12
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
SURVEY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE.
The title having been perfected, the company made preparations to survey the portion of the Reserve Iying east of the Cuyahoga. In the early part of May, 1796, the company fitted out an expedition for this purpose, of which Moses Cleaveland was the leader of a company, -- all told of about forty men, -- five of them surveyors, one a physician, and the rest chain-men and axe-men.
By previous arrangement they met at Schenectady, New York, at which point they commenced their journey, ascending the Mohawk in four fiat-bottomed boats, proceeding by the way of Oswego, Niagara, and Queenstown to Buffalo, reaching the soil of the Reserve on the 4th of July.
ARRIVAL OF THE SURVEYORS.
The records of the Ashtabula Historical and Philosophical Society contain an interesting narrative made by Judge Stow of the journey of this surveying party, and from this we gather what follows in relation to the expedition.
At the time the party commenced its journey, Fort Oswego, which they were compelled to pass, was garrisoned by the British. They anticipated difficulty in being able to get beyond the fort. At Fort Stanwix, however, they had the good fortune to be overtaken by Captain Cozzens, who had been sent by the British minister, Mr. Bond, with open dispatches to all his majesty's officers and subjects, announcing the ratification by both governments of Jay's Treaty, and that the navigation of the lakes should henceforth be free to all American vessels. They now anticipated no trouble. Captain Cozzens took passage on board Judge Stow's boat, and they ascended Wood creek toward Lake Ontario. When arrived at Oswego, however, permission to pass the fort was denied on the ground that his instructions were positive, and, without the sanction of his superior officer, then at Niagara, he was powerless to grant the request.
Mr. Stow's instructions from the Land Company were not in any event to attempt to run by the fort; but if permission were withheld, to lie in wait until further orders from the company should be received. But the climate was unhealthy; the soldiers in the garrison were many of them sick, and some of them dying; time was precious, and the anxiety to reach the Reserve was great. After much deliberation, it was almost the unanimous voice of the party to attempt the passage. The boats were floated down to within four miles of the fort, when they were hauled into a small bay and secreted among the bushes. One of the boats was then relieved of the greater part of its cargo, manned with double oars, and, with the agent (Mr. Stow) on board, moved down to the fort. The British officer in command of the fort evidently supposed that the boat was on its way to Fort Niagara to obtain the consent of the officer in command at that point to make the passage, and the crew were not disturbed. The garrison was thrown off its guard by this stratagem, and at dead of night the other boats passed the fort unobserved, and joined their companions on the waters of Lake Ontario. The following incident of the voyage will be of interest:
"The first boat had proceeded as far as to Sodus, where the little fleet intended to make a harbor. A sudden storm arose, and overtook the boats before they could reach Sodus. Night had come on, and the darkness was intense; the storm became more and more violent, and the situation was one of imminent peril. Beacon-fires were built by the crew of the boat which had landed, but it was impossible for the rest of the boats to make the harbor. The situation of the agent at this moment was intensely painful. His companions were in a perilous situation, and it was out of his power to afford them any relief. They were but a short distance from a dangerous shore, and the next billow might dash their little barks in pieces. Besides, he had assumed the responsibility of running by the fort, and, although successful in that attempt, yet if the boats were cast away or lost, the whole responsibility of the catastrophe would rest upon him. In this state of suspense and alarm, a man from one of the boats came running from the beach with the intelligence that all was lost.
"No anxiety could be greater or suffering more intense than that of the men on shore. They ran up and down the beach to see if it were not possible to render some assistance or gain some tidings from their companions. They found thrown upon the shore a gun and oar, which they recognized as belonging to Captain Beard, who was in charge of one of the boats. This increased their alarm. The next moment, however, they met Captain Beard himself, and anxiously asked if all were lost. He replied that nothing was lost but a gun and an oar! No lives were lost. The boats sustained much injury, and one was so badly damaged it could not be repaired and was abandoned."
Without more adventure worthy of note Mr. Stow and his comrades reached the mouth of Conneaut creek in the early part of July, 1796.
The names of this surveying-party, a company of fifty-two persons, all told, are as follows: Moses Cleaveland, the Land Company's agent; Joshua Stow, commissary; Augustus Porter, principal surveyor; Seth Pease, Moses Warren, Amos Spafford, Milton Holley, and Richard M. Stoddard, surveyors; Theodore Shepard, physician; Joseph Tinker, principal boatman; Joseph McIntyre, George Proudfoot, Francis Gray, Samuel Forbes, Elijah Gunn, wife, and child, Amos Sawtel, Samuel Hungerford, Amos Barber, Stephen Benton, Amzi Atwater, Asa Mason, Michael ()offin, Samuel Davenport, Samuel Agnew, Shadrach Benham, William B. Hall, Elisha Ayers, George Gooding, Norman Wilcox, Thomas Harris, Timothy Dunham, Wareham Shepard, David Beard, John Briant, Titus V. Munson, Joseph Landon, Olney F. Rice, James Hamilton, John Lock, James Halket, Job V. Stiles and wife, Charles Parker, Ezekiel Morley, Nathaniel Doan, Luke Hanchet, Samuel Barnes, Daniel Shulay, and Stephen Burbank.
