INCHES TO FEET
Sod or loam Red clay Yellow clay Yellow sand or gravel Blue sand or gravel Blue clay with pebbles Fine compact blue clay Hard pan alternating with blue clay. Blue clay Boulder clay	6 0 12 6 8 3 0 10 3 10	1 ½ 4 15 20 30 18 14 20 9 20

A well at the corner of Fourth and Broadway, Greenville, 0., passed through ninety-five feet, and one near the P. C. C. & St. L. passenger station through about one hundred and thirty feet of this glacial till. Such deposits are best accounted for as the result of glaciation. (3) Karnes. Glacial phenomena of a distinct and unusual character appear along the prairie stretching from the mouth of Mud Creek at Greenville for about ten miles in a southwesterly direction toward New Madison. Near Greenville one first notices isolated conical knolls containing stratified deposits of sand and gravel appearing above the surface of the surrounding prairie. One of -these, known as Bunker Hill, formerly appeared about a mile southwest of Greenville near the tracks of the C. N. R. R. It was once about forty feet high but has since been almost entirely removed. A section of this hill showed the following phenomena: red clay three (3) feet; fine yellow sand, four (4) feet; unassorted gravel, twenty-four (24) to thirty (30) feet. About four miles further south along the east side of the prairie, in the vicinity of-Fort Jefferson, a series of elongated knolls, with axes running generally northwest and southeast, are encountered. They were formerly covered with a beautiful growth of large timber, mostly oak, and were known as the Hills of Judea. Gravel pits were opened in these hills about thirty years ago by the C. N. R. R. and vast quantities of material re- DARKE COUNTY - 25 moved to ballast the tracks and improve the pikes of the counties in northwestern Ohio. The Greenville Gravel Company commenced operations here in 1905 and have removed probably more than fifty thousand carloads of sand, gravel and boulders in that time. It is estimated that some twenty million cubic yards of gravel, etc., are still available from these hills. An analysis of some of these deposits shows about sixty per cent of granitic material, thirty per cent. of lime, and eight per cent. of trap. The sand and gravel exposed in these vast pits appear in well defined but irregular shaped strata, which bear evidence of the action of running water. Quite a number of granitic boulders, mostly from six to eight inches in diameter, and similar in color and variety to those found on the surface, are scattered in these deposits. Such elongated gravel hills are a rare phenomenon in Ohio, and are known as kames. Careful observation indicates that they were formed upon the melting of the ancient glaciers and mark lines of drainage, which commenced under the vast ice mass and continued until an opening had been made through the upper surface. In this manner the material enclosed within the ice mass would be sorted and deposited as it is now found. The trend of the knolls indicates the probable direction in which the subglacial stream discharged, viz: to the southeast. A fine specimen of black diorite boulder about four feet in height and weighing some seventy-six hundred pounds was found in the bed of a rivulet on the Meeker farm, just north of Greenville creek, and has been used by the Greenville Historical Society in marking the site of the Wayne's Treaty in 1795. Moranic Belts. (1) Miami Moraine. The geological survey made by the U. S. government indicates three distinctively defined moraines crossing Darke county. The southernmost moraine crosses the southwestern section of the county and is a part of the Miami lobe of the main moranic system of the late Wisconsin stage of glaciation. This lobe, which is practically continuous between Lynn and Richmond, Indiana, divides into three members near the state line. These three members run southeasterly in parallel lines to the Miami Valley, then tend to 26 - DARKE COUNTY unite and turn northeasterly and continue between the Mad river and the headwaters of the great Miami. Traces of this moraine may be seen near Troy, Harrisburg, Pyrmont, Air Hill, West Sonora, Fort Jefferson and New Madison. The ridge of boulders formerly noted as running through Van Buren and Twin townships seems also to be a part of this system as well as the isolated gravel hills in the Mud creek prairie, and the remarkable ridges at Fort Jefferson, which formerly rose from fifty to sixty feet above the prairie. The surface of the country to the eastward of this belt is more level than to the west. Just east of Fort Jefferson this moranic belt turns abruptly southward and follows the valley of Miller's Fork of Twin creek, passing near Ithaca, West Sonora and Euphemia. At Arcanum, near the inner border of this moraine, the glacial drift is about fifty feet deep and in the valley near New Madison, on the outward border, the debris is as much as seventy-five feet in depth. (2) Union Moraine. A distinct moraine crosses the central part of Darke county and is described as a part of the Maumee-Miami lobe of the late Wisconsin stage of glaciation. It is a minor moraine and has been traced from near Muncie, Indiana, to the headwaters of the Great Miami river, near Lewistown, Ohio. It enters Darke county at Union City, follows the north side of Greenville creek in a southeasterly direction to Greenville and thence runs eastward to Bradford. Its highest points are near Union City, where it reaches an altitude of 1,125 to 1,150 feet above tide. Its lowest point is between Greenville and the Miami river, where it descends to about 1,000 feet. This deposit is known as the Union Moraine, and it appears in Darke county as a bow shaped ridge with a gently undulating surface. The presence of this ridge accounts for the fact that there are no important branches entering Greenville creek from the north and suggests that this stream has been forced to seek a channel to the south of its original bed by these immense glacial deposits. The thickness of drift along this moraine is seldom more than fifty feet and some rock exposures occur along its outer border in the neighborhood of Baer's Mill. However, a depth of 165 feet to rock is reported near the Union City pike just west of the township line in Washington township, and 117 DARKE COUNTY - 27 feet on the Ben Chenoweth farm one mile west of this point. At the Children's Home, on the north side of this