STORY OF THE FIRST GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF OHIO
1835 - 1842.
BY PAUL WAKELEE STODDARD*
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
The purpose of this paper is conceived
to be the
story of the First Geological Survey of Ohio, not the
findings of the Survey, or the discoveries made. It
deals with the rise and fall of popular
sentiment, and
the corresponding reaction in
legislative halls. More-
over, this is legislative history--not
social; for the lat-
ter, although far more valuable, is
subtle and elusive.
It is difficult to obtain and still
more difficult to render
accurate. So the essay is confined to the recital of
actual events in chronological order,
with occasional
excursions into the personnel of, the
public comment
upon, and the results obtained from the
Survey.
A bibliographical note is appended.
STORY OF THE FIRST GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF OHIO
"Before closing this
communication," wrote the Gov-
ernor of Ohio, Robert Lucas, in his
annual message to
the State Legislature, on December 8,
1835,1 round-
ing out one of those mouth-filling
paragraphs so com-
mon in the American "Age of
Oratory," "I am im-
* B. A., Yale University, 1924. Graduate
School, Yale University, De-
cember 15, 1927.
1 Ohio, House Journal, 1835-36,
20.
(107)
108
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
pressed with the importance of calling
the attention of
the General Assembly to the subject of
the geology of
the State. For want of a correct
knowledge of the
geology of the State, large sums have
been, at various
periods, expended in useless searches
after coal, iron,
salt, gypsum, marble, and various other
minerals. It
is known that our country abounds in
all the minerals
above mentioned, with many others of great
value. I
would therefore respectfully submit the
subject to your
consideration, and solicit your enquiry
into the import-
ance of authorizing a general
scientific geological survey
of the State. Such a survey could not
fail to furnish
the State with a mass of information of
the highest
importance. Surveys of this character
have been made
under the State authorities in some of
the Eastern
States. Massachusetts has caused such a
survey to be
made, and has obtained and published
under her au-
thority, a scientific report of the
geology, mineralogy,
botany and zoology of that entire State
. . . I therefore
respectfully solicit your enquiry into
the expediency
and utility of authorizing a general
geological survey
of the State, by a scientific, practical
Geologist, to be
employed by the State for that purpose;
whose duty it
should be to make an accurate and
detailed report, to
the General Assembly, of his geological
and mineralogi-
cal observations."
This statement as to the possibility of
a geological
survey is the first to be found in the
official documents
of the State of Ohio; yet it is
probable that the idea of
such an enterprise did not originate
entirely with Gov-
ernor Lucas, admirably progressive
though he was. As
his message said, other states, notably
Massachusetts
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 109
and New Jersey, had begun extensive
movements in
this direction. Knowledge of the
deposits of the valu-
able minerals in Ohio was becoming more
widespread
in the years after 1830, and the people
were beginning
to realize and to discuss the
heretofore unsuspected
wealth which was theirs. The
newspapers, too, occa-
sionally contained references to
geology and to progress
elsewhere. In its issue for November 28,
1835, The
Buckeye and Cincinnati Mirror, for example, contained
a brief news item2:
Professor Rogers has been appointed to
make a geological
survey of New Jersey. A geologist is
kept regularly employed in
the state of Tennessee, in making
examinations into her mineral
productions.
And in the same newspaper, some four
months after
the Governor's message had been
delivered, appeared
an article, in two parts, written by
John Locke, eminent
Ohio scientist, later to become a
member of the geologi-
cal survey. It was entitled Geology,3 and
attempted to
explain the subject so that the man in
the street might
read and understand.
Even as far back as 1832, however, the
subject had
been considered, but not with reference
to a survey
financed by the State. The Honorable
Benjamin Tap-
pan, for example, delivered an address
before the "His-
torical and Philosophical Society of
Ohio," on Decem-
ber 22, 1832,4 in which he
urged that organization to
commence the work with the expectation
that the State
might finish it in the years to come:
The Geology of Ohio also remains an
unexplored field. . . .
