SOME OHIO BOWLDERS.
E. L. TAYLOR.
In the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly,
July, 1905, Mr. Basil Meek gave an
interesting sketch of "A
Rock With a History." This bowlder
is found in Sandusky
county seven miles southwest of the city
of Fremont. The arti-
cle referred to has induced me to give a
short account of three
large granite bowlders found in Franklin
county and near the
city of Columbus.
The first of these is located in the
bottom of a ravine, or
rather the bed of a run, which comes
from the west and empties
into the Scioto river about three miles
west from the center of
the city of Columbus. The bed of the run
at this point is about
one hundred and fifty yards in width and
the bowlder is near
the middle of the bed. It is on what is
now the "State Hospital"
grounds and to the north and west of the
main building about
a quarter of a mile. The late Dr. Edward
Orton, who made the
geological report of Franklin county,
told me that it was the
largest bowlder in Franklin county, and,
perhaps, in this part
of the State, of which he had knowledge.
This corresponds with
my own observation. There are granatic
bowlders almost innu-
merable scattered over all parts of
Franklin county. A great
many of them are comparatively small,
but many of them are
large and vary in their composition to a
very considerable extent.
There is perhaps not a farm of any
extent in the county where
they are not found. In some places they
are so numerous as to
be quite a hindrance to the cultivation
of the land, and thousands
of them have been removed by the owners
of the soil in order
that they might better cultivate their
farms. As we have said,
this particular bowlder is the largest
of them all insofar as we
have knowledge or information.
We give herewith a diagram showing its
outline above the
ground. The bowlder is 49 feet around at
the base and at the
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156 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
highest point is 71/2 feet high. No digging was done to ascertain what portion was beneath the soil, but the conformation of the bowlder would indicate that at least one-half, if not more, is under ground. If that estimate is correct, the whole weight of the bowl- der would be in the neighborhood of from 80 to 100 tons, and this, we think, to be a fair estimate. The bowlder shows evidence of very considerable disintegration. When it was first dropped at |
|
that point it was probably very materially larger than at the present time, and must have been seventy-five or more feet above its present position. The geological formation at that point was Devonian limestone, and this bowlder was necessarily deposited there in the age of "floating ice" and long prior to the beginning of the formation of the Scioto river and its branches. The lit- tle valley in which this bowlder now reposes is at least seventy- five or more feet below the upper strata of the limestone as it was at the time the bowlder was deposited. Since that time the Scioto river has worn its way down through the limestone forma- tion to its present level, and the numerous streams and ravines which lead into it have also been formed since that remote period. |
Some Ohio Bowlders. 157
It so happens that a dry run which drains the country west of it for two or three miles found its way to the river on a line where this bowlder was deposited. The bowlder is not many feet above high water-mark on the Scioto, and less than a half mile from it. We give herewith the outline as photographed in October, 1905. This photograph was kindly furnished by Dr. George Stockton, Superintendent of the State Hospital. The measurements were |
|
made by Major A. D. Rogers of Columbus, Ohio, and are as follows: BOWLDER NO. 1. Circumference at ground .............................. 49' H eight . . ................................... 7 1/2'
BOWLDER NO. 2. There is another very interesting bowlder to be found almost directly northeast across the Scioto river about one mile from No. 1. It is on the east side of the Scioto river in a precinct or district called Grandview. Singularly enough it is just at the mouth of a deep and narrow ravine where it opens out into the bottom |
158 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
lands of the Scioto. This bowlder is interesting both for its size and its unusual height. Like No. 1, it is much larger at the ground than at any point above. In height it exceeds any bowlder in Franklin county of which we have knowledge. Like No. 1, this great bowlder has sunk down from its original position, prob- ably seventy-five or more feet, as the elements have worn away |
|
the limestone during the long period which has elapsed since the water went away and the Scioto river began to take its form and cut its way down through the limestone formation. From appear- ances of the bowlder it would seem that a very large proportion of it was hidden underground. No digging has been made to ascertain what is below the surface, but there certainly must be at least one-third and probably one-half of the bowlder hidden beneath the soil. The dimensions of this bowlder, by actual |
Some Ohio Bowlders. 159
measurement, made by Henry C. Taylor in October, 1905, are as follows: M easure at surface ................................. 30' 4" 1/4 distance from base............................... 29' 10" 2/3 distance from base............. ......... 23' 4" Circumference of top ............................... 20' 5" H eight ............................................ 10' 5"
BOWLDER NO. 3. This bowlder is east from the center of the city of Columbus about five miles and is about three hundred yards north of the |
|
line of the old National road. It is in plain sight from the road. It is situated entirely different from No. 1 and No. 2. It stands on the great level which extends from Alum creek to Walnut creek, and is about half way between them. The region round about is very flat and level in every direction, and there are no streams |
160 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
small or large anywhere near it. It rests on a bed of clay which overlies a heavy slate formation (Devonian shale), which is from fifteen to twenty feet below the surface. The peculiarity of this bowlder is that it is slightly smaller at the ground surface than it is two or three feet above the surface. It is very symmetrical in form, and while not so large as either No. 1 or No. 2 is never- |
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theless a very interesting bowlder. The measurements are as follows: Circumference at the ground........................ 29' 5" Circumference half way from base to summit........ 30' 5" Circumference near top ............................ 24' 7" H eight ............................................ 6' 4" All of these bowlders are on almost a line from east to west, and all of the same composition and probably came from the same locality, and probably near the same period of time. If a line were |
Some Ohio Bowlders. 161
drawn from No. 1 to No. 3, from east to
west, they would all be
within a quarter of a mile of a straight
line, No. 2 being slightly
to the north of the line. They are all
within one-half mile of the
line of the National road.