It is a noteworthy coincidence that this advance-guard of the army of civilization that was soon to people the territorial limits of what is now known as " Old Ashtabula," first touched her soil on the anniversary of America's independence. Thus in this signal manner did a new colony, destined to play so important a part in the future of the nation, begin its existence on the same day of the same month in which the nation itself began to exist. Nor were these sons of Revolutionary fathers oblivious of the day which not only commemorates the birth of their country's freedom, but should henceforth be to them and their posterity the anniversary of the day on which their pilgrimage ended, and on which began their labors, toils, and sufferings for the establishment in the wilderness of Ohio of homes for themselves and their children. Animated with emotions appropriate to the occasion, these Pilgrim Fathers of the Western Reserve celebrated the day with such rude demonstrations of patriotic devotion and joy as they were able to invent.
They gathered together in groups on the eastern bank of the creek now known as the Conneaut; they pledged fidelity to their country in liquid dipped from the pure waters of the lake; they discharged from two or three fowling-pieces the national salute; they ate, drank, and were merry, blessing the land which many of them had assisted in delivering from British oppression; and they may have indulged in glowing predictions as to the future greatness and glory of the colonies they were about to plant. Could one of their number who shared their fancies, but who lived to see no part of them realized, behold to-day the changes which have proceeded in so wonderful a manner, we think that he would admit that the boldest anticipations of the little party of 1796 were but a feeble conception of the reality. However difficult it might be for him to understand the stages of the process by which so great a transformation has taken place, the actual truth would still present itself for his contemplation. What would astonish him most would be, not the conquest of forests, but that they have been succeeded by the numerous thriving cities and villages and the multitudinous homes of the prospering farmer, established on nearly every quarter-section of land in this county; that distance has been annihilated by the use of steam and the consequent acceleration of speed; that wealth and population have been so rapidly cumulative; that the community is so opulent and enlightened; that education is fostered by so admirable a system of free schools; that intelligence is universally diffused by so many representatives of a free press; that moral opinion has gained such ground; that religion is sustained by the convictions of an enlightened faith, and that the happiness of the people is universal and secure.
They christened the place where occurred these demonstrations of patriotism and joy Fort Independence, and the following are the toasts which they drank:
1st. The President of the United States.
2d. The State of Connecticut.
3d. The Connecticut Land Company.
4th. May the Port of Independence and the fifty sons and daughters who have entered it this day be successful and prosperous!
5th. May these sons and daughters multiply in sixteen years sixteen times fifty!
6th. May every person have his bowsprit trimmed and ready to enter every port that opens!
The surveyors proceeded to the south line of the Reserve, and ascertained the point where the forty-first degree of north latitude intersects the western line of Pennsylvania, and from this line of latitude, as a base, meridian lines five miles apart were run north to the lake. Lines of latitude were then run five miles apart, thus dividing the Reserve into townships five miles square. As the lands Iying west of the Cuyahoga remained in possession of the Indians until the Treaty of Fort Industry, in 1805, the Reserve was not surveyed at this time farther west than to the Cuyahoga and the portage between it and the Tuscarawas, a distance west from the western line of Pennsylvania of fifty-six miles. The remainder of the Reserve was surveyed in 1806. The surveyors began, as we have seen, at the southeast corner of the Reserve, and ran parallel lines north from the base-line and parallel lines west from the Pennsylvania line five miles apart. The meridian lines formed the ranges, and the lines of latitude the townships. The southeast corner of what is now Ashtabula County is thirty-five miles distant from the southeast corner of the Reserve, and the southeast township
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO. 13
'
of the county (Williamsfield) lies in range one and township eight, Andover next north in the same range, and in township nine, Richmond in township ten, same range, etc.
THE APPOINTMENT OF AN EQUALIZING COMMITTEE.
After this survey was completed the Land Company, in order that the shareholders might share equitably as nearly as possible the lands of the Reserve, or to avoid the likelihood of a part of the shareholders drawing the best and others the medium and others again the poorest of the lands, appointed an equalizing committee, whose duties we will explain.
The amount of the purchase-money, one million two hundred thousand dollars, was divided into four hundred shares, each share value being three thousand dollars. The holder of one share, therefore, had one four-hundredth undivided interest in the whole tract, and he who held four or five or twenty shares had four or five or twenty times as much interest undivided in the whole Reserve as he who held but one. As some townships would be more valuable than others, the company adopted, at a meeting of shareholders at Hartford, Connecticut, in April, 1796, a mode of making partition, and appointed a committee of equalization to divide the Reserve in accordance with the company's plan. The committee appointed were Daniel Holbrook, William Shepperd, Jr., Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease, and Amos Spafford, and the committee who made up their report at Canandaigua, New York, December 13,1797, were William Shepperd, Jr., Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease, and Amos Spafford.