The portion of country to be described
must be carefully exam-
2 The Buckeye and Cincinnati Mirror, V, No. 5, 39.
3 Ibid., V, Nos. 14, 16; April 30, March 14, 1836.
4 Quoted,
Ohio, Report of the Select Committee, 15-18.
110 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications
ined. . . . We want Geological maps and
descriptive memoirs of
every county in the State. . . . To
obtain and disseminate all
the facts which may, from time to time,
be discovered as to the
rich minerals of the State, will
probably always be an object of
importance to this society.
The professional geologists were also
in sympathy
with the idea. In March, 1836, there
appeared an essay
by John L. Riddell, "Adjunct
Professor of Chemistry,
etc., in Cincinnati College,"
entitled Remarks on the
Geological Features of Ohio, and
Some of the Desid-
erata Which Might Be Supplied By a
Geological Survey
of the State.5 In the article, Professor Riddell summed
up the knowledge then available of
coal, iron, and salt,
recorded his own observations, and
concluded with these
words:
In prosecuting a geological exploration
of the State, the
qualities of mineral springs should be
investigated; not only on
account of their own intrinsic
importance, but because they afford
unerring indications respecting the
nature of the strata through
which they pass.
Many tumuli and other lesser
monuments of antiquity, are
scattered over our territory, which
have never yet been noticed.
These objects I imagine might very
properly be embraced in a
geological survey of the State.
Especial cognizance should be taken of
the forest trees and
other vegetable productions. The native
plants that spring up
from a soil often afford sure criteria
by which to judge of its
quality. . . . They should receive a
share of attention.
The matter of a geological survey was
promptly
taken up in the House of
Representatives; later in the
same day on which the governor's
message was deliv-
ered the Journal reads:6
The House took up the Message of His
Excellency, the
Governor.
Mr. Creed then moved that so much of
the Message as
5 Western Monthly Magazine, March, 1836.
6 Ohio, House Journal, 1835-36,
146.
Story of the First
Geological Survey in Ohio 111
related to a Geological
and Mineralogical Survey of the State
be referred to a select
committee of three members; which was
agreed to.
Whereupon, the Speaker
announced Messrs. Creed, Cushing
and Lyman as said
committee.
Nearly two months
passed before a report was ready
to be presented to the
House, but Creed finally read it on
Tuesday, February 2,
1836,7 and the Senate was like-
wise informed.8 According
to the report:9
The Committee have had
the same under consideration and
now report: That they
readily concur in the views expressed
by the Executive, that
it is a subject eminently deserving legisla-
tive action, and one,
if properly investigated, that cannot fail to
afford a mass of
valuable information. The committee deems it
a matter of regret that
public attention has not, at an earlier
period, been directed
to a consideration of the expediency of such
a survey.
Six reasons were
advanced for the carrying out of
the survey:
(1) It would show
the extent of the deposits already known
to exist.
(2) It would disclose
new localities of minerals now known.
(3) It would show the probability of the
existence of other
valuable minerals and
ores.
(4) It would prevent
the useless waste of capital.
(5) It would aid the agricultural interests of
the state.
(6) It would diffuse correct information among
all classes
of citizens.
Finally, a definite
resolution was offered:
Resolved
that........and........be appointed to make out
a Geological and
Mineralogical Survey of the State of Ohio, and
report the same to the
next Legislature.
Appended to the main
report, were three short ar-
ticles designed to
corroborate the statements of the com-
mittee. One was by the
eminent geologist, Featherston-
7 Ohio, House
Journal, 1835-36, 574.
8 Ohio, Senate
Journal, 1835-36, 592.
9 Ohio, Report of
the Select Committee, 1-18 [separate pamphlet].
