Miscellaneous Papers Relating to Anthropology/Description of Mounds and Earthworks in Ash Land County, Ohio
DESCRIPTION OF MOUNDS AND EARTHWORKS IN ASH LAND COUNTY, OHIO.
By H. B. Case, of Loudonville, Ohio.
The accompanying map locates nearly all the mounds and earthworks in Ashland County, Ohio. Each one is indicated by a letter, and opposite the same letter in the text will be found a description of the work.
A.—This square inclosure with the gateway to the southwest is situated in section 36, Clear Creek Township, on the line between the northwest and southwest quarters of the section, upon land owned by John and Thomas Bryte. It is about 400 feet long by 200 feet wide, and has a gateway at the southwest corner near a very strong spring. In 1824 Mr. Bryte commenced to clear his farm. The embankment at that time was from 3 to 4 feet high and 10 feet wide at the base. Both the
B.—Two mounds stand upon a high natural elevation (90 feet) covering about 5 acres at the base, and being about 60 by 90 feet on the top, which is nearly flat. Each is 25 feet in diameter and 4 or 5 feet high. They are situated on the northeast quarter section 35, Clear Creek Township. At least one of them was explored as early as 1844, by Thomas Sprott and brother, who found a number of human skeletons in a kind of stone cist, upon which was almost a peck of red Indian paint. The bones were replaced.
C.—A circular inclosure containing 2 acres, more or less, is situated just north of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, and within the city limits of Ashland. The farm was formerly owned by Henry Gamble. In 1812-'15 the first settlers found embankments from 3 to 4 feet high, and from 8 to 10 feet wide at the base. A forest of oak, hickory, sugar, and ash grew upon and near this work. It overlooked the valley to the south and east, and had a gateway at the southwest opening near a fine spring. The site has been plowed for more than fifty years; and scarcely a trace of it remained in 1878.
D.—At this point is a circular inclosure located near the north line of the northeast quarter section 9, Mohican Township, one mile east of Jeromeville.
E, F.—On the farm of Nicholas Glenn are a mound and an earthwork. Information might be obtained from John Glenn, jr., or from William Gondy, an old settler, both of whom live at Jeromeville, Ohio. The works are about 2 miles southwest of Jeromeville.
G.—The Mohican town called Johnstown was located here. In the years 1808-'10 it contained Delawares, Mohegans, Mohawks, Mingos, and a few Senecas and Wyandots. Captain Pipe, a Wolf Indian, ruled the village until he left it, in 1812.
H.—This large circular inclosure and burial mound are situated in Wayne County, just south of the road leading from Lake Fork to Blatchleysville, and just east of the road leading from McZena to Blatchleysville. These remains are upon a high, gradual elevation overlooking a vast range of prairie, northeast and southeast, as well as the valleys westward. The circle is a little less than one-third of a mile in circumference. At present the embankments are from 1 to 2 feet in height. The area and embankment are covered by the forest growth, which is not older than 60 or 70 years, the Indians having burned this region annually until about 1812, for the purpose of hunting. Years ago the mound was opened by unknown persons. In 1876 the author visited it, and found that an animal had burrowed into it and brought out a fragment of skull, which is now in his possession. Some time after, Mr. Thomas Bushnell, of Hayesville, made excavations in the mound and found only bones, among which was a well-preserved skull. The mound is 25 or 30 feet in diameter and 4 feet in height.
I.—A small mound, 3 or 4 feet high and 15 feet in diameter, stands upon a very high hill, perhaps the highest land in the county, and is composed of stone and clay. It was excavated some years ago by Dr. Emerick and a Mr. Long, who are said to have found a skeleton in a kneeling or sitting posture, and a pipe, both near the center. The author was unable to learn what had become of the pipe. Messrs. H. B. Care and J. Freshwater made another examination in 1876, but found nothing. There is a large spring at the foot of the hill, on the east side, but it is nearly half a mile from the spring to the mound on the hill.
J.—This work is said to be located on the west side of the creek. The author has not visited the site.
K.—In 1876 the author, in company with Mr. J. Freshwater, made a slight examination of this mound. It is 25 or 30 feet high, oval in shape, and over 100 feet long. The citizens regarded it as an artificial mound, but we considered it a natural elevation of gravel drift. Excavations might change this view. The mound is located on the west side of the Lake Fork, and just north of the road and bridge leading from Mohican to McZena in Lake Township.
L.—A mound is situated on the lands of J. L. and Cyrus Quick, in Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio, It stands upon an eminence which slopes gradually for half a mile southward toward the bottom lands of the Lake Fork; northward and westward it declines a short distance to a small valley extending to the southwest. It is about 5 or 6 feet high, and 30 feet in diameter. Some trees were growing upon the mound when the author first visited it, some twenty-seven years ago. The trees were, perhaps, not of more than one hundred years' growth, but were as old as the trees in the immediate vicinity; not far from it, however, were oak trees 2 and 3 feet in diameter. The mound was excavated about 1820-'25 by Isaac and Thomas Quick, Daniel Priest, and others. It is said that, upon making a central excavation, they found a wooden puncheon cist, together with some human remains, and ornaments of muscle shell, which appeared to be strung around the neck. All the remains are reported to have crumbled away on being exposed to the air. It is difficult to ascertain the facts concerning this excavation. It has been said that some pottery was found also. Additional remains might be disclosed by further investigation. The persons who made the excavation are dead.