moraine, the drift is about 110 feet deep. Along the . south side of Greenville creek for a distance of about three miles east of Greenville, are knolls which contain much assorted material and some till. These probably belong with the drift of the main moranic system. From these hills eastward to the county line small and well rounded boulders were formerly found in large number, while many large angular boulders are scattered over the plains to the south through Poplar Ridge, as before mentioned. "Greenville creek has a narrow gorge tip to Greenville Falls, about one-half mile above its mouth. Its bed above the falls is mainly in the drift and its valley is less restricted and varies considerably in width. A gravel plain extends up the creek two miles or more and remnants of glacial gravel are found almost the entire length of the creek, but they are less conspicuous than the gravel plain near its mouth. The phenomena seem to indicate that the creek adapted its course along the outer border of the moraine because of a valley opened by glacial waters." (3) Mississinawa Moraine. A third moranic belt enters Darke county at the northwest angle, trends south of east to the vicinity of Versailles, and then turns northeasterly into Shelby county. In Indiana this moraine follows the north bank of the Mississinawa river for the greater part of its length and, therefore, is called the Mississinawa moraine. It also belongs to the Maumee-Miami lobe, before mentioned. This ridge is about six miles wide where it enters the northwest corner of the county. At the headwaters of Stillwater creek, near Lightsville, a broad swampy plain skirts the southern border of this moraine. The Stillwater follows the southern border of this ridge for several miles to the neighborhood of Beamsville. Low gravelly knolls mark its outer border. Just north of Versailles a gravelly plain extends southward along Swamp creek from this point and passes through Versailles. This plain is about half a mile wide and stands about twenty-five feet above the level of the creek. Borings at Versailles show this gravel bed to be about thirty-four feet through and the distance to rock, through gravel and till, from 120 to 140 feet. At 28 - DARKE COUNTY Yorkshire the drift is less than one hundred feet in depth. The tract of land lying between this moraine and the Union moraine consists mainly of a smooth surfaced till plain on which the drift has nearly as great a thickness as on the latter moraine, in which it merges on the south. The isolated gravel cairns, before mentioned, are sometimes accounted for on the theory that at the period of greatest depression during the ice age the watershed itself was submerged and great icebergs from the north became stranded on the southern slope. Here they melted and deposited their loads of debris in the interlocking wedge shaped layers of sand, gravel and yellow clay. Preglacial erosion of the ancient limestone left a very uneven surface with gorges here and there of very great depth. A noticeable effect of glacial action was the leveling up of the area which it covered. The vast deposits of clay, sand and gravel just noted filled up the old valleys and in many cases formed new drainage basins, some of which were quite distinct from the ancient systems. The erosion of new channels through these deposits has taken a long time, roughly estimated at six or seven thousand years, on the basis of the size and velocity of the eroding streams and the amount of material removed. The finding of roughly chipped argillitic implements beneath gravel river terraces near Trenton, N. J., and near Cincinnati, Ohio, have led some to the conclusion that man lived before and during the glacial period. One might readily conceive that a type of man similar to the modern Eskimo could have lived in some degree of comfort during that far off age. Perhaps he had as his companion those massive animals of the elephant type known respectively as the mammoth and mastodon. Extinct Animals. Remains of these huge animals have been found in Darke county from time to time, mostly in the muck or peat deposits near the headwaters of small streams. A tooth of a mammoth and parts of several mastodons are exhibited in the museum in the basement of the Carnegie library at Greenville. One huge mastodon jaw measuring 33 inches in greatest length was found near the headwaters of Mud creek in Harrison township. Mr. Calvin Young describes the excavation of the remains of a mastodon in a peat bog on the DARKE COUNTY - 29 farm then belonging to Absalom Shade along Grout creek on the site of a former lakelet in the southeast quarter of section thirty-four, Washington township, in 1883. Some of the bones were spread out on the original gravel bed of the pre-historic lake and covered with about four and a half feet of peat and blue mud. The lower jaw contained the full set of teeth, which, when first exposed to view, were glistening white, but soon became dark. Almost a complete skeleton of mastodon was found in Neave township on the Delaplaine farm near the head of Bridge creek. The remains were well preserved and are now on exhibition in the public museum. The femur of this animal measures forty inches in length and has a circumference of thirty-two inches at the knee and seventeen inches between the knee and hip ball. The humerus is thirty-two inches long and thirty-four inches around the largest joint. Some of the bones of another well-preserved specimen were found on the farm of Hezekiah Woods, on the northwest corner of section nine, Brown township, near the upper Stillwater. The mammoth is described as having been a third taller and nearly twice as heavy as the modern elephant. He was covered with long shaggy hair and had a thick mane extending along his neck and back. His coat of hair comprised coarse black bristles about eighteen inches long and shorter under coats of finer hair and wool of a fawn and reddish color which fitted him for residence in cold climates. No doubt he ranged northern Europe and Asia as well as America in large herds for his frozen carcass has been found in Siberia near the Artic ocean and large quantities of his curved ivory tusks have been gathered and sold by the natives of Alaska. His molar teeth sometimes had an extreme grinding surface of four by twelve or thirteen inches with corrugations enabling him to masticate the branches and foliage of northern evergreen