112 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
haugh, who had previously done work in
the vicinity;
the second was a treatise on geology by
J. A. Lapham;
and the third, a lengthy quotation from
the address of
Hon. Benjamin Tappan, delivered three
years previ-
ously, to which reference has already
been made. Per-
haps the paragraphs of greatest
interest were these, by
Mr. Lapham:
These fossil remains, like the temples
of ancient Greece,
serve to illustrate the former history
of the earth. The geologist
is carried back in imagination, to the
period, long anterior to
the creation of man, when the earth was
"without form and
void," and when the waters covered
the earth; and he can there
study the very animals that inhabited
the "great deep" . . . He
can trace the effects of the flood that
afterwards swept over
the whole world, and covered the highest
mountains; and can
examine the remains of animals that
existed before that
catastrophe.
In a footnote, he explained:
The opinion here expressed, of the great
age of the globe, is
adopted by many eminent divines of the
present day, and might
be shown to agree with the Mosaic
account of the creation; for
it is evident that the days there
spoken of, were indefinite periods
of time, having some definite beginning
and ending; and during
which a certain order of things
prevailed, different from that
which preceded or that which succeeded
it.
Legislative processes in Ohio, in 1836,
apparently
moved no faster than do similar actions
today. The
bill passed through the usual stages
until it was finally
passed10 and sent to the
Senate on March 5, 1836.11
The Senate received it,12 but
here came the first hin-
drance to its passage, for a week
later, on March 14, is
found the following entry:13
10 By a vote of 58 to 3. Those who voted
in the negative were Arm-
strong, Blackburn of Columbiana, and
Robbins.
11 Ohio, House Journal, 1835-36,
596, 817, 821.
12 Ohio, Senate Journal, 1835-36,
871, 880.
13 Ibid.,
977
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 113
Mr. Price, from the select committee
[this was the committee
of the Senate, consisting of Messrs.
Price, James and Sharp,
appointed at the same time as that of the House]14
. . . reported
a resolution appointing Samuel P. Hildreth, of
Marietta, John
Locke and John S. Riddell, of
Cincinnati, and J. A. Lapham, of
Columbus, to report to the next
Legislature the best method of
obtaining a complete Geological Survey
of the State, and an
estimate of the probable cost of the
same; which was agreed to
and ordered to the House of
Representatives for concurrence.
On the same day this resolution was
passed by the
House,15 and, becoming law,
ended the question of a
geological survey during the session of
1835-1836. It
was evidently thought that too hasty
action, without
knowledge of the proper procedure,
might prove to be
simply a waste of state money.
When the Legislature convened in the
fall of 1836,
the geological survey again claimed its
share of atten-
tion16 in the message of
Governor Lucas, who, a week
later, was to retire in favor of Joseph
Vance.17 He
urged the prosecution of the survey,
and emphasized the
great benefit to be derived therefrom. In
a document
appended,18 he conveyed to
the Legislature a joint reso-
lution of the Legislature of Indiana,
together with a
communication from the Governor, to
ascertain upon
what terms Ohio and Kentucky would join
in the enter-
prise with Indiana. So far as can be
found in the Jour-
nals of the Legislature, no action upon this communica-
tion was taken. In another document, of
which six
hundred copies were ordered printed for
distribution for
a variety of purposes,19 the
Select Committee appointed
14 Ohio, Senate Journal, 1835-36,
154.
15 Ohio, House Journal, 1835-36,
928.
16 Ohio,
State Papers, 1836-37, I, 18.
17 Inaugurated December 13, 1836.
18 Ohio, State Papers, 1836-37,
app. 56.
19 Ohio, House Journal, 1836-37,
27, 39; Senate Journal, 22, 23.
Vol. XXXVII-8.
114 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
by the preceding Legislature, on March
14, 1836, ren-
dered its report as to the best method
of obtaining a
geological survey of the State.20
The committee had visited in person,
said the report,
many portions of the State, especially
those known to
contain considerable quantities of
coal, iron, and salt.