M.—This mound, located a little southwest of mound L, on the lower ground about half a mile from the same, was probably of an equal size originally, but, having been plowed for nearly fifty years, it is now spread over quite a space. It is, however, still discernible from a distance, and shows the elevation from the flat surface of the field. The yellow clay presents a contrast with the darker soil of the surrounding land. No excavation had been made until 1877, when the author, aided by Mr. Freshwater, removed about 4 square feet from the center. We found tough, tempered clay, some bits of charcoal, but no remains. This could not be regarded as an examination, being of so small a character. Further work on this mound might unearth interesting relics.
N.—A lake is situated a short distance east of mound M, on the farm of D. Kick, Washington Township, Holmes County, Ohio. In draining this pond a cache of flint implements was discovered. Specimens of these implements may be seen in the Smithsonian collection. The remainder are in the author's possession. (See Smithsonian Report of 1877, article by H. B. Case.)
O, P.—There are mounds southeast of Odels' Lake, upon the summit overlooking the lake, on the farm of J. Cannon. They were excavated by Dr. Boden, of Big Prairie, Ohio, who has in his possession some teeth, jaw bones, and long bones taken from them. He says that they should be further examined. The author has not visited the mounds.
Q.—A mound stands on the summit of Dow's Hill, one mile northeast of Loudonville, just east of the Holmes County line. It was excavated about 1855 by Dr. Myers, of Fort Wayne, and D. Rust, who found a skeleton near the center, whose structure is of stone and earth. The top has since been leveled by the plow. In 1876, Mr. Lucien Bust made some excavations upon the site of the mound, and great numbers of stone were removed. At length a kind of pot or cist was unearthed, which was about 18 inches in diameter and 8 or 9 inches deep. It was formed of stone, and the edge was covered by other stones which made a roof over the pot. The removal of this roof or top showed that the cist was filled with charcoal, apparently closed while glowing coals. About 4 feet below this charcoal deposit human remains were found, reposing horizontally. Near the left hand was a perforated stone having the figure of a bird, resembling slightly the pheasant, scratched upon it. A part of a bone implement was also found. The bone, which is of firmer texture than the human bones, and is perhaps a part of the leg-bone of a deer, had been perforated, evidently with a stone drill. Lying across this lower skeleton and some distance above it were the remains of another. But little of the mound has been excavated, and further examination should be made. From the mound the view of the surrounding country is very fine. The mound proper has been obliterated for some years, but the site can be observed by a slight elevation and the great number of stones scattered about and upon it. There must have been a kind of hollow made in the Waverly shale which lies near the surface upon the underlying Waverly sandstone, of which the hill is composed, because when one digs the same depth elsewhere on the hill the shaly sandstone is penetrated. The stone implement is in the possession of L. Rust, Loudonville; the bones, bone implement, and charcoal are in the author s cabinet.
R.—This mound, similar to mound Q, is situated just north of Loudonville, on the summit of Bald Knob. For a long time it was supposed by the citizens of Loudonville to have been formed by counterfeiters in former times. The author excavated it in 1877, and found it a veritable mound containing fragments of human bones and of charcoal. Being encased with large sandstones, and composed of stone and earth, it is very difficult to excavate. As there has been a central depression for a great many years, what remains the mound V contained of a perishable character have probably been destroyed by the collecting of water. This site also commands a fine view of the Black Fork Valley.
S.—The settlers of 1808-'09-'10 found here a village of Delawares, the remnant of a Turtle" tribe. Their chief was a white man, taken in infancy—Capt. Silas Armstrong. They removed to Piqua, Miami County, Ohio, in 1812, the site of the old burying-ground, now almost entirely obliterated by cultivation. It is located a few rods north of the Black Fork, upon a gentle eminence, in the southwest part of northeast quarter-section 18, Green Township. The southern portion of the site is still in woods, and the depressions that mark the graves are quite distinct. Henry Harkell and the author exhumed several of the skeletons in the summer of 1876. In some cases the remains were inclosed in a stone cist; in others small, rounded drift-bowlders were placed in order around the skeletons. The long bones were mostly well preserved. No perfect skull was obtained, nor were there any stone implements found in the graves. At the foot of one a clam shell was found. The graves are from 2½ to 3 feet deep, and the remains repose horizontally. A few relics, such as stone axes, arrow-heads, and a few bits of copper, have been picked up in the immediate vicinity. They are in the hands of the author. On the opposite side of the stream and some distance below, near the south line of southeast quarter section 18, Green Township, there are ancient fireplaces. They are about 15 inches below the present surface, and are formed of bowlders regularly laid. The earth is burned red. Great numbers of stones have fallen into the streams during its incursions upon the west bank. Some three or four of these fireplaces are yet plainly visible, but in a few years they will be swept away by the current. About half a mile east of the graves marked S is a small circular earthwork almost razed. It contained about 1½ acres, and had a gateway looking to the river, which is westward. It is situated upon the nearly level bottom land of the beautiful valley.