trees, birches, willows, etc. The mastodon was even larger than the mammoth, attaining a height of twelve to thirteen feet, and an extreme length, including his huge tusks, of twenty-four to twenty-five feet. His tusks curved downward and forward while those of the mammoth curved upward in a circle. His hair was of a dun brown color and probably half as long as that of the mammoth. His teeth were rectangular in form, with a grinding surface of large conical projections, which enabled 30 - DARKE COUNTY him to feed on the twigs of trees and coarse vegetable growths. In hunting such food he was often tempted into marshy places where he became mired, and was unable to extricate his ponderous body, as evidenced by the attitude in which remains are sometimes found. The mastodon seems to have become extinct near the close of the glacial period, while the mammoth lingered into post glacial times. The remains of a giant beaver were found in the Dismal Swamp at the head of Dismal creek, the most western branch of Greenville creek, about seven miles southeast of Winchester, Randolph county, Indiana, and only a few miles from the Darke county line. This animal was about seven feet in length and the remains are now on exhibition in the museum of Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana. This animal has been long extinct and its remains are rare. The proximity of this locality suggest that the giant heaver frequented the streams of Darke and adjoining counties at an early date. Peat Bogs. Peat bogs are found in various localities in Darke county. The Mud creek prairie was, no doubt, at one time submerged from the source of the creek near New Madison to its junction with Greenville creek at Greenville, forming a shallow lake. Peat beds of considerable size were formed in this marsh, notably near the C. N. station at Fort Jefferson and near the crossing of the C. N. and P. C. C. & St. L. R. R., some two miles southwest of Greenville. These deposits run about two or three feet in depth and in dry seasons have been known to catch afire and burn several days. Shortly after the C. C. C. & St. L. R. R. was built and operated a considerable section of track disappeared in Brown township some distance west of the crossing of the Fort Recovery pike. A small branch of the Stillwater drains this district and a peat bog had formed in the marsh over which the railway made a fill of loam and gravel. The weight of this material broke through the crust of peat and revealed a lakelet, which had been filled with logs, aquatic plants, etc., and finally covered with a deposit of peat formed from the rank vegetable growths of long years. Similar deposits are found along Bridge creek, southeast of Greenville, and small areas are found near the headwaters of small streams in various parts DARKE COUNTY - 31 of the county. Some of these peat bogs have probably been formed in what are known by glacial students as "kettle-holes" resulting from the gradual melting of great masses of ice which had been kept almost intact for a long time by the thick covering of glacial debris. Other bogs may have been formed in shallow lakelets which had been caused by the obstruction of shallow drainage lines by glacial deposits. CHAPTER II. ARCHEOLOGY. It is always interesting to the local archeologist and historian to know when man made his first appearance in his locality. Thus far we have no evidence that he appeared in Darke county before the ice age. The earliest indications of his appearance are the few small mounds, the vast quantities of finished and unfinished stone implements, and the spawls scattered profusely over the surface of the county. Scientists now incline to the view that the ancient American, commonly called the Mound Builder, was the ancestor of the copper colored Indian, who greeted the first European explorers of our continent, and whose descendants are still with us. The coarse black hair, the high cheek, bones, the swarthy complexion, the general facial expression, the cunning handicraft and the nomadic habits of the Indian combine to indicate a close relationship with the Mongoloid tribes of northern Asia, and lend color to the conviction that America was peopled across Behring Strait at a remote date. The Mound Builder made his home in the Mississippi valley and constructed some of his most remarkable works within the limits of the present state of Ohio, especially in the southern part. The most noted of these are the Serpent Mounds in Adams and Warren counties; Fort Ancient on the Little Miami river in Warren county; large conical mound near Miamisburg and geometrical earth works at Chillicothe, Marietta and Newark. It will be noted that, with the exception of the Serpent Mounds, which seems to have been secluded sites of ancient worship, these works are located along the principal northern tributary streams of the Ohio. In the valley of the Great Miami we find a great profusion of geometrical works in Butler county, and isolated mounds and burial sites near Franklin, Miamisburg, Dayton and Piqua. As we ascend to the headwaters of the tributary streams the works diminish in number and size and are confined largely to isolated altar mounds, camp sites and burial places. This was probably due largely to the swampy and inaccessible condition of the (3) 34 - DARKE COUNTY country near such small streams, and we are, therefore, not surprised that few mounds or earth works of consequence appear in Darke county. The ruthless plow of the settler and pioneer have practically obliterated even these few and for the limited knowledge that we have of them we are largely indebted to such men as Mr. Robert M. Dalrymple (deceased) of Baker's store, and to Mr. Calvin Young, of Washington township. Several years ago Mr. Young opened a mound on his farm, about a mile west of Nashville, and found a few spears, arrows and slate implements but no pipes. Just east of Nashville, in the isolated gravel cairns on the Cable and Crick farms, several skeletons and implements have been found, also a Queen conch shell which had been buried a depth of some sixteen feet. On the Martin farm, just west of Greenville, two conical elevations, about twelve feet high, resembling mounds, formerly appeared, but have been obliterated by the plow and gravel excavations. Near New Madison an altar mound, originally about twenty feet high, was found. This was opened at the center in early days and