Manufacturing is also carried on, espe- cially in iron work. The crude native ore is not all shipped beyond the limits of the county. Five blast furnaces have been erected and one is yet in opera- tion. Two rolling mills have been built, and both are now running at their

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full capacity, producing large quantities of iron. Combining the resources of a manufacturing, a mineral and an agricultural district, the advantages of Tus- carawas County will compare favorably with any in the State.

The Tuscarawas River in early times was known as the Muskingum. The Indians called it Mooskingum or "Elk's Eye." Maj. Robert Roger, who vis- ited it in 1760, called the river the Maskongam. The name Tuscarawas was ap- plied to the stream above its junction with the Walhonding at Coshocton, soon after the first settlers arrived. Of the origin of the word Tuscarawas, all ac- counts do not agree. The county was doubtless named from the river, and the river from the Indian capital which occupied the site of Bolivar, and was called Tuscarawas Town or Tuscarora. The name is said to have been de- rived from the Tuscarora tribe of Indians, a member of the Six Nations, some of whom had occupied this valley. The signification of Tuscarora is said to be "open mouth." Early historians make no mention of such occupancy. says Mitchener, and it is probable that Heckewelder gives the correct origin of the word; according to him Tuscarawas means "old town," and this was the name of the ancient Indian town, opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek.

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CHAPTER II.

TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.

HE topography of Tuscarawas County has been produced almost exclu- T sively by erosion. From the study of its geology, it is learned that the surface originally formed a plain on the southern slope of the water-shed, hav- ing a gentle inclination toward the south. In the lapse of ages, this plain has been deeply furrowed by the great line of drainage which traversed it, now known as the Tuscarawas River. The valley of this stream was originally cut to the depth of more than 700 feet below the highest lands of the county, and, though partially filled, it still exists as a broad and deep trough, more than 300 feet below the adjacent highlands. The tributaries of the Tus- carawas are quite numerous, and some of them are of considerable size, such as Sugar Creek, the Conotten and the Stillwater, and all of these, having deeply excavated their channels, have formed a network of valleys, which give great diversity to most of the surface. The relief or relative ele- vation of some portions of the county may be plainly seen by one, who, start- ing from New Philadelphia, will pass to a distance of ten miles either east or west. The town of New Philadelphia is located on a terrace, which reaches northward to Dover, and has an elevation of from forty to fifty feet above the bed of the Tuscarawas. This plateau is the old flood plain of the river, formed when it ran at a higher level than now. It is composed of gravel, as is shown by borings, and is the surface of the mass of drift that occupies the bottom of the old excavated valley. At Dover, the borings made for salt have shown that the rock bottom of the valley lies 175 feet below the present sur- face of the Tuscarawas. Hence the plains between Dover and New Philadel- phia are underlain by 200 feet of sand, gravel and bowlders, which have been filled into the old valley since the remote period when the continent stood higher; the drainage was freer than now, and the Tuscarawas flowed with a rapid stream far below its present bed.

The general topographical features may be gathered from the following altitudes:

Above Lake Erie, feet.

Bolivar ..

.327

Newcomerstown.

,220

Zoar Mills

.313

Uhrichsville (railroad). 230

Dover (canal). .300

Uhrichsville (top of hill) .580

Dover (railroad). 313

Mineral Point. 387

New Philadelphia (canal). 287

Tunnel (Cv & P. R. R.). .446

New Philadelphia (railroad depot). 331

Zoar Station. .. 314

New Castle (canal) 279

Zoar Station (top of hills). 600

Trenton (canal) 269

Mt. Tabor. 775

Guadenhütten (canal). 251

Port Washington.