T.—Upon the high ridge separating the valleys of Black Fork and Honey Creek is a depression filled with large and small bowlders. J. Freshwater and the author removed them to some depth, but as the stones were heavy we desisted from further investigation. This point would command a view of the valley of the Black Fork, overlooking, as it does, the old village of Greentown; and by walking a few rods eastward on the same eminence a view of the valley of Honey Creek might be had. Most of the trees on this height are less than 100 years old. It may have been timberless during the occupation of this work. The excavation appears to have been about 15 feet in diameter.
U.—There is a stone mound, like mound B, situated on a lofty eminence overlooking the Black Fork Valley northwestward, and eastward the valley near Loudonville. The author has never seen the work, but it has been described to him as a small stone and earth mound such as are usually found on high points.
V.—A short distance northwest of mound W, on the farm of L. Oswald, southwest quarter section 18, in the woods, is a mound about 30 feet in diameter and from 4 to 6 feet high. It was slightly opened at the center by the owner of the lands, who found part of a skull.
W.—This mound and earthwork are located upon the old Parr farm, now owned by C. Byers, in the northwest part of southwest quarter section 19, Green Township. The mound stands on the west side of the Black Fork, within 2 or 3 rods of the stream. It was quite large originally, perhaps 8 or 10 feet high and 35 to 50 feet in diameter. At present it is from 4 to 6 feet above the level of the bottom land and is spread over a considerable space. When the first settlers came, there was an earthwork running a little southwest from the mound for some 20 rods, then back eastward to the river. The place has been under cultivation for forty or fifty years and the work is now obliterated. The mound was encased with a wall of sandstone bowlders as large as a man can lift.
These stones must have been carried from the hill half a mile west, where they are found in place. The wall was carefully laid, as can be seen by excavations below the depth of the plow where the pile is still intact. The mound was examined in 1816 by some persons named Slater, who found in it bones, flint implements, a pipe, and a copper wedge which they thought gold. Accordingly they took it to a silversmith at Wooster, Ohio, who told them that it was copper, and bought it from them for a trifle. In 1878 the mound was explored by J. Freshwater and the author. The center of the mound, where not disturbed by former excavations, resembles an altar or fire-place where the fire had burned the earth to a brick-red. In the ashes and burnt earth were fragments of arrow-heads broken by the heat. The fire had been kindled on the mound when it was from 2½ to 3 feet high. No human remains were discovered in this last excavation. A few scrapers were found, which are in the cabinets of the above-named gentlemen.
X.—On the summit of a hill west of Perryville, and to the right of the road leading to Newville, was a mound, now entirely obliterated. In 1816-'20 it was opened by the Slaters, who found a pipe, human remains, and some other relics.
Y.—A large oval earthwork on the summit of the ridge between the valleys of Black Fork and Clear Fork. It is 210 feet wide by 350 feet long. About the center of the inclosure was a large pile of stone bowlders, most of which have been removed to the level of the ground. There is, however, a visible outline of the stone-work, which consisted of a paved circular space. No excavation has been made in either the stone or clay work beyond 1 or 2 feet in depth; consequently the character of the mound is unknown. A forest, containing oak trees over 30 inches in diameter and other large trees, covers most of the work, but a portion extends into a field and has been almost razed by the plow.
Z.—On a high hill directly north of the junction of the Black Fork and the Clear Fork, and overlooking the same, is a stone and earth mound composed principally of large sandstones from the immediate vicinity. Some twenty or twenty-five years ago it was explored by unknown persons. The author examined it again in 1877, but discovered nothing. A similar mound is said to have been located upon the hill south of the Clear Fork, just below the junction of Pine Run. The stone were hauled away and the site plowed over. (See Za.)
Zb.—This is the site of Old Delaware village of Hell Town. It was deserted about 1782, the time of the massacre of Anaden Hutten. Graves were visible until two years ago; the field is now cleared and plowed. In the author's cabinet are two iron scalping-knives and an iron tomahawk which were thrown up by the plow; also the brass mountings of a gun, a gun-flint, a stone ax, and some arrow-heads. Dr. James Henderson, of Newville, Ohio, has in his possession several articles obtained from this site. The Indians formerly called their settlement Clear Town, and the stream Clear Fork; but learning the German word hell, for clear or bright, they changed the name to Hell Town.
Zc.—A rock shelter is located on the west side of Clear Fork, in the conglomerate sandstone of the Lower Carboniferous. It was explored in 1877 by L. Rust and the author, who found about 2 feet of ashes intermingled with a few animal bones and coprolites. No human remains were disclosed excepting a split bone, and even that is doubtful. The ashes continue deeper, and further examination might prove interesting.