The information concerning the minerals
in such parts
of Ohio as the committee found itself
unable to investi-
gate thoroughly, was largely obtained
from "intelligent
individuals." The iron ore
deposits were described in
detail and illustrated by diagrams, the
summary con-
cluding with a list and description of
the furnaces and
forges in Scioto and Lawrence Counties.
The coal and
salt deposits were mentioned, but not
in such great de-
tail. But the important section of the
report deals with
the best method of conducting the
survey, and its cost.
In the opinion of your Committee, the
better mode of con-
ducting the survey will be by
constituting a Geological Board
of three members who should direct the
manner of proceeding;
employ suitable geologists, etc., with
power to draw on the
Treasurer, for the deposits annually
appropriated for this pur-
pose; or otherwise, the present Board of
Public Works might
perform this duty, as might be deemed
most expedient.
From a correspondence held by the
chairman with several
distinguished and practical men in
geology, your committee is
led to believe that the sum of 12,000
dollars, for four years,
would cover the cost of a regular
scientific survey. It would
require the services of one head, or
principal geologist, five as-
sistant geologists, one draughtsman and
one naturalist. Their
salaries, traveling expenses, and other
incidental charges would
amount to nearly this sum. The survey,
to be complete and
most useful to the community, ought not
only to embrace the
simple geology, but also the topography,
botany, so far as to
include a list of the plants found in
the State, forest trees, river
and land shells, fishes, birds,
quadrupeds and reptiles -- and
last, not least, a regular survey and
description of all the rem-
20 Ohio, Report of the Special
Committee, 1-18 [Separate pamphlet].
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 115
nants of ancient works, yet spared by
the destroyer, within the
State. . . . It should also be enjoined
on the surveyors to col-
lect all the remains of art belonging to this race . .
. . .
The report concluded with Dr. Locke's
"Analysis of
the Lime-stone of Cincinnati and
Dayton"; and a
treatise on "The Application of
the Hot Blast," by
Thomas Clark, M. D.
On the day following that on which the
message of
the Governor was delivered, a new committee
was ap-
pointed by the House,21 to
consist of Messrs. Hum-
phreys, Curry and Perkins; their
report, containing
the bill in nearly its final form, was
presented on Janu-
ary 7, 1837.22 On March 9, Governor
Vance presented
Professor Riddell's "Report on the
Geology of Ohio by
Counties," a paper which had been
delayed because of
the author's removal to Louisiana.23
The next day, the
bill came up for discussion and seems
to have caused
a bitter fight upon the floor of the
House, chiefly be-
cause of the words "per
annum" following the appro-
priation.24 It was sent back
to the committee, to be
reported back the next morning. Another
argument
ensued on March 11, all reference to
the traveling ex-
penses of officers being stricken out
before the bill was
ready finally to be voted upon. It was
passed by a
margin of sixteen votes (41 to 25),
practically every
member from the counties rich in
minerals being re-
corded in favor of the bill.25 The
journey through the
Senate was uneventful, though various
amendments
were added and agreed upon by the
House. The vote
21 Ohio, House Journal, 1836-37, 14.
22 Ibid., 196.
23 Ibid., 628,
629, 633.
24 Ibid., 641.
25 Ibid., 641, 725, 726.
116 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
was taken on March 21, and was far more
decisive than
in the other house, 28 to 2.26 When the
Governor's
signature was affixed on March 27, 1837,
the bill pro-
viding for the First Geological Survey
of Ohio became
law.
And what were the provisions of the
bill? They were
six in number, practically identical
with the recom-
mendations in the report of the
committee the preced-
ing December. The various sections provided
that:
(1) The State should conduct a Geological and
Miner-
alogical Survey of Ohio.
(2) The State should employ a geologist
and assistants, to
be appointed by the Governor.
(3) The geologist should render an
annual report on
February 1, during each year of the
Survey.
(4) That the sum of $12,000 should be
appropriated.
(5) That a final report should be
rendered at the comple-
tion of the work; and
(6) That the specimens obtained during
the Survey should
be preserved and catalogued.27
So the law became effective.