The directors of the company, in accordance with Article III. of the Articles of Association, selected six townships to be offered for sale to actual settlers alone, and in which the first improvements were designed to be made. The townships thus selected were numbers eleven, in the sixth range; ten, in the ninth range; nine, in the tenth range; eight, in the eleventh range; seven, in the twelfth range; and two, in the second range. These townships are now known as Madison, Mentor, and Willoughby, in Lake county; Euclid and Newburg, in Cuyahoga county; and Youngstown, in Mahoning. Number three, in the third range, or Weathersfield, in Trumbull county, was omitted from the first draft made by the company owing to the uncertainty of the boundaries of Mr. Parsons' claim. This township has sometimes been called the Salt Spring township. The six townships above named were offered for sale before partition was made, and parts of them were sold.
Excepting the Parsons' claim and the seven townships above named, the remainder of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga was divided among the members of the company as follows:
MODE OF PARTITION.
The four best townships in the eastern part of the Reserve were selected and surveyed into lots, an average of one hundred lots to the township. As there were four hundred shares, the four townships would yield one lot for every share. When these lots were drawn, each holder or holders of one or more shares participated in the draft. The committee selected township eleven, in range seven, and townships five, six, and seven, in range eleven, for the four best townships. These are Perry, in Lake county, Northfield, in Summit county, Bedford and Warrenville, in Cuyahoga county.
Then the committee proceeded to select from the remaining townships certain other townships that should be next in value to the four already selected, which were to be used for equalizing purposes. The tracts thus selected being whole townships and parts of townships were in number twenty-four, as follows: six, seven, eight, nine, and ten, in the eighth range; six, seven, eight, and nine, in the ninth range; and one, five, six, seven, and eight, in the tenth range; and sundry irregular tracts, as follows: number fourteen, in the first range; number thirteen, in the third range; number thirteen, in the fourth range; number twelve, in the fifth range; number twelve, in the sixth range; number eleven, in the eighth range; number ten, in the tenth range; number six, in the twelfth range; and numbers one and two, in the eleventh range. These tracts are now known as Auburn, Newbury, Munson, Chardon, Banbridge, Russell, and Chester townships, in Geauga county; Concord and Kirtland, in Lake county; Springfield and Twinsburg, in Summit county; Solon, Orange, and Mayfield, in Cuyahoga county. The fractional townships are Conneaut gore, Ashtabula gore, Saybrook gore, Geneva, Madison gore, Painesville, Willoughby gore, Independence, Coventry, and Portage. After this selection had been made they selected the average townships, to the value of each of which each of the others should be brought by the equalizing process of annexation. The eight best of the remaining townships were taken, and were numbers one five, eleven, twelve, and thirteen, in the first range; twelve, in the fourth range; eleven, in the fifth range; and six, in the sixth range. They are now known as Poland, in Mahoning county; Hartford, in Trumbull county; Pierpont, Monroe, Conneaut, Saybrook, and Harpersfield, in Ashtabula county; and Parkman, in Geauga county. These were the standard townships, and all the other townships of inferior value to these eight, which would include all the others not mentioned above, were to be raised to the value of the average townships by annexations from the equalizing townships. These last named were cut up into parcels of various sizes and values, and annexed to the inferior townships in such a way as to make them all of equal value in the opinion of the committee. When the committee had performed this task, it was found that, with the exception of the four townships first selected, the Parsons' tract, and the townships that had been previously set aside to be sold, the whole tract would amount to an equivalent of ninety-three shares. There were therefore ninety-three equalized townships or parcels to be drawn for east of the Cuyahoga.
THE DRAFT.
To entitle a shareholder to the ownership of an equalized township it was necessary for him to be the proprietor of twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents of the original purchase of the company, or in other words, he must possess about three and three-tenths shares of the original purchase.
The division by draft took place on the 29th of January, 1798. The townships were numbered from one to ninety-three, and the numbers on slips of paper placed in a box. The names of shareholders were arranged in alphabetical order, and in those instances in which an original investment was insufficient to entitle such investor to an equalized township, he formed a combination with others in like situation, and the name of that person of this combination that took alphabetic precedence was used in the draft. If the small proprietors were, from disagreement among themselves, unable to unite, a committee was appointed to select and classify them, and those selected were compelled to submit to this arrangement. If after they had drawn a township they could not agree in dividing it between them, this committee, or another one appointed for the purpose, divided it for them. That township which the first number drawn designated belonged to the first man on the list, and the second drawn to the second man, and so on until all were drawn. Thus was the ownership in common severed, and each individual secured his interest in severalty. John Morgan, John Cadwell, and Jonathan Brace, the trustees, as rapidly as partition was effected, conveyed by deed to the several purchasers the lands they had drawn.
