Ohio History Journal

COUNCIL ROCK.

 

 

C. C. SHERWOOD.

Council Rock is located on a farm owned by Mr. E. M.

Sherwood, five miles south-east of McConnelsville, county seat of

Morgan county, on the east side of the Muskingum river. The

visible portion of the rock is twenty feet in length and ten feet

in height. The rock itself is one of the most prominent among

many in its immediate vicinity and from its location one obtains

a fine view of the valley and river in the foreground. It projects

out of the base of the hillside and the size of the entire rock can-

not be given or even estimated because the greater part is buried

in the hillside. The pictures are outlined grooves apparently

made by rubbing some hard substance or instrument on the rock

surface. The outlines are about a quarter of an inch in depth

and retain their distinctness owing to the fact that they weather

in the same proportion as the rock itself weathers.

The pictures do not attract the attention of the passerby who

is unacquainted with their existence, but upon close examination

or observation they are clearly discernible and easily recognized.

The noticeable position of the rock clearly indicates why it was

the one chosen by a pre-historic people upon which to leave their

handiwork. The rock has always been a favorite resting place

because of the view it affords from its site. The rock moreover

consists of very hard and durable sandstone, thereby presenting

an excellent surface upon which the pictures could be carved.

These pictures were first brought to my attention about twelve

years ago and I have refrained from making their existence

public, in order that I might, if possible, learn something of

their origin and purpose before they would be disturbed by those

less interested in their history. I am quite familiar with the

kinds of animals which these pictures represent excepting one,

the identity of which it is difficult to determine, it may be either

a fox or a wolf, but the fact that it has a slender tail raises the

question of doubt in my mind as to which it may be.

(307)

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308       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. The existence of these pictures at this point raises the pre- sumption that probably there was a great council meeting of Indians held at this place, as may be inferred from the circle in the center, which was a familiar symbol among the aborigines of a council meeting, namely a circle around a fire. The pictures are placed in a rude circle around this central ring and may have represented the different tribes included in the council meeting, each Indian tribe having an animal as its

representative or totem. One curious feature is that the white man is represented in one of these pictures. It was not until lately that I decided to publish the facts of this discovery as I desired to wait until I had determined whether they were genuine Indian inscriptions. This region was a populous Indian country in the early days as indicated by the several Indian mounds and the finding of many mills or grinding stones in this neighborhood. McConnelsville, Ohio.

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