Eakin Mill Covered Bridge

Irregularities or inequalities of land surface, considered collectively, is known as the relief of a region. The chief features of Vinton County are long lines of rather rugged hills, and narrow valleys separating them. No pronounced difference between one area and another is evident, not enough at least to warrant dividing the county into subdivisions. The variations are minor and local. The most rugged hill lands are found in the eastern part of the county in Brown, Knox, Madison, and Vinton townships and in the western part in Eagle, Harrison, Jackson, and Richland townships. This is due to several causes, the chief of which are the character of the rock strata, immaturity of drainage, and positions of original water divides. Where the present streams have cut from one preglacial valley to another or where they have been deflected along minor tributaries of the original drainage, bordering hills are usually steep and bold. This is especially true where a large part of the strata dissected are massive sandstones. Examples of this rugged type of topography along constricted valleys are found along Raccoon Creek in the northwestern part of Brown Township, in northeastern Elk Township, and from Hope past Moonville, Knox, Bolin's Mills, and Arbaugh to Hawk or even to Minerton. Conditions are much the same also along Elk Fork from Vinton Furnace to its junction with Raccoon Creek, along Wheelabout Creek south of Zaleski, and along Pierce Run from Oreton to Radcliff. The rough hills along Sandy and Little Sandy runs in Brown Township, along Tedroe and Russell runs in Knox, along Alman and Zinns runs in Vinton, and along Rockcamp and Indiancamp runs in Wilkesville are due to deepening of the valleys caused by changes in drainage

Passage source: Geology of Vinton County, published 1927.

The plains along Raccoon Creek in its entire passage of nearly 59 miles across Vinton County are exceptionally narrow for a stream of this size as they average less than .2 mile and seldom expand to as much as .4 mile. In many places the valley is very constricted, thus limiting the lowlands to narrow, ribbon-like belts bordering first one, then the other side of the stream. 'This is especially true of the Raccoon plains from Moonville past Knox, Bolin's Mills, Vales Mills, and Arbaugh to Radcliff. The soil on them is a sandy silt, which for the most part is quite fertile. Raccoon Valley is widest along the upper part of the course from New Plymouth to Hope where it averages about .3 mile. The increase here is due to the influence of preglacial streams which flowed southward toward Dundas and which left their imprints by high terraces at many places. The stream is generally sluggish and much of the lowland swampy. From Radcliff southward to the Vinton-Gallia county line, the plains along Raccoon Creek are narrow, averaging little more than .2 mile. The soil is a sandy silt of fair quality. Elk Fork is another stream whose plains are exceptionally narrow for its size. They are best developed and of most value along the upper part of the course in Elk Township.

Passage source: Geology of Vinton County, published 1927.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Vinton Township - 124,965 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.