The following is an abstract of the drawing of lands lying within the county of Ashtabula.
It will be borne in mind that it required twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents to entitle a shareholder to one of the equalized townships or an average township. It frequently happened that a number united and drew several townships together. As, for example, in draft No. 61, Gideon Granger, Oliver Phelps, and Phelps and Granger united their joint money, being ninety thousand three hundred and twenty-two dollars and sixty-one cents, or seven times twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents, which entitled them to seven townships.
ABSTRACT OF LANDS DRAWN WITHIN ASHTABULA COUNTY.
14
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
OTHER DRAFTS.
The second draft was made in 1802, and was for such portions of the seven townships omitted in the first
draft as remained at that time unsold. This draft was divided into ninety shares, representing thirteen
thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-three cents of the purchase-money.
The third draft was made in 1807, and was for the lands of the company Iying west of the Cuyahoga, and was
divided into forty-six parts, each representing twenty-six thousand six hundred and eighty-seven dollars.
A fourth draft was made in 1809, at which time the surplus land, 60 called, was divided, including sundry
notes and claims arising from sales that had been effected of the seven townships omitted in the first drawing.
QUANTITY OF LAND IN THE CONNECTICUT WESTERN RESERVE,
ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY THEREOF:
Land east of the Cuyahoga, exclusive of the Parsons' tract, in acres = 2,002,970
Land west of the Cuyahoga, exclusive of surplus land, islands, and
Sufferers' Lands = 827,291
Surplus land, so called = 5,286
Islands:
Cunningham or Kelly's = 2749
Bass or Bay, No. 1 = 1322
Bass or Bay, No. 2 = 709
Bass or Bay, No. 3 = 709
Bass or Bay, No. 4 = 403
Bass or Bay, No. 5 = 32
Parsons' or " Salt Spring Tract" = 25,450
Sufferers' or Fire Lands = 500,000
Total amount of acres in the Connecticut Western Reserve =3,366,921
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CHAPTER IV.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY.
Ashtabula County occupies the northeast corner of the State of Ohio, and of the Western Reserve. Its territorial
limits embrace both land and wafer. The land portion is bounded on the north by Lake Erie, on the south by the
county of Trumbull, on the east by the northwestern part of Pennsylvania, and on the west by the northern part
of Geauga county, by Lake county, and by the waters of Lake Erie.
Its capital town is Jefferson, which is situated in the eleventh township of the third range, and is in latitude
41 degrees 45 minutes north, and in longitude 80 degrees 45 minutes 5 seconds west. Its entire territory embraces
a total area of nine hundred and seven square miles, two hundred and twenty of which are water. The land portion,
in reference to which, as disunited from the water of the lake, it is more properly considered when regarding
it as an organized county, contains an area of six hundred and eighty-seven square miles, and is larger, by
about fifteen square miles, than any other county in the State.
Its position upon the map is in the shape of a quadrilateral, two of whose sides, the east and west boundaries,
are parallel; the other two sides are not parallel, the northern line being formed by the shore of the lake,
which, in this locality, trends to the south of west, making the western boundary-line about eight miles shorter
than the eastern. The county is divided into twenty-eight townships, whose names are as follows: Conneaut, Monroe,
Pierpont, Richmond, Andover, and Williamsfield, in the first range; Kingsville, Sheffield, Denmark, Dorset,
Cherry Valley, and Wayne, in the second range; Ashtabula;, Plymouth, Jefferson, Lenox, New Lyme, and Colebrook,
in the third range ; Saybrook, Austinburg, Morgan, Rome, and Orwell, in the fourth range; Geneva, Harpersfield,
Trumbull, Hartsgrove, and Windsor, in the fifth range. Had each township been an exact square five miles in
length or, in breadth, there would have been just four hundred and forty-eight thousand acres. Some of the
townships are irregular, and contain a few more than an average township of sixteen thousand acres, and others
less than this amount, the whole number of acres being four hundred and thirty-nine thousand three hundred and
eighty-six.
Two ridges, lying at a considerable distance of from one-half mile to two miles from each other, traverse the
northern part of the county, following the trend of the lake-shore, the soil of which is a fertile sandy loam,
especially of the northern ridge. This portion of the county is well adapted to the growing of cereals and of
fruits. Between the ridges the soil merges into a darker and heavier mould, while the central and southern
portions of the county have a clay soil, whose nature is admirably adapted to pasturage and dairy farming.
