Crawford County, Ohio - Chapter 1: Primitive Geology - Physical Features 01, 1881

Chapter 1: Primitive Geology - Physical Features 01

THERE is nothing within the scope of human attainments more beneficial and enchanting to mankind, than to loolc bade through the mists and shadows of past years to the morning of creation, and to trace through the lapse of time the numberless achievements of the genius of man. How strangely real and ominous have been the quiet whispers of prophecy from departed years, and how the radiant figure of the Future has ever stood beckoning with fairy hands to the world from the fleeting shadows of coming years, with the glad promise of Peace on earth, good will toward men ! " Out from the gloom of the past, troop the sorrowing specters of desolate and utterly ruined lives, and wander away in loneliness before the visions of the mind, like the shadows of a dream. From the dark depths of ages, long since dead, there comes the warning voice of a sad experience, directing human life and endeavor to fountains of joy far sweeter than ambrosial streams in the happ}- islands of the West. Thrice blessed is the man whose depth and purity of heart and mind enable him to see and enjoy the beautiful in nature, literature or art. The archaeologist wanders with patient step through storm and sunshine in distant lands, searching with mingled pleas- ure and toil for crumbling mementoes of prehistoric man. The soldier, following his flag on the red field of war, recalls the courage of the Trojan during the Heroic Age, and emulates his dai-ing in the heat of battle. The orator, glowing with the inspiration of eloquence, loves to dwell upon the grandeur of Oriental nations. The tireless sculptor meets his conception of artistic genius in the sublime marble of Phidias or Praxiteles. The genius of the mathematician is delighted, though baffled, by the profound problems of Euclid and Archimedes. The Christian looks back with joy over the toiling years to the pensive vales and winding streams of Judea, and the simple storj' of the lowly Nazarene cheers many a weary heart with the glad promise of eternal life. The gray-haired philosopher looks with mingled awe and pleasure upon the profound logic of the Peripatetics. The song of the poet, immeasurably beautiful and sweet, is but the glad refrain of the divine measure sung by the bards in Eastern climes, long years before the earth was vexed with the sublime spectacle of a crucified Savior, looking in pity upon the world He was dying to redeem. There is not a legend or poetic tale coming to us from the distant shore of the Dead Sea

Past that does not bear to the children of men some sweet lesson of social or moral excellence. It is the province of history to gather and record the events from which these beautiful lessons and morals are derived.

Since the dawn of intelligence, no field of research has been more fruitful in affording bountiful evidences of the origin of animate and inanimate creation than the testimony of the rocky structure of the earth and the knowledge of the natural laws which control the movements of the universe. Written indelibly on the bright page of nature, is the wonderful progress of evolution from the simplest combination of eflects to the sublime mechanism that guides the circling spheres. The heavenly bodies are everywhere found to be moving under the guidance and control of immutable laws, many of which have been discovered by the efforts of astronomers and mathematicians. It seems proper, before entering upon the detailed geolog}^ of Crawford County, to give a brief explanation of what is known as the nebular hypotlitsis, a beautiful theory framed by Laplace, and one that is now generally accepted. This theory supposes the substance composing all the heavenly bodies, including the earth, to have been diffused in a gaseous or nebular state throughout all space, and that, in revolving and cooling through periods of time, whose length cannot be computed, it gradually threw off vast portions, in obedience to universal physical laws. These vast portions, intensel}' hot and revolving with frightful rapidity, slowly cooled and contracted, throwing off, in turn, other vast portions, which, by a similar process, formed the present solar systems. So many circumstances connected with the movements of the celestial bodies point to the truth of the hypothesis, that but few scientific men at present question its correctness. To harmonize with the prevailing theory, there must be found the logical effects inevitably resulting from the relations of matter and law, as laid down in the terms of the hypothesis. According to the theory, the sun was once an incandescent sphere whose radius extended from the sun's center to an indefinite distance beyond the planet Neptune. The earth was a portion of this inconceivably vast body, and all the composing elements - liquids and solids - were in the form of nebulce, and were heated to a degree unknown to present physicists. As this ponderous body, sweeping onward through space with inconceivable velocity, and on an orbit whose measurement bewilders thought, slowly cooled, there was thrown off, from the outer surface of its equatorial region, a belt, which finally broke, and gathered itself into a ball, still retaining its circular motion around the central body, and gaining a new one on its axis. This body was Neptune, and, in a similar manner, all tlie planets of our solar system, except the satellites, are supposed to have been cast off from the great central body. The planets, when first cast off, were immensely large and in an incandescent state. They, therefore, in turn, while cooling, threw off other portions, which formed the satellites or moons of the planets. The earth, though first extending be3'ond the orbit of the moon, subsequently threw off that body, and afterward cooled to its present size and condition of temperature. It is interesting to know at wliat stage of the cooling process the conditions of the constituent elements became such as to form the various compounds, such as air, water, minerals, animal and vegetable life, etc. A crust of rocks glowing with heat was formed upon the surface of the earth. Air and water appeared, and oxygen and hydrogen began forming their wonderful combinations. The earth must have presented a beautiful scene when the sixty-five simple elements began to unite. The thin, rocky crust was broken by incessant volcanic eruptions, and storms of fiery lava lighted the darkness of primeval night with lurid fiame. Water, rising in the form of vapor to vast heights, became condensed, and swejjt in great storms of wind and lightning along the surface of the earth, and precipitated on the red-hot rocks beneath, onlj* to hiss and boil, and again rise as vapor to loftj' aerial heights. Slowlj- the rocks cooled, and the water could finally rest upon the surface without boiling. The air was saturated with vapor, which continued to rise under the combined heat of the sun above and the earth beneath. After a time, though the air was hot and poisonous, the water became fitted for the simpler forms of animal and vegetable life. Geologists have bestowed the name Azoic upon those rocks which were formed prior to the appearance of life upon the earth, except, perhaps, the lowest forms. From the Azoic Age to the present, innumerable species of animals and plants have sprung into existence, and lived as long as the conditions under which life was possible remained, after which they became extinct, new and improved varieties taking their place. Tbe casts of fossiliferous plants taken from the rocks indicate that vegetable life began with the simplest forms, such as algiB and lichens. Afterward, at different periods, came liver-worts, mosses, ferns, ground-pines, conifers, cycads, sigillarias, endogens and finally angiosperms. Vegetation reached its greatest perfection during the Carboniferous Age, when the conditions of heat and moisture were suitable for the luxuriant growth of timber, which was afterward transformed into inexhaustible beds of coal. Fossiliferous casts indicate that animal life began with the lowest protozoans. Afterward came radiates, mollusks, articulates and vertebrates, ending with man, the highest type of all earthly life. These facts are reasonably conclusive from the language written indelibly on the rocky formations of the earth. If the surface were level, it would be covered with water ; but since, among other causes, lateral pressure and volcanic eruptions have elevated portions and lowered others, the area of water is confined to the low land. That almost or quite all the surface was at some time or times under water, is not disclaimed by any man familiar with geological evidences. The soil, wherever examined and at whatever depth, is found to exhibit unmistakable indications of having been covered with water. There is scarcely a square yard of earth, stratified or unstratified, that does not contain the casts of vegetation and of animals whose life was possible only beneath the water. By carefully comparing the casts found in strata of rocks in diflerent parts of the globe, reasonably accurate conclusions are reached regarding the time when the different species of animals and plants existed, and when the various strata were formed. Strata of rock were formed by layers of the heated interior of the earth becoming cooled and cohering to the under surface of the solid crust, b}' streams of melted lava which overspread the country in the neighborhood of volcanoes, and by the more universal process of deposition while covered with water. During the irregular and comparatively frequent upheavals and subsidences, the surface became covered with alternate growths of vegetation and strata of sand, clay or solid rock. Thus it is that, in digging wells or other deep excavations, those materials are passed through in strata which vary in thickness and relative position.*