This bowlder has escaped injury at the
hands of thoughtless
persons, while No. 1 and No. 2 have both
suffered severely by
having large pieces pried or thrown off
from them where time
and the elements have opened seams in
the bowlders which made
the mutilation possible. Large pieces
are lying around the base
of each of these bowlders which could
only have been detached or
removed by human agencies. It is greatly
to be hoped that this
has not been the case in other places
where large bowlders are
found. They are by far the oldest
monuments or landmarks that
we have, having been brought here by the
mighty agency of float-
ing ice long before the waters subsided
and the dry earth appeared
in this region. They have been silent
witnesses of the mighty
changes and transformations which have
taken place around them
in the formation of hills and valleys
and other changes in the sur-
face of the earth in this region during
the vast period of time
which has intervened between the close
of the Ice Age anti the
present time, and it would seem they
should be exempt from
mutilation at human hands, as they were
brought here long before
human life or animal life was possible
in this region.
That there are larger bowlders of like
nature within the bor-
ders of the state, there is no doubt;
perhaps many of them. Prof.
E. B. Andrews, who made the geological
report of Fairfield
county, says (Geological Survey, 1870,
page 58):
"The forces which carried bowlders
and gravel were evi-
dently exerted in an unusual degree
through all the eastern part
of Fairfield county. A bowlder near the
roadside a few miles
northeast of Lancaster, is the largest I
have met with in the State.
Most of it is buried, but judging from
the exposed part I should
infer that it might weigh one hundred
tons."
Prof. John Hussey in his report (Vol.
III, Geological Sur-
vey, Ohio, page 437) says:
"The largest bowlder perhaps which
is found so far south in
this state is found in Clinton county on
the county infirmary farm
Vol. XV-11
162 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
near Wilmington, and this lies on a
fine-grained clay upon which
it would seem to have fallen by washing
away of the clay in which
it was formerly imbedded, and which, at
a higher level, lies near it
on all sides. This bowlder contains
about 1,200 cubic feet and
weighs upwards of ninety tons."
In the same report (Vol. III, page 462)
Prof. Hussey says:
"While the transported rocks do not
constitute a marked
feature in Shelby county, still there
are many of them. .
The largest bowlder, however, that has,
as yet, come under my
observation in the state, lies near the
railroad one mile east of
Sidney. It contains 1,250 cubic feet,
and weighs one hundred
and three tons."
Prof. Edward Orton in his report of the
geology of War-
ren county (Geological Survey, Vol. III,
page 389) cays:
"Bowlders, of northern origin, are
everywhere distributed
through the county. There are several of
unusual size, and one
of them deserves especial notice. It is
found three miles to the
southeast of Lebanon. The bowlder is
composed of gneiss - in
which rose colored felspar is a large
element-a composition
shared by most of the largest erratics
of the region. It weathers
very rapidly, and must have had
considerably greater dimensions
at an earlier day. It now measures above
ground seventeen feet
in length, thirteen feet in breadth, and
eight foot in height. Ex-
amination shows it to be sloping
outwords under ground in all
directions. It is fair to conclude that
at least one-half of it lies
buried. Its weight above ground will not
fall below one hundred
and forty tons."
The weight of this bowlder as here given
is greater than
that of any in the State so far as I am
informed. But a com-
parison of its measurements with Bowlder
No. 1 heretofore men-
tioned, shows that there is no great
difference in their bulk, so
that Bowlder No. 1 may properly be
classed among the largest
of these erratics from the far off
Canadian highlands in the
State insofar as they have been
observed.
Columbus, Ohio.
SOME OHIO BOWLDERS.
E. L. TAYLOR.
In the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly,
July, 1905, Mr. Basil Meek gave an
interesting sketch of "A
Rock With a History." This bowlder
is found in Sandusky
county seven miles southwest of the city
of Fremont. The arti-
cle referred to has induced me to give a
short account of three
large granite bowlders found in Franklin
county and near the
city of Columbus.
The first of these is located in the
bottom of a ravine, or
rather the bed of a run, which comes
from the west and empties
into the Scioto river about three miles
west from the center of
the city of Columbus. The bed of the run
at this point is about
one hundred and fifty yards in width and
the bowlder is near
the middle of the bed. It is on what is
now the "State Hospital"
grounds and to the north and west of the
main building about
a quarter of a mile. The late Dr. Edward
Orton, who made the
geological report of Franklin county,
told me that it was the
largest bowlder in Franklin county, and,
perhaps, in this part
of the State, of which he had knowledge.
This corresponds with
my own observation. There are granatic
bowlders almost innu-
merable scattered over all parts of
Franklin county. A great
many of them are comparatively small,
but many of them are
large and vary in their composition to a
very considerable extent.
There is perhaps not a farm of any
extent in the county where
they are not found. In some places they
are so numerous as to
be quite a hindrance to the cultivation
of the land, and thousands
of them have been removed by the owners
of the soil in order
that they might better cultivate their
farms. As we have said,
this particular bowlder is the largest
of them all insofar as we
have knowledge or information.
We give herewith a diagram showing its
outline above the
ground. The bowlder is 49 feet around at
the base and at the
(155)