Ashtabula leads all other counties in the State in the manufacture of butter and cheese, and in the tonnage
of hay produced. The surface is of a slightly undulating character, and an excellent of drainage extends
throughout the entire county. Conneaut creek and Ashtabula river, in the northeastern part of the county, with
their tributaries, Grand river in the western, and the Pymatuning in the southern part of the county, with
their tributaries, make this one of the best-watered districts in the State.
From an examination of the map of the county, it will be seen that a portion of the streams flow northward,
emptying their waters into the lake, while the Pymatuning and Mosquito creeks and their tributaries flow
southward, pouring their waters through branches of the Ohio into that stream, and are thence carried to the
Mississippi and finally to the Gulf of Mexico. The streams in the southwestern part of the county take this
direction, and drain the territory of the townships of Williamsfield, Wayne, Colebrook, Cherry Valley, and
Andover. The water which falls upon the soil of the other townships of the county is carried
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO. 15
for the most part into the lake. This county therefore contains a portion of that water-shed that extends from the Allegheny mountains to the Mississippi, dividing the waters that flow north from those that flow south. This water-summit is of such slight elevation that it cannot be distinguished in most localities from contiguous territory. The portages are very short. In some places indeed the dividing ridge resembles a depression instead of an elevation. In the southeastern corner of Dorset township there is a remarkable instance of this kind. The head-waters of the Pymatuning and of Mill creek, the former stream flowing south, and the latter north, have their source in the same marsh, across the centre of which an artificial embankment, supposed to have been formed by the beavers, has been constructed. The waters which are emptied from the same cloud, upon this embankment, flow a part down its southern slope into the Pymatuning, and the other part down its northern slope into Mill creek. Two particles or drops of water that were in close and friendly proximity to each other in the same storm-cloud, being precipitated upon this beavers' dam, the one flowing in the one direction, and the other in the contrary direction, are soon as widely separated from each other as the mouth of the Mississippi is distant from the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The principal towns and villages of the county, named in the order of their population, are as follows: Ashtabula, Conneaut, Geneva, Jefferson, Rock Creek, Andover, Orwell, Kingsville, and Austinburg.
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CHAPTER V.
THE GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY.
(By Rev. S. D. Peet.)
Ashtabula County is situated on the water-shed or the dividing ridge between Lake Erie and the Ohio river.
The formation of this ridge belongs to the geological period. The description of the streams and forests,
as well as soil and scenery in the county, depends upon a knowledge of if. It should be said, however, that
the whole of this great continent is connected in every part. Each locality should be studied with relation
to the whole system. As the bones and blood, nerves and arteries, form the bodily mechanism, and need to be
studied before we properly understand any one organ, so the rivers and lakes, valleys and mountains, form
different parts of the great continent, and need to be taken into view when we are studying even a small county.
Any one who will take the map of North America and consider the physical peculiarities, as well as geographical
divisions, will perceive that the inorganic world has its frame-work and circulatory system as well as the
organic, the earth itself being a growth as well as the human body. We enter upon the province of geology as
we would upon that of anatomy and physiology, and we plunge below the surface to find the bones of the continent,
as we traverse the hills and valleys to discover its circulating system, and thus we hope to learn something
of the art of world-making; the contemplation of the minutest part leading on to the profoundest problems.
THIS REGION OCCUPIED AT ONE TIME BY
A GREAT SEA OF ICE.
The great valley of the Mississippi the long line of inland lakes, and the Ohio river, with its many branches,
all have their origin in the geological structure of the continent.
In looking a second time on the map, we see the great system of mountains, - of the Allegeheny range upon one side, and of the Rocky mountains and Sierra Nevada on the other, with the great valley of the Mississippi between them. The eastern portion of this valley is that with which we are concerned. Here we find two great valleys in a transverse direction, one filled with the chain of the great lakes, the other with the Ohio river. It is, however, but a single valley with two channels. A range of mountains or highlands, northward of the lakes, starts from the sea-coast to the northeast, and runs far into the interior. Opposite this, and south of the Ohio river and its tributaries, is another range of highlands, running from the Alleghenies to the Mississippi. Between the two valleys of the Ohio and the lake is a slight ridge, which divides the waters of the one from the other. From this ridge to the northern highlands we find the deep valley, marked in green, running from the region of the Arctic ocean to the Mississippi river in a southwest direction, looking as if a wide sea had run the whole breadth of the eastern part of the continent from the cold regions of the north, and at last poured itself into the warm bosom of the Gulf of Mexico. Now, it is through this very valley, marked by the deep gorges of the lakes and by the green lowlands east of the Mississippi river, that geologists suppose a great sea of ice to have been situated, which, during the glacial period, rested upon the upper part of the Mississippi valley. By this great glacier, which thus ground its way, it is supposed that the basin of the lakes was gouged out of the solid rocks. By the grinding process of this great sea, too, it is supposed that the dividing ridge itself was formed, and by the trickling of the streams from beneath its sides the Ohio river and its tributaries were drawn. By the debris, also, which accumulated at its base the great alluvial plains and deep bottom-lands at the west were formed. By some means, however, the western part of this valley became obstructed. Either the accumulations of the soil became a barrier, or possibly a transverse ridge was raised in the centre of the lake, where now a dividing ridge stretches from Cincinnati northward. By some means the current of the great lakes was changed, and they, with their tributaries, began to flow the other way. According to this theory, we shall need to consider the ridge which we now occupy as only the edge of this great sea or basin of ice, and with the same theory shall we understand how the different ridges which mark the northern part of our county were formed. It is evident it would only require the gradual rise of the land or the subsidence of the sea of ice for the lake to be formed which would fill the valley, but deposit its bar of sand and clay upon the highest hills, and afterwards recede and form a second ridge, and so come to its present level. By this process the decline from the ridge to the lake was abrupt, and the streams were short. After the sea had disappeared a great lake remained, but its beach was far above the present one. The south ridge was thus formed, and contains within its depths not only the ground, clay, and stones, but the remains of logs, swamps, and other vegetation.