The lower strata of earth in Ohio were first formed, as shown by excavations in different parts of the State, near the commencement of the Lower Silurian, but it was subsequent!}', during the Devonian and Carboniferous Ages that almost all the valuable beds of limestone sandstone and coal, were deposited. Near tiie close of the Carboniferous Age, the Alleghany Mountains were raised from the ocean, and all the area of countrj- l3"ing between the Mississippi and the Atlantic was raised above tlie water, and was never afterward submerged. This ac-

-ThB historian is indebted to Prof. N. H. Winchell, in tho Geological Survey of Ohio, for much of the material contaiued iu tbe following pages.

counts for the fact that, with the exception of a small area in the southern part of the State, no representative formations of the Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous or Tertiary sj'stems, appear in Ohio. During the Quaternar}' Age, large quantities of sand, gravel, clay and bowlders, were transported from Northern localities, and deposited over almost the entire surface of the State, often hundreds of feet in depth. Since that period, the only changes made in the surface soil have been constant erosion and disintegration through the agenc}' of alternate heat and cold and varying degrees of moisture, together with the change made by the addition of large quantities of vegetation in various stages of decay. This is the condition of the present soil.

" Crawford County lies north from the center of the State, aud about midway between that point and Lake Erie. It is bounded north by Seneca and Huron, east by Richland, south by Blorrow and JIarion, and west by Wyandot, and has an area of about eleven Congressional towns, situated so as to give it nearly the form of a square. Its total area of taxable land is 250,- 491 acres, of which 123,649 are arable ; 59,871 meadow and pasture lands, and 66,971 uncultivated or woodland. The average value, exclusive of buildings, is $.31.15 per acre, and the valuation of real property, exempt from taxation, is $454,213.

" The county lies on the summit of the great water-shed, embracing the head-waters of some of the principal rivers of the State, that leave it in opposite directions. In the northeastern corner of the county are a few small tributaries, that join the Huron River in a northerly direction. Those of the Scioto and Olentangy, have a general southwesterly direction, until they are well off the water-shed and on the southern slope. The upper waters of the Sandusky River, including its tributaries, the S3'camore Creek, Cass Run and Broken Sword Creek, have a noticeable flow southwestwardly and westwardly, along the direction of the general water-shed, until they are outside of the limits of- the county ; thej- then turn nearly' at right angles northwesterly and unite with that river. The streams are generally small, yet large enough to afford, in favorable situations, ample water-power for flouring and manufactures. The flatness of the county, generally, except in the eastern tier of towns, is unfavorable for the production of water-powers. The rivers rarely strike the bed-rock, and hence, rarely have water-falls or rapids, that can be so utilized.

" A general division of the county may be made into three nearly equal belts, running north and south. The most easterly of these belts may be described as rolling and stony, with frequent gravel beds and bowlders ; yet in the townships of A^ernou and Jackson, the surface is decidedly flat. The streams throughout this belt have greatly increased the original unevenness of the drift surface, and in some cases their channels are dug, not only through the drift, but also into the rock, to the depth of forty or sixty feet. At the quarry of James Morrow, Jackson Township, the banks of the Sandusk}- have a height of sixty -eight feet, six inches, rising abruptly from the water with a further ascent of ten feet, within a few rods. Thirty-five feet of this excavation is in the Berea grit of the Waverly sandstone. Under this stone is a shale, probably belonging to the Bedford, which is not bituminous. Tlie second, or middle belt, affords a strong contrast to the last, being usually quite flat. It is very distinctly marked off bj' a series of knobs or gravellj- hills pertaining to the Drift. East of this roiling upland, the surface is apt to continue more or less broken, producing the features already describad, while toward the west, the surface becomes verj- soon a monotonous flat, with a tough and heavy clay soil. This distinction is ver}' marked in the central and southern portions of the county. In the northern, its uniformity is disturbed by the influence of a series of ridges which intersect it ; and the whole northern portion of the second belt, as in the vicinity of New Washington and Annapolis, is undulating, with a gravell3' clay soil. This middle belt is underlain by the black slate and the shale beds above and below it. The streams in this middle belt, though deeply cut in the drift, very rarelj' expose the underlying rock. The third belt lies along the west side of the countj-, and is about co-extensive with the area underlain by the upper member of the corniferous limestone. The surface here varies from flat to undulating. In the southern part of the county, it is flat and marshy. Extensive prairies prevail in Dallas and Whetstone Townships. But the northern portion of this belt is more broken, and characterized bj- broad surface swells or ridges, which cross the belt obliquely. The features of these three belts seem to be coincident with, and doubtless are dependent on the nature of, the underlying rock. They are all confined to the surface deposits. If these deposits were brought about bj^ a uniform force, acting equally on all parts of the county, such as submergence beneath the ocean, the character of the underlying rock would produce no effect on the distribution and character of the drift, especially in a county so level as Crawford is. The force, whatever it was, must hence have been something that came some way in contact with the rock, in order to receive different impressions from it.