Nine months later, in his annual
message to the
Legislature, Governor Vance recorded
the progress of
the Survey:28
In compliance with the "Act
Providing for a Geological
Survey of the State of Ohio, and Other
Purposes," passed the
27th of March, 1837, I have appointed
W. W. Mather, of the
State of New York, as principal
Geologist, and Drs. Hildreth,
Kirtland, and Locke, of Ohio, and
Professor Briggs, of New
York, as assistants, and Charles
Whittlesey, of Ohio, Topograph-
ical Surveyor and Draughtsman. Dr.
Locke being absent at the
time of his appointment, his place was
supplied by the appoint-
ment of Mr. Foster, who has been in
active duty with Professor
Briggs in making examinations in the
southern portion of the
26 Ohio, Senate Journal, 1836-37,
557, 567, 585, 606, 627. Those who
voted negative were Arbuckle, of
Fayette, Madison, and Greene Counties,
and Thompson, of Carroll and Columbiana.
27 Laws of Ohio,
XXXV, 84.
28 Ohio, State Papers, 1837-38,
I, 23.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 117
State. Owing to a previous engagement,
the principal Geologist
has been unable to give his whole attention to the
subject the
past season. He has, however, given
direction to the assistant
Geologists and made preparation, by the
purchase of apparatus,
etc., which will enable the corps to
prosecute their researches in
the next year with vigor and effect. A
report of their progress,
thus far, will be laid before you at as
early a day as possible.
The persons appointed by the Governor
were emi-
nently qualified for the task before
them. William
Williams Mather, chief geologist, was a
direct de-
scendant of Cotton Mather, and a native
of Connecticut.
He had graduated from West Point with
honors in
chemistry and mineralogy, and served in
the army for
eight years. During one of his
vacations, he superin-
tended a geological survey of Windham
County, Con-
necticut, and because he liked the work
so well, he
resigned from the military service to
undertake an
assistantship in the survey of New
York. In later years,
he surveyed Kentucky and when the Ohio
Survey was
finished, became a citizen of Jackson
County in that
State. At various times he was
professor at Wesleyan
University, Marietta College, and the
University of
Ohio, and an editor of repute.
Professor Mather's chief assistant was
Samuel P.
Hildreth, of Ohio, an intimate friend
of Silliman, of
Yale. He was a native of Massachusetts,
a physician
by profession, and a geologist by
avocation. Hildreth
had been chosen by the Legislature to
report upon the
project of a survey, and it was this
report, of course,
that was directly responsible for his
appointment to the
survey itself a year later. Much of his
time was de-
voted to antiquities and to his Pioneer
History of Ohio.
Professor Silliman announced in the American
Journal
118
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
of Science and Arts that Professor Hildreth's article
on the coal of Ohio, published in that
magazine a short
time previously, had been "highly
commended in the
London and Edinburgh Philosophical
Magazine, and an
abstract given of its contents."29 Dr. Jared P.
Kirtland
and Dr. J. N. Foster were the other two
members of
the staff, with no especial duties
assigned them. Dr.
Kirtland was another New Englander, a
native of Con-
necticut, and a graduate of Yale. After
his removal
to Ohio, he was placed in charge of the
public schools
in Poland, and continued his practice
as a physician.
As a naturalist, he was self-educated,
but his observa-
tions of animal and plant life were so
acute, and his
knowledge so accurate that his
conclusions were readily
accepted by scientists. His colleague,
J. N. Foster, was
a lawyer of Zanesville. Dr. Foster had
been a pupil of
Mather, at Wesleyan, where he developed
ability as a
naturalist and scientist and commended
himself to
Mather's attention. After the Ohio
Survey was over, he
investigated the coal fields of Indiana
and Illinois, and
the copper regions of Michigan. During
the last years
of his life, he was much interested in the
mound-builders
of the Mississippi Valley.