244

Hill tops north of Port Washington .725

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In the northern part of Tuscarawas County, the rocky strata are somewhat covered with drift, especially in the valleys, but in all the central and southern portions of the county, the highlands are without drift, the slopes of the hills, ravines and roads showing the geological structure distinctly, and the soil is derived exclusively from the decomposition of the underlying rocks. This difference in the character of the surface deposits is also indicated by the ma- terial transported by the streams. Most of those which flow from the north bring down drift gravel and bowlders, and have sandy or gravelly bottoms; while those which flow into the Tuscarawas from the south, southeast and southwest, carry only the wash from the shales of the coal measures, and their valleys have clay bottoms.

The soil of Tuscarawas County, being for the most part of local origin, varies considerably in different localities, and in this respect lacks the unity displayed by the soils overlying the drift gravels of Stark County, and the drift clays of the Western Reserve; but the prevailing character of soil is that of the large territory lying within the coal basin and beyond the reach of the drift. The surface is rolling with rounded hills, separated by broad valleys from 100 to 300 feet lower than the hilltops. Though so much diversified, this surface is nowhere barren; the hills are frequently steep, but almost never broken, and are composed of layers of sandstone, shale, limestone, fire- clay, coal, etc., which furnishing material for the soil, impart fertility even to the highest summits. Hence it is not uncommon to see luxuriant crops of corn growing on the most elevated surfaces, and to find a prevailing product- iveness which is quite independent of the topography, and which is sure to excite the wonder of those who have formed their ideas of agriculture in regions where the valleys are fertile and the hills are barren.

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.

Tuscarawas County lies entirely in the coal area, and no rocks come to the surface within its limits except such as belong to the coal measures. These include all the lower groups of coal, with the exception of the lowest, and in no other county of the State, perhaps, is there a better exhibition of the lower coal measures. Many of the highest hills also include a portion of the bar. ren measures, but none rise high enough to reach the Pittsburgh seam (Coal No. 8), the first in ascending order of the upper series of coals.

Beginning with the lowest seam and ascending, it is proposed here to briefly note the various formations of coal, together with the accompanying geological strata of value or interest, including their distribution, character and local development.

Coal No. 1 .- The " Massillon" and lowest known seam has nowhere been opened in Tuscarawas County, nor has it been found of workable thickness in any borings. It is, however, very irregular in its distribution, and the limited number of explorations made deep enough to reach it cannot be said to have decided the question whether or not it should be considered as one of the pos . sible sources of wealth.

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There is little doubt that, if the base of the coal measures was fully ex- posed in this county, there would be found here, as in Stark and Holmes, a thin seam of coal, No. 2, lying from fifty to 100 feet above Coal No. 1. It is, however, rarely of workable thickness, and as almost nothing is known of its presence or importance in the county, it requires no further notice.

Coal No. 3 .- At a distance of about 150 feet above Coal No. 1 is found Coal No. 3, beneath the first of the two limestones, which run almost continu- ously around the margin of the coal basin, from the Pennsylvania line to the Ohio. The distance between these limestones varies from 30 to 100 feet. In Tuscarawas County, they are usually from fifty to eighty feet apart, and a bed of coal is generally found beneath each-sometimes immediately under it, sometimes separated from it by a few inches or feet of shale. It is only in the northern part of the county that Coal No. 3 and the Zoar limestone, which overlies it, are exposed, and here they may be seen in various localities. At Zoar Station, an arch in the strata raises this limestone higher than in any other part of the county. It is visible just at the station and at the point where the railroad strikes the river.

In this section, Coal No. 3 is not more than eighteen inches in thickness, and nowhere in the county, as far as known, is it workable. At the Dover salt well, the lower limestone was struck somewhat below the river, and at Trenton it is said to occur in the river bottom, with a thin seam of cannel beneath it.