" As has alreadj' been remarked, the uniformity of the characters of these belts is interrupted by a series of ridges, equally pertaining to the Drift, which cross them in a direction northeast and southwest. A verj- prominent ridgo of drift materials enters the count} from Wyandot County, in Section 1, Todd Township, and runs along the north side of Broken Sword Creek, serving in Crawford Countj*, as in Wyandot, as a barrier to the westward flow of that stream to the valley of the Sandusk}-, driving it far to the southwest before it is able to pass it. The farm and residence of J. A. Klink, Section 6, Liberty Township, are located upon it. This ridge of drift can be traced, with some interruptions, as far as the Indiana State line. It has been named the Wabash Ridge, from the Wabash River, which is diverted over fortj^ miles from its course. In Crawford Countj', the drift accumulations belonging to this ridge are not alwaj's heaped up in one ridge, but are spread out into a succession of ridges, having the same direction and made up of similar materials. This is particularly noticeable nortli from Bucyrus, in the township of Chatfield. This series of parallel ridges crosses the northern portion of Todd and Holmes Townships. In Cranberry Township, as it enters upon the rolling tract due to the underlying Waverly sandstone, it becomes confused, and cannot certainly be identified. It lies on the north side of the water-shed of the State, and pertains to the Lake Erie Valley.

" The soil of Crawford County varies according to the prevalence of one or the other of the foregoing varieties of surface. In the e.istern belt, it is generally gravellj', with some patches of tough clay. In the central belt, it is generally clayey, and needs artificial drainage. In the western belt, it is a clayey soil, but shows more gravel than in the central. The soil of the ridges above described is sufficiently gravelly, and the surface is sufficiently sloping, to admit of perfect natural drainage. The prairie patches, situated in diflerent parts of the county, are sometimes untillable by reason of poor drainage. The soil is here made up largely of organic matters in process of decay. The countj' originallj" was mostlj- covered with a deciduous forest. The prairies, even in Dallas and Whetstone Townships, have some small oaks and hickories scattered through them on knolls of coarser drift that rise above the common plat. The following-named varieties of timber were observed in the county, although the list cannot be regarded as complete . White oak, pin oak, swamp white oak, chestnut oak, chinquapin, red oak, beech, cottonwood, sugar maple, black cherry, butternut, black walnut, shagbark hickory, tulip tree, pepperidge, buckeye, white ash, swamp maple, sassafras, basswood, sycamore, ironwood, blue beech, honey locust, elm, aspen, willow, thorn, chestnut, mulberry, papaw, wild apple, wild plum, sumac, flowering dogwood, wahoo, hackberrj', prickly ash and black haw.

" The strike of the rock formations is north and south across the count}-, the dip being toward the east. The rocks of the county pertain to the Devonian and Carboniferous ages, and may be enumerated as follows, in descending order :

"The Cu3'ahoga shale and sandstone have not been certainly identified by outcrops in Crawford County, but most probably underlie the flat land in the eastern part of Vernon, Jackson and Polk Townships.

"The Berea grit is the most important member of the AVaverly group. Its line of outcrop is marked by a series of quarries which crosses the eastern tier of townships, the most important of which are located in Jackson and Polk Townships. Beginning in Auburn Township, the most northerly outcrop of the Berea within Crawford County is on Section 28, where it is found along a little creek on Samuel Hilburn's land and at the highway bridge. It also occurs near De Kalb, in Vernon Township, on the land of James Coruthers. Slight exposures occur also on Section 19, along a small creek on the land of Barnet Cole and Adam Freeze. It may also be seen on the land of James Campbell and Jacob Myers. In Section 36, Sandusky Township, it is exposed in a ravine on the farms of David Wirtz and Fred Beech. In Jackson Township, northeast quarter of Section 1, is James Morrow's quarry, a section of which is as follows :

This quarry is one of the oldest in the county. The quarries at Leesville are about a mile north of the railroad station, and in the blufls of the Sandusky. Those of John Bippus have been constantly worked for thirty or forty years. Others at Leesville are owned bj- John Haller and John Newman. J. W. Shumaker has also opened a quarry on his land. Mr. Bippus' quarry, near the highway bridge at Leesville. is on the same horizon as that of James Morrow. The exposure is something less, and as follows, in descending order :

The beds have a slight dip eastward. Mr. Haller's quarry has about twelve feet exposed. The upper six feet are in beds of six or eight inches. Tiie rest is like the upper part of BipiHis', and on the same horizon. Mr. Newman's quarry is in stone about the same as Bippus', without exposing the heavy beds. On the southeast quarter of Section 2, Polk Township, Thomas Park's quarry is located just at the point where the river, the two railroads and

" The quarry of Asa Hosford is situated on tiie northwest quarter of Section 1, Polk Township, and shows about twenty-five feet of sandstone on the same horizon as Mr. Park's. Below the sandstone, Mr. Park encounters, ace irding to his description, a loose, sand3- bed, of a few feet in thickness, and of a blue color, before reaching the Bedford shale. Some of the quarries in the Berea, in Crawford County, show a conglomeratic, or even a coarse-grained, composition. The stone is rather a homogeneous and moderately fine-grained sandstone. Its thickness seems to be no more than thirty-flve or forty feet. It graduates upward into a shaly and thin-bedded sandstone, that probably belongs to the Cuyahoga division of the Waverly.