This ancient beach formed a barrier to the streams themselves, so that they were obliged to make their way along its surface in either direction until they could find an outlet to the lake. For this reason do we find the course of streams on the south shores of the lake so crooked, and their months so turned from their proper place. It is interesting, in looking at the geography, to study this crooked-mouthed family. Each stream, as it sets out, seems to go directly to the lake, but finally turns far to the westward, -- the Ashtabula river emptying about where the Grand river should, and the Grand river, by mistake, making a harbor for our neighbors at Painesville. The course of these streams to the westward follows the dip of the strata or the incline of the great valley.
THE NORTH AND SOUTH RIDGES.
The water-shed, then, and the terraces form the chief topographical features of the county, this insignificant rise giving character to the soil and variety to the surface and a free drainage for the streams, while the ridges or terraces, in their manner of being formed, would account for the difference of soil along the lake-shore and the interior of the county. That there are two ridges, called the north and south ridges, is a proof that the decline or settling of the lake to its present bed was gradual or in successive stages. The character of the north ridge is entirely different from that of the south ridge. "The outer or higher terrace, where exposed by railroad-cuts," J. S. Newberry, State geologist, says, "is shown to be a ridge or wall of compact, unstratified clay, composed largely of the debris of the local rocks, but with many fragments of granite and other metamorphic rocks, not rounded by the action of the waves, but in irregular forms, -- round, polished, and marked with striae and scratches on all sides." "This ridge contains beneath its surface the traces of an old swamp, with fragments of coniferous wood, the earth deeply stained with iron, and in places with deposits of bog-iron at the bottom. The whole is now covered to the depth of about six feet with drifted sand. This swamp has its origin in the causes which raised the clay ridge into its position, and was evidently filled with swamp-vegetation at the time the waters of the lake were resting upon the northern slope of this ridge, the winds gradually carrying the beached sands over the crest of the ridge into the swamp-basin, and in time burying it beneath the constantly-accumulating sandy deposit." "This ridge, with its mass unstratified and without rounded, water-worn pebbles, cannot be the slow accumulation of a water-washed beach, nor can the materials be deposited in water, which would rot and stratify them." There are some evidences that, even after this ridge was formed, great bodies of ice still existed in the lake. For instance, there are fractures or upheavals of the rock-shales, which are below the surface, which show the effect of a mighty force. Such fractures are found near the depot of the Lake Shore railroad at Ashtabula, and in the valley of the Hubbard run. Professor Newberry says, "It is manifest that such a local break in the shale could be caused by neither an upheaval nor the subsidence of the strata. A vast mass of ice moving on from the north, and impinging on the exposed strata of the shale with sufficient power to cause apart of the strata to buckle upwards at some point where the sliding motion was arrested, is alone competent to produce the condition of things here seen. The movement of a glacier, like a sheet of ice, is the only known force to produce such a result." The records of icebergs in the old lake at comparatively recent epochs are also left in the granite boulders scattered along the north slope of both of these ridges, generally not upon the surface, but so
16 HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO.
slightly buried that they are uncovered by the plow in cultivation. This south ridge, throughout Ashtabula County, appears, says Professor Newberry, "to mark the line where the outer margin of the ice scooped out of the lake-basin on to the strata which it had not force enough to remove." The yellow clay and the sand ridges to the north mark subsequent chapters in this recent geological history. The ridges north of this are composed of sand and gravel. The spaces between the north and south ridge and the north ridge and the lake present to the eye the appearance of level terraces.
OTHER PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY.