revealed a hard, baked clay altar, on the surface of which were found bone needles, ivory beads, slate relics, etc., with traces of iron rust. This mound has also been leveled by the plow which still turns over ashes when passing over this place. It is situated near an ancient burial ground and on the extremity of a ridge overlooking a prairie. In this connection we herewith quote from the pen of R. M. Dalrymple, who wrote several interesting articles on local archeology for the Greenville Journal several years ago. "The ancient Americans believed in a future state of existence, also that the character of the life beyond the grave was very much like the life they had led here, so when they buried their dead the implements, ornaments, etc., possessed by the deceased in life were buried with them, and the ceremonies preceding burial were, doubtless, more or less elaborate, according to the rank of the dead. "The Mound Builders, as a general rule, buried their dead in the gravel banks throughout the country, in graves which were generally three feet deep, but in some cases much deeper. Their remains have generally been found either in a sitting or standing position. "Near North Star years ago was a hill composed of a fine quality of gravel. In making the pikes in that country this hill was all hauled away. A large number of human bones DARKE COUNTY - 35 were found in the hill and were hauled out on the road, where they lay for several years until crushed and ground to atoms by traveling vehicles, no one paying any attention to collecting and preserving these ancient remains. We think that no relics were found in this cemetery. "At Bishop's crossing, near Greenville, in building the pikes, several graves, either Indian or Mound Builder, were discovered. With the bones were found pipes of stone, spearheads and other relics. An old gentleman, who helped to do this work, said that the graves were quite numerous, and about all of them contained relics. "It is likely that some of these graves were those of Indians. It was the custom in this locality when the Indians buried their dead, if a chief, to kill his pony and bury it with him besides the implements used by him while alive; then to build a pen of logs around the small mound to keep out wild animals, which might dig up the remains if not protected in this manner. A chief by the name of Blue Jacket was buried in Greenville township in the manner described. We are not able to tell just the exact difference between a Mound Builder's and an Indian's grave, but if the bones of a pony are found with the human skeleton it would be safe to call it an Indian's grave. "There is a gravel hill in the prairie on the farm of George Reigle, near Fort Jefferson, in which a single skeleton was found but no relics or other bones. Near Clark's Station is an ancient graveyard in a gravel ridge also. Gravel is hauled out on the road every year and as it is caved skeletons are often unearthed which were buried in a standing position. "The locality in and around Nashville, German township, furnishes some interesting information. One or two mounds have been opened yielding a lot of relics, skeletons, etc. Two large shells, native of the Pacific coast, were taken from one of the mounds. The inside had beeen cut out of them leaving a large cavity capable of holding about one gallon, and making a very beautiful addition to the kitchen furniture of the ancient people of the stone age. "Northwest of New Madison, close to a mound, is another of the ancient cemeteries. It is situated on the southern end of a ridge while the mound is on the northern end. The last rites were, most likely, performed at the altar mound and the dead then carried to where they are found. Several skeletons 36 - DARKE COUNTY have been found in this place but they soon crumble on exposure to the air. "One of the most interesting burial spots was discovered on the farm of Jesse Woods in German township. In digging the cellar under the house where he lives, Mr. Woods discovered a skeleton in a sitting posture. It was covered with plates of mica and was the central figure in a group of other skeletons arranged in a circle around it. The skeletons in the circle were lying at full length. Mr. Woods regrets very much that he did not preserve the mica as they were the only relics found-in the grave. This grave we consider the most interesting yet discovered in Darke county, but many more graves of the ancient Americans may yet be found in the county as it becomes more thickly settled. "Near the West Branch church, in Neave township, a skeleton was dug out in the caving walls of a gravel pit. The body had been buried in a sitting position. The bones were in a state of decay. No relics were found. "About half a mile northwest of Fort Jefferson was found a skeleton buried in a sitting position with knees drawn up. In the grave was a burned clay pipe with bowl and stem in one piece. The bowl was fluted inside. An old settler in the vicinity said that he had made many a pipe just like it. A stone ax was also in the grave. "We have found that in selecting a site for burial the ancient savage generally made use of an elevated spot of ground, mostly a natural ridge, in about the same location as for a camp or village. A large number are sometimes buried in one place while in other instances but a single grave is found." It should be noted that the conch shells mentioned by this writer were probably from the Pacific coast, and the sheets of mica from the rare deposits of this material in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Indian Camp Sites and Villages. Camp sites occur at many places within the county as evidenced by the large number of spawls of chert and flint and the broken and unfinished stone implements turned up by the plow. They are usually located near running springs. The upper valleys of -Mud creek, West Branch and Crout creek were inhabited by the early Americans who have left distinct DARKE COUNTY - 37 traces of their early residence along these branch streams. Sections thirteen, fourteen, twenty-three and twenty-four in German township, near the head of West Branch, have been especially prolific in relics of the stone age. Perhaps the largest camp site in Darke county was situated on the Garst farm, in section thirteen, and on the Ross farm adjoining it on the south, in section twenty-four. This site covers sev- eral acres and is on