" At Leesville, the Berea grit is underlain by a copper-colored and bluish shale, the colors of which vary in their positions. The coppercolored, or red shale, lies first under the sandstone, the horizontality of which is not disturbed, and the color is gray, or light blue, weathering to an ashen blue. This shale may be seen a few rods above Mr. Bippus' quarry, on the left bank of the Sandusky, exposing about fourteen feet. The shale appears to protrude upward. TLw exact manner of superposition of the sandstf)ne cannot be seen, but, judging from the horizontality of the sandstone beds, where they re-appear a few rods higher up the river, and also on the other bank, nearly opposite, the shale looks like an isolated or lenticular mass - at least, that its upper side is unconformable with the sandstone beds. The thickness of the Bedford shale cannot be stated. Its identity [with the shale at Mr. Bippus' quarry is also somewhat doubtful, although its horizon is exactly that of the Bippus shale. This fact, taken in connection with the occurrence of red shale below the stone at Mr. Morrow's quarry. Section 1, Jackson, is strong presumptive evidence of the continuance of the Bedford as far, at least, as Crawford County. It is also slightly exposed on the creek, on the northeast (juarter of Section 2, Polk Township, near the highwaj- bridge.

identification of that member of the Waverly group, known as the Cleveland shale, is not as satisfactory as desirable. Yet there are two exposures of a black, or purplish-black, shale in the county, that cannot, apparently, be referred to the great black slate of the Devonian. At James Morrow's quarry, the sandstone is underlain by thirty-three and one-half feet of shale. Near the bottom of the sandstone, this shale is red. In the bed of the river, thirty feet lower, it is a bluish black. It is supposed that about twenty feet of this belongs to the Bedford, and the remainder to the Cleveland, although the junction of the two has not been seen. Similar shale is exposed on the farm of Mrs. Steinbach, on the southeast quarter of Section 12, Jackson Township, in the bank of the Sandusky. When it is wet it is black, but when dry it becomes slate-colored. It crumbles under the weather into pieces no larger than an inch across, and usually less than half an inch, and a quarter of an inch or less in thickness. It shows here a very slight dip east, and is exposed to the amount of twenty feet. This must be slightly below the horizon, exposed in the river at Mr. Morrow's, and will give as the observed thickness of the Cleveland in the county, about thirty-three feet. Careful search for fossils in the outcrop on Mrs. Steinbach's farm aflforded none.

" Below the Cleveland shale there is a considerable thickness of gray material that has been named Erie shale. Although this shale has not been observed in outcrop at l)ut one place in the county, it is believed to occupy a belt of flat land, intervening between the out- cropping edge of the Cleveland shale and that of the black slate. It was struck in a well at twenty-eight feet, b}' John Shumaker, on the northeast quarter of Section 26, Polk Township. Pieces thrown out of this well have a somewhat firm and rock-like aspect. It glitters in the sun as if with minute scales of mica, and is speckled as if with coal.

" The Huron shale occupies a belt about six or eight miles wide, running north and south across the center of the count}-. The city of Bucyrus is just within its western edge. It underlies portions of Chatfield and Cranberry and all of Liberty and Whetstone Townships. Although it maj' be called a conspicuous geological horizon, yet not an exposure of it is known to occur in Crawford Count}'. It is met with sometimes within the area mentioned in drilling wells, and its presence is then evinced by the offensive odor of the water obtained, or b}' the escape of inflammable gas. In general, wherever the Huron shale underlies the drift, there is a belt of sulphur springs and gas wells. Such sulphur springs occur at Annapolis, and in the vicinity of New Washington. At the latter place wells dug to the rock emitted a gas, which accidentally took fire and caused considerable alarm by the violence of the flame. They were immediately filled by the owners. On Joseph Knisely's land. Section 26, Sandusky Township, is an unusual assemblage of natural gas springs. The gas accompanies the rising water, and is sufficient to serve for illumination, for which it was used for some years. The gas is also continually escaping into the air from areas of ground having an extent of several rods square, giving the soil the appearance of having passed through fire, and preventing grass and other vegetation from growing. An elaborate description of the Knisely Springs will be found in the history of Sandusky Township, accompanying this work.

thirty feet of a bluish and more sectile shale, containing less bituminous matter. It sometimes is inter-stratified through its whole perpendicular extent with bituminous beds, like those of the Huron shale. It has afforded no fossils, but holds occasional thin beds of impure blue limestone. It lies on the top of the blue limestone quarried in the western part of the county. It is not visible in Crawford County.