The rock which composes the substratum of Ashtabula County is designated by geologists as the "Erie shale." It is composed entirely of soft, blue aluminous slate, often weathering red on exposure, and finally decomposing into a stiff yellow clay. This shale gives a peculiar character to the topography of the county. South of the lake ridges the surface is one broad level plain of stiff clay, except as it has been eroded by water or covered by occasional deposits of gravel. Where the streams are rapid they form deep and narrow gorges, cutting down almost precipitously, sometimes one hundred feet into the shale. The stiff clay soil derived from the decomposition of this shale forms a fine and undulating grazing country, which, if properly under-drained, would be very productive.
Fortunately, the surface of the county is sufficiently undulating to render under-draining practicable. There is no county in the State where a systematic resort to this improvement would result in greater benefit. Such a soil, when drained, is not excelled by any for the cultivation of apples, pears, quinces, and grapes, and for this result the climate in proximity to the lake is especially favorable. The geological structure of the county in other parts is also the cause of the peculiarities of soil. There is a scarcity of building-stone in the north part of the county, in the south part it is more abundant. "In the east part of Williamsfield is a high ridge, capped with the conglomerate rock," which has supplied the largest part of the stone used in building in that vicinity. The Cuyahoga shales underlying the conglomerate are the surface rocks in the central part of Wayne, and the western parts of Hartsgrove and Windsor. The latter two townships are marked by long stretches of level tenacious clay soil. In Wayne these shales are more siliceous, and so the soil is more gravely. The Berea grit is found in Ashtabula County; its outcrop extends through the centre of Hartsgrove and east of the centre of Windsor. Its position is marked by a ridge rising towards the west, covered with fragments of sandstone; the best exposures are at Windsor Mills, where the stream has cut a channel forty feet deep, and where stone had been quarried for many years. The high ridge east of the stream is composed of the same rock exposed in the gorge. When systematic quarrying shall take place, and railroads are constructed, the whole county will be supplied with stone from this source, and the extensive region along the lake-shore will draw an abundant supply. The Bedford shale, underlying the Berea stone, is found in the western part of the county, and forms the basis of a tenacious clay soil. Thus we see the geological structure of the county is really at the basis of its topography, and gives character to its soil as well as direction to its streams.
VARYING ALTITUDES OF THE DIVIDING RIDGE.
The direction of the dividing ridge is a subject of interest. "The actual crest of the divide forms a singularly tortuous line, which exhibits at different points remarkable variations of altitude; for example, beginning on the Pennsylvania line, east of Ashtabula County, the head-waters of the Chenango reach within ten miles of Lake Erie, and drain a surface which has an altitude of over six hundred feet above the lake. Thence the crest of the water-shed strikes south-westerly through Ashtabula County, and falling down to a level of three hundred and sixty-three feet at the summit of the A. Y. P. R. R., in Orwell; thence it sweeps with a sharp curve nearly at the same horizon around the head-waters of Grand river, far down in Trumbull county. Here it turns almost due north, coming again within ten miles of the lake in the northern part of Geauga county, and attaining at Little Mountain an altitude of seven hundred and fifty feet. There is one peculiarity about this ridge, -- that the wettest lands are upon its summit. The reason for this can be understood by a little thoughtfulness. The drainage of the county is formed by the sides of the ridge. As the streams make their way, they are likely to sweep off in their course all obstructions, but upon the summit of the ridge no such streams exist; consequently swamps and the wet clay soil, with heavy forests, are here found. The Conneaut lake, near the Pennsylvania line, and the wet lands in Pierpont and Dorset, are formed in this way, while the swamps between Jefferson and Ashtabula are caused by the water which has been set back by the south ridge along the lake.
The high lands or hills which form the peculiarities of the southern part of the county, where wide valleys intervene, may also be understood by the geological history.
CLIMATE AND SOIL.
The climate of this county also deserves our attention. There is no doubt but that the advantages of the country in this respect are great. The proximity of the lake has an effect to prevent those extremes of cold and heat which are peculiar to some localities. If has been proved, by long experience in agriculture, that the more solid grains can be raised here with as much certainty as in colder regions; but at the same time fruits which are dependent on a mild climate can be grown abundantly. Even in its wild state it was discovered that this county was distinguished for its variety of fruits and foliage. If was then indeed a wilderness, which showed how thick and strong the combined elements of soil and climate had served to make the native growth. At that time the ridges were covered with wide-spreading chestnut and walnut, and other trees which are peculiar to a sandy soil. The hills and gorges were overgrown with a dense mass of hemlock and pine, which rooted themselves strongly in the sand and rock. In the interior the land, more level and composed of clay and abundantly watered, was covered by a dense forest of beech, maple, oak and ash, elm and white woods. In the swamp there was a dense jungle of alder-bushes, mingled with red-elm, rock-maple, and black-ash. One can at this date form but a poor idea of the density of these forests and the massiveness of the great monarchs which dwelt amid their shadows. Occasionally a stump may now be seen where some gigantic chestnut stood, giving us a slight indication of the size to which they grew, but those who contended with them for the mastery of the soil knew best their strength. It is narrated that six men surrounded one great monster with axe in hand, and swung freely the glittering blade; when at last the monarch fell twelve men mounted the stump and drank a bumper to the success of the owner.