a gravel hill which terminates in a steep bank on the north and west sides. it follows the course of the stream and made a level, elevated and ideal camping place. A large number of hammers, axes, spear and arrowheads have been found here and flint chips are plentiful. On the Metzcar farm, just south of the Ross place, a pile of burned bricks were found by the first white settlers, who came here in 1817. These bricks were larger than the standard size and the upper laver was somewhat disintegrated and covered with considerable leaf mold, indicating that many years had elapsed since they had been placed in position. Perhaps they had been burned on the spot to form the foundation of a Jesuit missionary station, late in the seventeenth or' early in the eighteenth century; or they might have supported the cabin of an early French trader who established himself here in a settlement of friendly Indians. Just east of the Metzcar farm, on the Wagner farm, Mr. Dalrymple explored a camp site covering about seven acres. Near the head of Crout creek, in sections three, ten and fifteen of German township. and in sections thirty-three, thirty-four and thirty-five of Washington township, numerous evidences of early occupancy have been found. Skeletons, beads and various implements were found in a gravel cairn on the Norman Teaford farm. The decayed remains of numerous hark wigwams were encountered on the Ross farm, in the southeast corner of section nine, German township, by the early settlers. On the Bickel and Neff farms, near the mouth of Grout creek, remains of an encampment were found, besides numerous stone implements. In fact, there seems to have been a string of villages along the entire course of this creek and the pioneers saw Indians in this locality as late as 1831 or 1832, when the upper Miami valley tribes emigrated beyond the Mississippi river. On the Coapstick farm, just south of Nashville, a sugar camp had apparently been operated by the Indians as the trees showed marks made in tapping when examined by the pioneers. Many stone hammers were found near this 38 - DARKE COUNTY place, indicating that it had been a camp site. The Young mound and the gravel cairns on the Cable farm, above mentioned, were in this neighborhood. Along the east side of Mud creek prairie, between Greenville and Fort Jefferson, several camp sites have been discovered. On the Benj. Kerst farm and on the Lamb farm in section fifteen, Neave township, adjoining some fine springs and overlooking the prairie, numerous unfinished implements and large quantities of spawls have been found, indicating long occupancy by the natives. The site of the city of Greenville itself was probably one of the largest and most popular camping grounds in the county on account of its extensive elevated grounds, overlooking the Mud creek prairie and the valley of Greenville creek. It is known that Indian trails radiated from this site in various directions. Strong indications of a camp site were found on the Wright farm in the northwest corner of section thirty-one, Greenville township, on the north bluff of Greenville creek. No doubt villages were located on the tipper waters of the Whitewater in Harrison township and in various parts of the county, as evidenced by the large number of stone relics which have been picked up from time to time. The .sites mentioned have been most carefully explored and serve to indicate what further careful investigation may reveal. It has been noticed that village sites have almost invariably been found near springs, and on the ridges or bluffs bordering streams or prairies. They were located here, no doubt, for convenience, for accessibility and also on account of the impassable and unsanitary condition of the extensive swamps which characterized primitive Darke county. Flint Caches. The ancient Americans obtained flint blocks and fragments at an extensive and well known outcrop of this material, southeast of Newark in Licking county, Ohio, where signs of extensive quarrying appear. The flint was taken out some distance below the surface where it was found to be more easily chipped and worked out. The material secured here was often carried several hundred miles to some camp site, probably by some nomadic tribe of traders, where it was chipped off and worked into the desired implements. If not DARKE COUNTY - 39 needed at the time the leaves or flakes or flint were buried a few inches beneath the surface for safe deposit and probably to keep them damp and in condition for working when needed. Such burials are known as "caches" and have been encountered in various parts of the county. A few typical finds will be noted, all of which occured near streams. A cache was found in German township near the upper West Branch on the farm, of Ivens Parent and consisted of about a peck of light lead colored chips of chert, ranging from an inch and a half to two inches in width and from two to three inches in length. The uniform color, texture and cleavage of these specimens showed clearly that they were all of the same material. A cache, comprising about three pecks of gray flakes, was revealed upon the uprooting of a large tree by the wind some forty years ago on the farm now owned by J. W. Ross, in the southeast quarter of section twenty-two, Washington township, near Crout creek. A cache comprising probably fifty specimens of a uniform light brown color was found by Washington Hunt, about twenty years ago, on the Jos. Katzenberger farm near Weimer's Mill, in section twenty, Greenville township, just north of Greenville creek. On the north side of the same creek on the Judy tract, section thirty-six Greenville township, just east of Greenville, a very large cache was found in early days which contained probably four hundred specimens. Other instances of this kind might he cited but these suffice. It is unfortunate that the specimens thus found have been scattered far and wide and it is the writer's hope that the next large cache will find its way into the public museum in Greenville, where it may be safely kept and exhibited for its educational value. Workshops. Mention is made of an ancient camp site and workshop on the farm of Robert Downing, in section nine, Harrison township, near the head of West Branch. Here, it seems, a specialty was made of manufacturing stone axes, large numbers of which have been found in a partly finished condition. At this place an immense