" The name corniferous limestone has been applied to the limestone intervening between the foregoing shales and the Oriskany stone that forms the base of the Devonian. It is distinctly' divisible, on palseontological and lithological differences, into two parts, the upper part embracing the ' blue limestone,' which shows some relation to the Hamilton, and the lower part embracing the lighter-colored and dolomitic limestones of the Upper Helderberg of the Mississippi basin. The}' are both well represented and favorably exposed in the western part of Crawfijrd County. The former is about thirty-five feet thick. In Crawford County, the exposures of the limestones are mostly confined to the Broken Sword Creek. Beginning in Section 18, Holmes Township, the upper corniferous appears first on the land of S. F. Sawyer, where it has been worked a little. It makes a floor-like bed to the creek, rising but few inches above the water along the banks. Beds are three to five inches thick, containing casts of shells and numerous crinoidal stems. C. K. Stevens has opened a quarry on the next ' eighty ' south. About four feet of hard blue limestone can here be made out, although much of the quarry is subject to inundations b}' the creek, showing a decided dip to the northeast. The stone is in beds of about four inches, varying below that thickness, making a good flagstone. Some of it is harsh on weathering, altiiough plainly argillaceous and sometimes with vermicular or fucoidal markings. It is also liable to be slialy, or slaty, irregularly ; lenticular flakes cleave ofT. It has distinct purel}- calcareous bauds of sedimentation. It contains Cyrtia Harailtonensis and a species of Tentaculites. It also holds casts of large coiled cephalopods. Its general facies is that of a firm limestone, nearlj- free from magnesia, but containing ironj-, bituminous and argillaceous impurities. The next quany in descending the stream is that of Christian Reifl". in bed? of the Upper Corniferous, stone undistinguishable from the foregoing. The quarry of Perry Wilson is opposite that of Nicholas Poole, on the southeast quarter of Section 24. The stone here is the same, essentially, as that at Stevens' ; but is undoubtedly in a lower horizon, exposed six or eight feet. The Bucyrus corporation owns a quarry here in the same beds of the Upper Corniferous. The Upper Corniferous also occurs on Edward Cooper's land on th3 northwest quarter of Section 33, Liberty Township. It is but little opened and cannot be seen ui situ, although there is no doubt of its being so. The pieces that have been taken out are thin and fossiliferous, spirifer mucronatus being the most noticeable fossil. Although the stone so far as explored here, appears rather slat}^, it would probably become thicker and very useful for common building, on reaching the undisturbed bedding. The situation of this outcrop demonstrates either a wide detour westward of the boundary line separating the geographical areas of the Corniferous and overlying shale, or an isolated area of Corniferous surrounded by the shale, since it is sufficiently certain that the l3lack slate underlies the city of Bucyrus. Un the other hand, the Bucyrus area of black slate may be an outlier onlj-, surrounded on all sides by the underlying limestone. Besides the places above mentioned, there are many indications of the occurrence of the Upper Corniferous in the bank of the Sandusky, on the southeast quarter of Section 24, in Dallas Township, on the land of Mr. McNeal. A little below Mr. McNeal's, in the same section, flat stone, answering to the Upper Corniferous, was taken out of the bed of the Sandusky in small quantities, about twelve years since, on land now owned by James Echart. The Lower Corniferous is also exposed in the Broken Sword Creek, and at Benton, in the Sycamore Creek. At the latter place it is worked a little b^' Benjamin Kuntzman and JIartin Stoertzer. It may be seen, more or less, in the bed of the creek between Benton and the county line. Throughout this distance the exposures are so meager, owing to the prevalence of the drift, that the rock cannot be seen except where the water actually runs, and no reliable section can be obtained. It is a coarse-grained, dirty fossiliferous and magnesian limestone, with considerable bituminous matter, in beds var3-ing from six to twent}' inches in thickness, suitable for abutments and heavy walls. Near Osceola the Lower Corniferous is considerably exposed, and is quarried for general building stone and for quicldime. The following quarries are in the Lower Corniferous at this place : Those of John Schnavely, David Schnavely, Widow Schnavely, Luther M. Myers, Dennis Coder, Gotleib Doerer and Joseph B. Christie. Of these, John Schnavely's and Mrs. Schnavely's are in the upper portion of the Lower Corniferous, the principal fossils of which are bracLiiopods. The stone is light colored and crystalline, appearing somewhat saccharoidal, in beds of about three inches. The lime made is nearly white, but slightly creamy. The quarries of i^Iessrs. Myers, Coder, Doerer and Christie, are in lower beds. The stone of these quarries, when fossiliferous, is characterized by a profusion of corals, with very few brachiopods. It is bituminous, and also magnesian, harsh to the touch, appearing often much like a sandstone. It is a much darker colored stone than that of Schnavel3-'s quarry-, but the lime made from it is equally white. Large portions of the stone are perfectly free from bituminous impurities. Such are especially the comi>act coral masses which make a purely white lime. At Mr. Myers, quarry these corals are especially displayed, making the stone very irregular, both as to color and bedding. Although the thickness of the beds is usually from two to four inches, they are quite loose and often lenticular. Thick films and scales of black bituminous matter spread through it, giving rise to various local designations for the diiferent portions of the quarry. In some places the bituminous matter is evenly disseminated through the beds, making the whole appear darker, even to a brown ; in others, it is gathered into scales, films and pockets, which, combined with the occurrence of the different corals, produces a very uneven and unattractive stone.

" The most common aspect of the Drift deposits in the county is that of a gravellj' claj-, elsewhere designated hard-pan. This clay not only embraces gravel-stones, but also bowlders of all sizes, and has an average thickness of thirt}' to fifty feet. Along streams, and in all valleys of erosion, even where no streams now exist, the bowlders belonging in this hard-pan are made to appear superficial by the removal by running water of the clayey ingredients. Occasional exposures of the drift in fresh sections reveal, not only a confused mingling of clay, stones and bowlders, but also, in some portions, an oblique stratification and perfect assortment of gravel and sand. Such stratified beds pertain, for the most part, to the upper portion of the drift, and specially prevail in the eastern or sandstone district ; they give rise to springs of ferriferous water, and furnish that of a great many wells. As has already been remarked, the drift of Crawford County lies in ridges crossing the northern and central portions of the county. These are believed to be due to the temporary halting of the margin of the ice-field, when it occupied successively those positions. These ridges are all situated so near each other, and sometimes become so involved with each other, that they seem to pertain to one system, or to one greater moraine ridge. Indeed, thej' are not generally separable, but are heaped together in one ridge, that which lies along the northwest side of Broken Sword Creek. The color of the drift is blue, except where it is oxidized or stained by iron. The blue color may be seen in railroad cuts, as on Sections 3 and 4, Vernon, and near New Washington ; but generally it is replaced by a yellowish-brown, or rarely, by a reddish or irony brown, as in the northeastern part of Auburn Township, to the depth of about fifteen feet, depending on its porosity or facility for absorbing water and air. No glacial marks have been seen in the county. At Leesville, in the southern part of Section 7, Jackson Township, is a long and prominent ridge of gravel, popularlj' denominated a "hog's back." The gravel ridge has been in use for about twenty years, during which time thousands of carloads have been taken away for the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad ; but the part which still remains rises forty feet above the surrounding level. A former spur from this, known as the "Cleveland Hill," rose twenty feet higher, but it has been entirely removed. This gravel ridge is a little over half a mile long, and runs nearly north and south, or a trifle east of south. The "Cleveland Hill" tended more easterly along the southern extremity. The main line lies on the observed line of super-position of the Berea grit over the Bedford shale. The soft shale is in outcrop along the banks of the Sanduskj' River, on Section 12, within a quarter of a mile of the ridge, and the sandstone is extensively wrought about half a mile east of the ridge. This ridge is not bordered on both sides by low, swampy belts, as several others have been observed to be, at least it is not on the eastern side. On the west side there is more low ground, but the Sandusky River and a ravine tributary to it, have somewhat broken up its