Coal No. 3 a .- At Zoar Station, where a rock cutting was made along the ri er side, to form a track for the railroad, the upper, or Putnam Hill lime- stone, is seen just at the top of the cut, with a coal seam, No. 4, two feet in thickness just below it. Beneath the fire-clay of this seam lies a heavy bed of sandstone; under this, in some places, four or five feet of shale, then a coal seam three feet in thickness; below this, tire-clay and shale to the lower or Zoar limestone. The lower coal seam is No. 3 a. It lies just at the grade of the road, and was opened for a hundred yards in the excavation referred to above. Thence to Dover it runs nearly with the railroad level, and its out- crop may be seen at a number of localities. Its maximum thickness is about three feet; its quality poor, from its softness and the quantity of sulphur it contains. This is a local seam, not found much further north or west. It is, however, possibly the margin of a coal seam, which has its greatest develop- ment south and east, where it is deeply buried beneath overlying rocks.

Coal No. 4 is the " upper limestone coal," and generally lies immediately beneath the Putnam Hill, or gray limestone. In this county, it is of com- paratively little econom c value, but it lies at such a level as to be of great importance as a guide in searching for the upper coals. As the dip o all the rocks in the county is southward, nearly with the draining streams, it happens that the gray limestone lies at about the same relative level, just above drain- age, in the Tuscarawas Valley, all the way from the northeastern to the south - western corner o. the county. Hence, in all the hills bordering the main val- ley or its tributaries, it is generally easy to fix the place in the series of any

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stratum of coal exposed by referring it to the Putnam Hill I'mestone, and to Coal No. 4 as a known base.

This seam is traceable from Sandyville northward, up the valley of the Nimishillen and up the valley of the Sandy. Going south, it is seen with the accompanying limestone at Zoar, about fifty feet above the river; the coal is thin, and the limestone, as usual, from three to four feet thick. At Mineral Point, the coal lies below the railroad, and at Zoar Station fifty feet above. At Canal Dover, the limestone crops out on the hillside, between the Sugar Creek salt well and the mouth of the mine in Coal No. 5, which supplies the fuel for the salt works. At New Philadelphia, the limestone may be seen along the base of the hills east of the valley, but the coal is either thin or absent. In this road, from New Philadelphia to the Goshen salt wells, it becomes much thicker than usual, and more shaly, breaking up into thin plates, which, by exposure, lose their blue color, and become brown or yellow. Here, as elsewhere, it c ntains many fossil shells, among which may be mentioned chonetes mesoloba, spirifer cameratus, productus semi-reticulatus, athyris subtilita, spirifer lineatus, etc. In the valley of the Conotten, Coal No. 4 is found outcropping at the bas of the hills all the way fr m Scott's Mills to New Cumberland. At Trenton it lies some twenty feet above the railroad, and three miles below Port Washington, twenty feet above the canal.

The coal is exceedingly variable in thickness and quality. At Sandyville, it is from two to four feet in thickness, and of medium quality. At Kelley's Point, it is a good cannel coal, two and a half feet thick; near Mineral Point, it is one and a half to two feet thick, and bituminous; in the valley of the Conotten, three miles above its mouth, it is five feet thick, slaty and worthless; at Lock 17, it is one foot in thickness. In the Dennison well, it is reported to be five and a half feet thick; in the Uhrichsville well, seven feet. It exhibits a strong tendency to pass into cannel coal, and while in some places it may be of con- siderable local importance, it cannot be estimated as an important element in the resources of the county.

The Zoar and Putnam Hill limestone, which overlie Coal Nos. 3 and 4, are very variable in composition. Over the greater part of the county, both are fairly pure, but from the quantity of earthy matter and iron which they con- tain, they produce a brown lime when burned. This is unfit for the finishing coat of plastered walls, but it makes a good and strong mortar, for which pur- pose it is largely used. It is as valuable as any other for fertilizing, but it generally happens that in the region where this is most readily obtainable, the soil is already well supplied with calcareous matter, and naturally fertilized from the decomposition of the limestone strata in place. Lands that are deficient in this important ingredient will derive as much benefit from a dress- ing with the brown lime as any other.

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The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Part 22

Author: Warner, Beers & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1017

Author: Warner, Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017