quantity of spawls and broken stone is encountered when turning up the soil, and a fine spring is near at hand. On the north bluff of Greenville creek, about a mile and a half east of Gettysburg, in section twenty-nine, Adams township, was apparently located a workshop 40 - DARKE COUNTY where stone pestles were once made. Large numbers of small granitic, glacial boulders are found in this locality and the ancient craftsmen of the stone age had evidently used these to good purpose as shown by the quantity of pestles, finished and unfinished, which have been found here. In the opinion of Mr. Young the finding of such a large number of one kind of implement on a definite site would tend to indicate that the artist who located his workshop there was a specialist in the shaping and manufacturing of that particular tool or weapon, thereby becoming an expert in his line. The Indians had small, portable stone mortars in which to pulverize and mix the pigments for decorating their bodies and others for grinding grain. They also used large stationary boulders for the latter purpose. One of these formerly stood on the old Rush farm, now belonging to R. E. O'Brien, in section three, just north of the site of Bunker Hill, formerly mentioned. This old stone mill has been badly defaced but is still exhibited by Mr. O'Brien. A skeleton was exhumed in the sand pit near this stone, which seems to have been located along an old trail leading diagonally across the prairie and joining the main trail near Oakwood. Another stone mill formerly stood near Beech Grove, and a third on the Jenkinson farm south of Fort Jefferson. Fine specimens of pipes have been found in the following localities: Stone Pipes and Implements. A catlinite pipe was found on the south bank of Greenville creek, in section seventeen, Washington township, on the farm now owned by H. M. Oswalt. This is now in the Katzenberger collection. Another catlinite pipe was found in section five, German township, on the Clemens land at the head of Carnahan branch of Greenville creek. (Now in the collection of E. M. Thresher, Dayton, Ohio.) A dark bluish green polished steatite pipe was found on the Wm. Rentz farm in section twenty-two, Greenville township. (brow in the possession of H. C. Shetrone, Columbus, Ohio.) A pipe carved after the form of a sitting man with a human face cut in the bowl was found in a mound. A carved stone tortoise was picked up near Fort Jefferson. It was about four inches long, three inches wide, and two inches high, and was of a peculiar rock, mottled yellow and black. Effigy pipes, record pipes and common pipes have also been found in limited DARKE COUNTY - 41 numbers. The list of implements and ornaments found at various times scattered over the county is a large one and includes flint and chert knives, spears, arrow heads, drills, slate stone discs, badges, gorges, axes, calling tubes, scrapers, record tablets, thread shapers, rubbing stones, granite mortars, pestles, celts, hammers, axes, balls, etc. Large numbers of these were secured in early clays by Dr. Gabriel Miesse, and by Anthony and Charles Katzenberger, and many are now on exhibition in the public museum in Greenville. Topography. The surface of Darke county presents but few marked features. As before suggested it is known as a glacial plain and is crossed by three moraine belts slightly elevated above the adjoining lands. The great watershed, or summit ridge, dividing the basins of the Wabash and Great Miami enters the northeastern part of the county in Patterson township and trends in a southwesterly direction, passing through the southern part of Wabash and Allen townships, and reaching the state line near the middle of the western line of Jackson township. The land slopes mostly in a southeasterly direction from this ridge toward the Great Miami. The ridge itself presents a broad, rounded and comparatively regular outline. At a remote date it was probably somewhat higher and much more uneven, but the natural elements have eroded its original surface and the streams have carried down this loosened glacial material and mixed it with the black vegetable loam of the upper basins of the Mississinawa, Wabash and Stillwater streams, thus greatly enriching these bottom lands and reducing the rugged contour of the ridge. In the neighborhood of Rosehill the ridge reaches a height of eleven hundred feet above sea level while in its eastern lobe it is about a hundred feet lower. The highest altitude in the county, 1,225 feet, is in Harrison township near School No. 7 on the ridge separating the basin of the Whitewater from that of the West Branch. The following. figures from the topographic survey of Ohio show the relative height at various points in the county. It will be noted that the difference between the highest and lowest points enumerated, viz.: Yankeetown, in Harrison township, and Versailles, in Wayne township, is two hundred 42 - DARKE COUNTY and twenty-four feet, and that the elevation of the county seat is about ten hundred and fifty feet:

Yankeetown New Madison Savona Palestine Clark's Station Nashville Castine Near Rose Hill Jaysville Arcanum Greenville Brock

1,192 1,113 1,106 1,104 1,095 1,093 1,079 1,078 1,064 1,053 1,050 1,048

Elroy Ithaca Rossburg Pitsburg Woodington Dawn New Weston North Star Ansnia New Harrison Yorkshire Versailles

1,031 1,032 1,030 1,028 1,023 1,022 1,014 1,006 1,005 987 987 987

Streams and Drainage Systems. The upper Stillwater rises in Jackson township, skirts the southern slope of the dividing ridge near Lightsville, and flows southeasterly in a shallow valley toward the Great Miami. It drains the plain lying between the Mississinawa and the Union moraines formerly noted. Greenville creek, the largest stream in the county, arises in the Wabash divide a few miles across the state line southwest of Union City and flows in a southeastern direction along the Union moraine to Greenville and thence easterly to its junction with Stillwater at Covington, in Miami county. Its principal branches, Dismal creek, Crout creek, West Branch, Mud creek and Bridge creek, are received from the south and west. It drains a large part of the county lying between the Union moraine and the moraine passing through the southern part of the county. The Union moraine on the north and the glacial cairns along the central course break the monotony and give a romantic touch to its scenic effect. These two