" The gravel of the ridge embraces a great many bowlders about the size of eighteen inches in diameter, some also much larger. The conjunction of a gi'avel ridge pertaining to the Drift with the line of outcrop of two formations, the one hard and tlie other soft, seems to indicate that, whatever the cause was, it was

''The following list of wells will give some idea, both of the thickness of the Drift deposit, and of the quality of water found in different parts of the county. The list is selected from different parts of the county, in order that the character of water may be known, and to show the soluble chemical elements that prevail in the three principal geological belts extending I north and south across the counlj'.

Owner'S Name Through Wuat

bottoms. Good water. Sulphurous water. Good water. Good water. Good water. Good water. Good water. Gas ; filled again. Gas and water; filled again. Good water; In gravel. Good water. Good water. Good water. Good water. Artesian.

" Crawford County is also well supplied with ! building-stone, and with limestone for quicklime. The quarries in the townships of Holmes and Todd not only furnish stone for building throughout a wide circuit of country, but also produce a large quantity of quicklime, which is shipped from Nevada, in Wyandot County, by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. The following proximate statements of the annual product of these quarries in quicklime were obtained from the owners :

"The retail price on the ground is about 20 cents per bushel. It is delivered in wholesale quantity at Nevada for 18 cents. If the aggregate production sells for 18 cents, the revenue amounts to about $18,000 per year. All the kilns used at Osceola are of the old style, requiring to be empted entirely before second use. By this method, there is a loss of wood and of labor. The following tabular view shows the amount of wood required per hundred bushels, at some of the quarries, and the weight of the lime per bushel, as nearly as can be ascertained :

Name Formation

" In the southeastern part of the county, the quarries in the Berea grit have been wrought for about forty years, and have become celebrated throughout a wide extent of country for the excellence of the building-stone which they afford. Stone from Berea is, on close comparison, seen to be of a coarser grain and less firm than that taken from beds of the same horizon in the central counties of the State. The limestone sold at the quarries in the western part of the county brings about $1 a perch, or $5 a cord. The sandstone taken out in the eastern part of the county brings a better price. The best sells for $2 a perch, while other grades bring but $1.50 and $1. A cheaper quality is sold for 50 cents per load. Flagging sells for from 6 to 20 cents per square foot ; a thin kind of walling stone for 50 cents per load.

" For brick and common red pottery, the Drift clays are considerably used. These clays afford in all places a very fine material for these uses.

There is probably not a square mile within the count}^ where such clay could not be obtained. In the progress of examination, the clay has been found peculiai-ly suitable for tile and brick, of which large quantities are manufactured in almost every township in the county. Large quantities are made. at Bucyrus, from a light clay loam, which contains no gravel, and of which inexhaustible supplies are found in the creek bottoms. The brick made are of a dark red color, showing no evidence of lime when broken.

" The eastern portion of the county-, especially the rolling strip of land that characterizes the line of junction between the Berea grit and the Bedford shale, is well supplied with gravel and sand. These knolls are largely made up of stratified gravel and sand, mingled with Northern bowlders. One of the oldest gravel pits in the countj^ is that nearLeesville. Hundreds of car and wagon loads are taken from it annuallj', and the siipplj- will not fail for many years to come. The pit also affords large numbers of Northern bowlders of all sizes, averaging about eighteen inches in diameter. Large quantities of excellent sand, deposited in beds, or banks, on the Sandusky, in the southern part of Liberty Township, furnish Bucyrus and all the surrounding country with an abundant supply for building purposes. Several deposits of sand and gravel were also noted in the flat and more clayey portions of the county ; but here they are much more rare and also more valuable. One occurs on Nathan Cooper's land, in the bank of the Sandusky, on the southwest quarter of Section 32, Libertj- Township. Scattered at irregular intervals over the county, are found these gravel beds, many of which graduate into a fine sand, not only suitable for rough walls, but for the finer portions of masonic work. The county is well supplied with sandstone, limestone, sand, clay and gravel."

There are, within the limits of the county, several depressed portions of land, or] basins, which, before clearings were made or sluices dug, were covered with water during the year. Having been in that damp condition, very likely for centuries, they became covered to the depth of several feet with a vegetable mixture of leaves, twigs, and the root and stock of the marsh-moss. Sphagniun. in an imperfect state of decomposition. Peat beds are usually largely composed of this moss, which has the property of slowly dying at the extremities of the roots. It grows in the mud and muck of wet land, and finally accumulates a deep bed of its decaying roots. The peat or other basins also contain large quantities of decaying vegetation, washed in by periodical floods, and contiibuting to the peat accumulation. In the large marsh in Cranberry Township there are found, in some places, beds of decomposing vegetation to the depth of several feet, although the peat thus formed is impure, and contains large quantities of earthy ingredients. Within the memory of middle-aged people, the marsh was almost impenetrable, except when frozen, on account of the water and mud, and, although many portions are yet wet and impassable, extensive and costly systems of drainage promise a speedy preparation of these rich alluvial basins for cultivation. The peat in this marsh when dry will readily burn, and occasionally catches fire, burning until extinguished by rain or otherwise. Owing to its impurity and meagerness, however, and an abundance of cheaper and better fuel, the peat is not likely to become utilized in this respect.