FAUNA.
Animals which in other countries had long been extinct were, when first settlers arrived, the common habitants of this region, and their habits became familiar to those who early made their residence here. Bears and wolves were numerous, as indeed were deer and elk. The panther and the wild-cat were occasionally met with. Wild turkeys were also abundant in the forest, and wild geese and ducks in the streams, and poisonous serpents had their dens in various places.
SCENERY.
The scenery of Ashtabula County, notwithstanding the depth of the forest which covered it, was even at an early day attractive. The streams, which are for the most part small and gently-flowing rivulets, were attended with valleys, which gradually rose upon either side, that in the primitive wilderness were picturesque and beautiful. The variety of scenery and vegetation, soil and climate, was at this time correlated. Though different from New England in the absence of hill and valley, rock and rill, and a broken surface, yet the early settlers found even in the sullen forests and the hidden streams some deep, dark gorge, where steep precipices hung lowering over lonely glens, and the romantic element was not wanting. If there has never been the wide expanse of scenery which is peculiar to a prairie land, yet there are not wanting spots here where the vision stretches for miles away across intervening valleys, and the white form of house and the gleaming spire are mingled with the dark foliage of the distant prospect. The forest-clad region has been changed to fertile fields, the varied soil of sand and clay has been covered with grass and grain, the hills have been made the sites for houses and the level fields become the teeming place for harvests, and the inhabitants have found it a land of plenty, a home of comfort. Though at times there are storms which sweep over this belt of land, burying everything in a depth of snow, making travel in winter difficult and sometimes dangerous, yet these are of short duration. The earlier months of the year are generally introduced with long rains, and spring often proves deceptive. It is early to promise and late to fulfill, and winter often lingers in the lap of spring. This delay, however, has its advantages, the promises for fruits and the prospects for the season becoming the better for the long delay. Taking it all in all, few regions are more favored than this. The hand of nature has from the beginning built up a structure here well adapted for the home of man. Each successive age has approached nearer and nearer to the completion of the designs of the great Creator, when man should come upon the stage.
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CHAPTER VI.
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
(By Rev. S. D. Peet.)
It is well known that the continent of America was once the home of a race which has passed away, and of which the only record is in the works they have left behind them. Who this people were, whence they came, and whither they
HISTORY OF ASHTABULA COUNTY, OHIO. 17
went, have been the subject of research; but an impenetrable mystery still hangs over them. All that can be said of them is that they were a race preceding the various tribes of Indians which history has come in contact with, and may be regarded as strictly pre-historic.
The traces of an ancient population are scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the frozen regions of the North to the banks of the Gulf of Mexico, showing in many places that a numerous population long inhabited the land.
Ohio gives numerous evidences of such. a race. Here, it would seem, was the chief seat of the ancient empire. With the exception of the remarkable people which inhabited the region of Mexico, Central America, and Peru, none have given evidences of a more advanced state than those who inhabited the banks of the Ohio.
It is worthy of notice, however, that in this State two classes of works have been discovered, which seem to indicate two modes of life quite distinct and separate, and possibly two races as existing together. Throughout the southern counties the works are much more massive and distinct. They are also much more complicated and mysterious in their design, and evidently belonged to a people who were agricultural in their habits, and at the same time very religious; a people ruled by a strong system of government, but one who had attained to a considerable degree of civilization.
The works at the north, on the other hand, are much simpler in their character, and are mainly indicative of a military race. There is an entire absence of emblematic or religious significance to them. In these respects there is striking resemblance between the structures of the State of New York and those on the northern counties of Ohio. In fact, the same kind of defenses have been discovered scattered throughout the borders of the great lakes and along the numerous streams which empty into them. They consist mainly of fortifications located on the summit of lofty hills, or on islands surrounded by marshes, or on the banks of streams whose waters might serve as a barrier, or, in fact, in any place whose nature presents a refuge or a defense. Associated with these, however, there are, occasionally, traces of a more peaceable mode of life, such as trails which are supposed to have connected the different villages; also pits which were used for the storing of grain or for the catching of game; springs, wells, and various evidences of a peaceful life. There are also numerous graves, tumuli, and burial-grounds, which show that the same people who inhabited the land also have left the remains of their dead.
It may be difficult, in tracing the remains of these people, to separate the early from the later races. Whatever distinction may be made from the description of them must depend on the reader's knowledge of the races, for the record of all needs to be given at the same time, and without drawing the lines between the two classes.
Ashtabula County abounds in earthworks. These are located in various townships, and are much more numerous than has been generally supposed. Some of these have been discover |