streams drain the most of the county, but are supplemented by other valuable water courses. The upper waters of the Mississinawa and the Wabash rise within about a mile of each other on the northern slope of the divide in the northwestern part of the county. The former drains most of Mississinawa township and the western part of Jackson township. The latter runs southeasterly into central Allen township and thence northeasterly through the northwest corner of Wabash and into Mercer county. After continuing east- DARKE COUNTY - 43 ward it takes a circuitous course and returns westward in Mercer county, so that when it arrives at Fort Recovery after traveling about sixty miles it is only about four miles from its source. Painter creek and Ludlow creek rise in what used to be known as the swamp ash slashes in the southeastern part of the county and drain the rich level country now comprised mostly in Franklin and Monroe townships, together with parts of Van Buren and Twin townships. Twin creek rises in the northern part of Butler township in what was formerly known as Maple Swamp, flows east of south and forms the main drainage system of that township. Miller's Fork of Twin creek reaches up into Twin township and drains its western and southern portion. The East Fork of White Water drains the southwestern corner of the county. It reaches to the neighborhood of New Madison where its headwaters approach within half a mile of the source of Mud creek, forming a remarkable continuous prairie which has been utilized by the Panhandle railway from Greenville to Richmond to good effect. The main head of the White Water is in western German township within a mile of the head of Crout creek. This stream flows almost west of south, passing west of Hollansburg and crossing the state line about two miles below this place. Thus it will be seen that Darke county is covered with a veritable network of streams radiating in various directions and belonging mostly to the Miami and Wabash drainage basins. There is not a single township without an adequate drainage system. These streams and brooks are fed by numberless springs bubbling from the loamy soil, and furnishing refreshment to man and beast. Probably the finest springs are found in the southwestern part of the county, where they bubble up from the underlying limestone freighted with carbonate of lime and magnesia and having properties similar to the famous Cedar Springs in the adjoining section of Preble county. On account of the extensive drainage operations and the destruction of the forest in the county most of the surface springs have disappeared from sight and water is supplied by wells obtained from the sand and gravel deposits overlying the glacial clays at a depth of from twenty to fifty feet below the surface. Many wells have been drilled deep in the underlying limestone and prove an unfailing source of fine drinking water. On the Tillman farm in section 20, Brown township, water was encountered at a depth 44 - DARKE COUNTY of about 180 feet while drilling for oil or gas in 1899. Water has continued to pour from this hole ever since, making one of the finest artesian wells in the county. Some fine surface springs are found in this same neighborhood which feed the upper Stillwater. This abundant supply of good water and excellent drainage system have contributed materially to the rapid development of the county, making it one of the most desirable places of residence within the state. Forests. This abundance of moisture explains, also, the presence of the grand forests which covered primitive Darke county. Rooted in a naturally rich soil the trees were fed by an unfailing supply of moisture from the springs and streams. Judging from the accounts of the pioneers and from the groves of timber still standing one would be inclined to the opinion that the primeval forest of old Darke county was one of the finest encountered in temperate climes in variety of species, development of body, beauty of foliage and commercial value. It seems that there were few natural meadows or prairies and that an almost unbroken forest stretched over the entire face of the county. Sometimes one encountered beautiful groves of fine oaks, as along the ridges skirting the Mud Creek prairie. In level wet places soft maple perhaps prevailed as in the extensive maple swamp in Butler township. Again the hard sugar maple predominated to the delight of the Indian and the pioneer as in the Hiller settlement. Beech groves were found in a few places, mostly in the southern and western part of the county, and on the ridge in the northern part. Along the streams grew the white boled sycamore, the stately American elm, the graceful linden and the verdant willow. For the most part, however, the predominating trees were interspersed with others scarcely less common and a remarkable variety was encountered on a comparatively small tract of land. Besides those mentioned, the ash, shagbark, hickory and black walnut were quite common. While the following variety were encountered with more or less frequency: yellow poplar, buckeye, locust, cottonwood, slippery elm, butternut. black cherry, mulberry, coffee berry, silver maple. While among the smaller varieties were noted the dogwood, red bud. black-haw, red-haw, sassafras, wild crab, wild plum, persimmon, papaw and a large variety of ornamental and flowering DARKE COUNTY - 45 shrubbery which often made an almost impenetrable growth of underbrush, such as the spice bush, wahoo, sumac, hazelnut, blackberry, raspberry. It should be noted also that the predominating trees were found in large variety. For instance, the oak which appeared in black, red, white, burr and pin. Individual specimens attained a remarkable size as shown by the following notable instances mentioned by Mr. Calvin Young. "In the year 1883 there was cut down in German township an oak that had a history. It measured over six feet across the stump, containing over five hundred annual rings of growth. It was in its most thrifty condition between two and three hundred years of age, from the fact of those annual growths were much larger and faster of growth than it was at the heart or bark of the tree. It was tall and symmetrical, with a broad and branching top. * * * It was one hundred and nine years old when Columbus discovered America. It was three hundred and ninety-three years old when our fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. * * *" "On