The principal feature of this marsh in early years was the prevalence of cranberries, which grew there in great abundance. The berry is a member of the Heath Family, and is known to botanists as Oxyeoccus macrocarpus. The plant is a creeper, or trailer, with slender, hardy, woody stems, and small evergreen leaves, more or less white underneath, with single flowers, borne on slender, erect pedicles, and having a pale rose corolla. The berries, which get ripe in autumn, are red, with some yellow, and are ver}' acid. The stems are from one to three feet long, and the flowers are lateral, rendering easy the gathering of the berries. Hundreds of bushels grew annually in this marsh when the county was first settled, and from information obtaineil from the Indian tribes, they gathered the berries for many j'ears before the appearance of white men, conveying them on ponies to cities in Eastern and Northern Ohio, and even to those in Pennsylvania and New York. Cranberry gathering was an important industry to the early settler, as it furnished him an annual revenue, proportioned to his energy. With the price of $3 or S-t per bushel, a cranberry marsh could be made profitable at present, as it is done in several localities farther east. But thu conditions for the possible life of the plant have been removed, or altered, and cranberries, with insignificant exceptions, no longer grow in the county. They also previouslj' grew in the Bear Marsh, in northern Sandusky, on the wet land in Southern Vernon, and on other low lands in the county, but not in suflicient quantity to become available or valuable to the citizens. In Southern Huron Count3^ was an extensive cranberry marsh, a portion of which, comprising about 300 acres, lay in northern Auburn Township. This furnished large quantities of berries, and was visited annually by scores of citizens for miles around. The marsh also contained peat, although not as pure nor as deep as that in Cranberry Township. Sluices and trenches have been dug to convey the standing water into Honej' Creek or its branches, and the marsh is now quite dry, and in a few years will be cultivated. In the margins of these marshes and other depressions in the county is found an impure bog iron ore, although not in sufficient quantity to become of economic value. While no effort has been made to extract the iron, yet the ore has been dug and used for roads and private walks.

It is in Crawford County that the vast prairies prevailing in Western States are first made manifest. A large one, about thirty miles long, and having an average width of five or six miles, begins in northeastern Whetstone Township, extending south westwardly across Bucyrus and Dallas Townships, far down into Marion County. This large section of country was named " Sandusky Plains " by the Indians, from its proximity to the river of that name. Why this land was not covered with a heavy forest like the country surrounding it, is difficult to explain. The character of the soil seems to indicate that the plains were covered with water, or were at least wet, after the surrounding country had become dry. This is shown by the fact, among others, that the soil contains more decaying vegetation, and is more largely alluvial than in other townships in the countj'. These facts also imply that the plains were somewhat depressed, and were silt basins, in which were collected the washings of the surrounding soil. So far as examined, the drift and washed soil of the plains is deeper than in other portions of the county. The drift is not found distributed at about the same depth over the plains, but occurs in knolls and embankments, scattered at irregular intervals over the surface. These knolls were about the only portions covered with timber when the settlers first appeared. The other portions, notwithstanding their exposure to the heat of the sun, were quite wet, and covered with a rank growth of weeds, sedges and coarse grass. The growth of the timber in comparatively late years, was no doubt prevented, in a measure, by destructive fires, which swept over the plains annually, destroying the young trees, and extending far enough into the surrounding timber to prevent its encroachment on the prairie. It is likely, also, that the character of the soil had something to do with the non-appearance of the timber. The plains are frequently crossed with uneven belts of woodland, dividing their extent into a succession of prairies. Since the country has become well settled, and the surrounding timber has been largely cut away to make room for the farms, and since rapidly-growing varieties of trees have been planted in groves upon everj' farm, the prairie can be scarcely distinguished from other portions of the county. The soil of the plains is well adapted for the growth of corn ; much better than other portions of the county less alluvial in nature. A dearth of bowlders and other surface stones on the plains is noticeable, and the gravel and sand beds occur less frequently than in surrounding localities.

Its elevated situation and proximity to Lake Erie give to Crawford County a fine, healthy climate. The rigor of winter is modified, as is also the heat of summer. From meteorological tables, it is ascertained that the isothermal line passing through Crawford County reaches one of its points of highest latitude in the county, showing a temperature corresponding to that In other localities about 100 miles south. A great difference is noticed in the Michigan Peninsula, where the temperature in the center of the State corresponds with that in Northern Indiana. Palmetto, and other timber growing in the warm climate of the Southern States, has been found in Northern Ohio, near Lake Erie, and far up into Michigan, giving unmistakable proof of the mildness of the climate, even if other proof were lacking. The climate near these bodies of water is less subject to great and sudden extremes of heat and cold than countrj- farther removed from such water. The mildness and salubritj- are undoubtedly due to the proximity of the lakes, which temper the cold of winter and the heat of summer. Physicists account for this phenomenon by the statement that large bodies of water during the summer absorb the heat poured b}' radiation into the atmosphere from the heated land near the water, and that, during the winter, the water slowly parts with its latent heat accumulated in hot weather. Crawford County shares, in a measure, the mildness of climate due to the j modifying influence of the lakes. Although the count}' is somewhat removed from the lake shore, yet thermometers show a comparatively equable temperature. The uniformity of the climate, however, is not so perfect as in counties bordering on the lake. A failure to record meteorological phenomena in the county prevents an accurate knowledge of the state of the weather in past years.

The mean temperature for the winter months at Urbana is 28.75°, while that for the summer is 71.11°, giving a mean for the whole time, with observations taken during six months of each j'ear, of 50^. It will also be seen that the greatest cold recorded was 17° below zero, and the greatest heat 95° above the same point.

It will be observed from the above table that the means, except in the last column, are for the entire month during the year at the left ; and also, that those in the last column are for the three winter months during each year, while the figures below each column of means give the total for the whole time from a quiuquen - nial statement. The following table for the summer months diu'ing the same years is obtained from the same report as the above :f

The observations for both of the above tables were made at Urbana, Ohio, with an ordinarj' thermometer. It will be noticed that the mean temperature for each month during the nine .years given is quite uniform, varying but little through the lapse of nearly half a century. The uniformity of the temperature nearer the lakes is more noticeable, and does not show as great a divergence between winter and summer as is shown by the tables above.

The elevated situation of the county, on the " backbone " of Ohio, is favorable for an observance of the direction, force and velocity of the wind. The healthfulness of any locality is largely dependent upon the purity and force of the wind ; and, since observations have established the fact that the motion of the air may be ascertained for from six to forty-eight hours in advance, the knowledge becomes of great value in serving to prevent loss of life and propertj' in all parts of the country, and especially so on the lakes and oceans. Hence it is that extensive signal systems have been devised and put in operation on the shores of all the great lakes and on every sea coast. From measurements made by different railroad companies in the county, Bucyrus is found to be elevated 434 feet above Lake Erie and 1,009 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. It is not the highest point in the county, however, Crestline being 1,176 feet above the ocean, and Gabon

1,171. Subtracting from these figures 575 feet, the assumed elevation of the lake above the ocean, will give the elevation of the last two cities above Lake Erie. From observations made at eight points in Ohio, it is ascertained that the prevailing direction of the wind is from the southwest and west, although during the past year, as shown by the report of the Secretary of State, it has been from the southeast at Cincinnati. The approximate movement of the atmosphere per annum is about 50,000 miles, with a mean hourly velocity of 6 miles. March is found to be the windiest month, while August is the quietest. The humidity of the air varies with the direction and character of the wind. The majority of heavy storms of wind and rain come from the southwest, and the heiglit of mercury in the barometer varies about two inches, but the annual variation is usually less than this. The mean height during the last year was 30.063 inches. Winds from across Lake Erie usually contain a large percentage of moisture, varying with the season and the slant of the wind. Except in times of unusual storms, the velocity of the wind rarely exceeds thirty miles per hour. It is probable that tlie county is too far removed from the lake shore to be swept by what are known as " sea breezes." Winds thus created by a relative change in the temperature of the atmosphere covering large bodies of water and the neighboring land, made by unequal powers of radiation during the day and night, are usually laden with moisture, and are extremely icy and cold. These winds from the north sweep over Crawford County oftener and with greater velocity during the winter and spring months than at other seasons of the year. The county has been visited by several tornadoes during past j-ears. One of these swept across the northern tier of townships about the beginning of the present century-. It must have swept everything before it. as, when the first settlers arrived, in about 1820, no large trees were standing in its course, and the ground was strewn with decaying timber that had been torn asunder and broken oft" by the fury of the wind. The ground was covered with a heavy growth of young timber. Another storm of later occurrence passed across Whetstone Township, and was seen Ijy several old settlers yet living. A description of this storm will be found in the history of the above township. Both of these storms came from the southwest. Other winds of less intensity have visited the county with a greater or less loss of property, and the future will likely bring many others. Every citizen should provide himself with a good barometer in order to avoid the unexpected appearance of great storms of wind and rain.

The winds most likely to be followed by a precipitation of rain or snow are those var3ing from southeast to southwest. The annual range of the barometer at Cincinnati during the past jear was 1.318 inclies. The barometer rarel}' fails to give warning of the approach of storms, and, if its language was alwaj's heeded, thousands of dollars could be saved annuallj' to the citizens throughout the country. Localities with telegraphic communication can readily receive the knowledge of an approaching change of weather as soon as such knowledge becomes known ; but other sections lack the means of obtaining such Information, and consequently are the oftenest to lose property and life because of their inability to learn of coming storms. A barometer, costing but a few dollars, would give the desired information, and, in the aggregate, prevent the loss of valuable property.

A singular occurrence connected with the fall of rain and snow during the year is, that the quantity falling each year at any locality is about the same. The amount varies but few inches from year to year, and it is noticed that in almost everj- case heavy and continuous rains during a portion of the year are followed by a lack of rain during the remainder. If the spring is unusually wet, one of the other seasons will be correspondingly dry. This uniformity of rain in any given locality is difficult to explain. When the air is motionless, and saturated with moisture, the evaporation from the earth underneath is decreased. The greater the amount of water in the soil and on the surface, the greater will be the quantity evaporated, other things being equal. It follows that after the soil is soaked with water by incessant rains, the atmosphere above becomes thoroughly saturated, and) consequently, much cooler, owing to the absorption of heat during the process of evaporation. It also follows from these facts that the presence of so much moisture above prevents the wind from setting in toward tliat locality, and, conse. quently, prevents the further fall of rain. On the coutrarj-, the winds charged witli rain-clouds blow from that locality to others where the atmosphere is lighter, and wliere the season has been dry. This leaves the locality above mentioned without rain until the temperature has become warm, and the relative humidity between that and surrounding sections of country has become reversed, when rain clouds again appear, and the same phenomena are repeated. This will account, in a measure, for the uniformity of the fall of rain at any locality during the 3-ear. Other circumstances, no douljt influence and vary the causes referred to, although the latter may be regarded as primary. No record of the annual fall of rain, so far as known, has been kept in Crawford County. That at Urbana, Ohio, for the past twentj'-eight years, including melted snow, has been 39f inches. This will give the proximate fall in the county, although the mean fall may vary several inches from that figure. No figures can be given as to the probable fall during any season of the year, the quantity being subject to variation from local causes. The following comparative table, showing the annual amount of water from rain and melted snow, in inches, at several stations in Ohio, for ten years, was prepared by Mile G. Williams, of Urbana, Ohio :