Thursday, January 16, 1902, at one o'clock p. m., one of the largest poplar trees in western Ohio fell to the ground. It was bought by E. L. Fields, of Union City, Ind., for which he paid $160, also $11 more for extra timber to place under the same to prevent it from splitting or breaking in falling to the ground. It belonged to Jacob Ware, section 10, German township, Darke county, Ohio. It stood about two hundred yards east of Crout creek, which is a branch of Greenville creek, noted by Judge Wharry in his early surveys as one of the finest and most fertile tracts of land from its source to its mouth to be found in Darke county. The tree was six feet across the stump, 18 feet in circumference, 74 feet to the first limb, attained a height of about 144 feet. By a careful count of the annual rings it was found to be over 400 years old." A large and rare specimen of the coffee berry tree formerly stood below Fort Jefferson on the farm now owned by C. D. Folkerth, northwest part of section 34, Neave township. For years it was a notable landmark standing at the fork of the old trails—St. Clair's trace and the one leading to Fort Black (New Madison). The top was finally shattered by the winds and the dismantled trunk was cut down a few years ago by Mr. Folkerth. It is said that the bole of this tree was about four feet across and that it was the largest specimen of this 46 - DARKE COUNTY variety in the United States. In its full maturity it was photographed by representatives of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., and furnished an illustration in one of the institution's reports. It attracted wide attention among botanists and was viewed by many admirers. The berries, or beans, were dark brown, about the size of a coffee-berry, with extremely flinty shells and were carried in pods six or eight inches long resembling the pods of the honey locust tree. A white oak tree was felled on the Kerst farm in the northern part of section 18, Neave township, one-half mile east of Baker's store, some sixty years ago, which measured about seven feet in diameter. A burr oak about seven feet in diameter was felled in early days in Twin township. Such trees were encountered, most probably, in nearly every section of the county, and cause a shade of regret to pass over the face of the old settlers still living as they recite the remarkable instances and think of the marketable value of such timber todav—one such tree being worth an acre or two of fine farm land at the high prices of today. Where has all this fine timber gone? To answer this question one needs only to think of the settler's cabin. the big log burnings, the worm rail fence, the back log of the old fireplace, the corduroy road, the wooden bridge, the railway tie, the spoke, stave and head factory, the wagon factory, the saw mill and the foreign shipment. The time has come when the headwaters and bottoms of our streams as well as those all over the state might be reforested for the general welfare and we look forward to the time when communities will be forced to do by legal enactment what they have failed to do by private initiative. Denizens of the Forest. In such a wilderness as covered primitive Darke county, one would expect to find a great variety and quantity of wild animal life. The testimony of an early settler shows the character of the game and other animals of the forest: "There was always an abundance of deer, bear, wild turkeys, pheasants and squirrels, the latter too plentiful, as they would eat up much of the new corn in the fields. Of animals unclean, and such as were not used for food, there was an abundance, such as panthers, catamounts, wolves—the latter of which were very annoying to the settlers from their propensity to DARKE COUNTY - 47 steal calves, pigs and sheep. Ground-hogs, opossums, porcupines and wildcats abounded. Of the fur-bearing animals there were beaver, otter, mink, muskrats and raccoons. These fur animals were trapped and caught in great abundance, and were the only source from which the settlers got their cash. These furs could always be sold for money, and were largely used at the time in the manufacture of hats and caps. "Besides these there were great flocks of wild geese, wild ducks and wild pigeons almost constantly to be seen during the summer season. From such abundance the settlers could always keep their tables well supplied with a variety of the choicest meats." CHAPTER III. THE OHIO COUNTRY. The early history of Darke county is so closely interwoven with that of the Ohio valley that it is impossible to get a satisfactory knowledge of the one without a brief survey of the other. Between Ft. Pitt, the strongest American outpost, and Detroit, the British capital of the old northwest, hostile demonstrations were enacted which disturbed the peace and threatened the stability of the early American government. Raids were constantly made on the new settlements south of the Ohio river, only shortly to be followed by retaliatory expeditions by the hardy backwoodsmen. After the Revolution ended in the east it was found necessary to subdue the haughty red man, who had been exploited and encouraged by the British agents of the north since the end of the French war in 1763. Clark, Harmar, Wilkinson, St. Clair and Wayne were successively sent against them with varying fortunes, but final success. Thus was enacted a drama of conquest, whose early scenes are laid in the valley of the Ohio and the region of the lower lakes, but whose final scenes appear in the valleys of the Maumee and Miami. We have noted the unmistakable signs of the early and extensive appearance of the red man in Darke county, and will now consider his character, his ethnic relations and note the effect of his contact with the rapidly advancing pioneer American settlements. How long the various families and tribes of the North American Indians had occupied the tracts of land respectively claimed by them at the advent of the white man, it is impossible to say in the absence of any written records or authentic history. The legends of the tribes but add to the confusion of the historian and give little encouragement to the hope that a true account of their past wanderings and experiences shall ever he constructed. It is known, however, that some of the tribes made extensive migrations soon after the discovery of the continent by European explorers. (4)