The last two members of the survey
corps were
Caleb Briggs and Charles Whittlesey.
Briggs was also
an intimate friend of Mather, a fact
which led to his
appointment. He was a physician, much
interested in
chemistry, and a man to whom geology
was a matter of
absorbing interest. When the survey of
Ohio termi-
nated, he was engaged to aid in the
survey of what is
now West Virginia. He purchased, late
in life, some
29 American Journal of Science and
Arts, XXIX, 1; XXX, 400.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 119
valuable mineral lands in Ohio, but
before his death
returned to his native Massachusetts.
Another Con-
necticut man in a group composed almost
entirely of
New Englanders, was Charles Whittlesey,
native of the
town of Southington. After his
graduation from West
Point, in 1831, and his subsequent
service in the Black
Hawk War, he did editorial work for a
while on the
Cleveland Herald. It was here
that his scientific writ-
ings began to attract attention, and
his appointment as
surveyor and draughtsman in the Survey
naturally fol-
lowed. From 1847 to 1851, he was
engaged in the
geological survey of the Lake Superior
region, and ten
years later joined the army as an
engineer. Before his
death, Whittlesey was elected president
of the Ohio
Historical Society and published more
than two hundred
articles, mostly on scientific
subjects. He was also the
historian of the Survey. So it can be
truly said that
when their names are coupled together,
the men of the
geological corps of Ohio form a
distinguished group.
The report referred to in the
Governor's message
was submitted to the Legislature on
January 17, 1838.30
Aside from the geological features, the
most important
part of the report was perhaps the
estimate of expenses
for the future, since this was the
section destined to
cause the most discussion.
If the present organization be
continued, as under the existing
act, the necessary appropriation for the
current year will be
$12,000.
If the suggestion, above-mentioned, for
increasing the corps
(that is, by adding another permanent
assistant, and employing
others as occasion arose) be adopted, it will be
necessary to
increase the appropriation for the
current year to $16,ooo.
If the Topographical Survey of the State
be continued, as
30 Ohio, State Papers, 1837-38,
XXVI, 1-134.
120
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
at present, no expense above the
appropriation mentioned will
be incurred; but if the State be triangulated, for
the Topograph-
ical Survey, the appropriation for the
current year should be
$30,000.31
It was not long before the effect of
this report was
felt in the Legislature. On February
27, the Committee
on Finance in the Senate reported a
bill to amend the
Geological Act of March 27, 1837.32
Exactly what this
bill contained is not known, for it is
not recorded in the
legislative journals, nor, since it
failed to pass, is it
recorded in the Laws of Ohio. It probably continued
the appropriation of the previous year.
On March 2,
the bill was passed by the Senate--21
to 12. But the
House offered an amendment, for which
the Senate sub-
stituted three others, only two of
which were agreed to.
When the amended bill was returned to
the House, that
body placed it on the table, and kept
it there until so
close to the final adjournment that the
Senate requested
its return, evidently that the
amendment might be re-
pealed and the bill "shoved
through." This the House
declined to do and it remained upon the
table. At the
last moment, however, it was sent to
conference, at
which the Senate members proposed that
the bill be
amended to include an appropriation of
$8,000 to con-
tinue the work of the Geological
Survey. When the
majority of members of the committee
refused to accede
to this proposal, the Senate
substituted $5,000. Again
this failed of ratification, and the
conference committee
was obliged to report that they were
unable to agree.
When this news was received in the
Senate, it was
voted that the Senate recede from its
amendment "by
31 On January 27, 1838, the names and
salaries of the Geological Board
were read to the House. (Journal, 1837-38,
342-345.)
32 Ohio, Senate Journal, 1837-38,
509, 530, 538, 705, 741, 763, 765, 767.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 121
way of rider"; and that the House
be so informed. Be-
fore further action could be taken,
however, the Legis-
lature adjourned sine die, late
on the night of March 19,
1838. So it happened that the
Geological Survey entered
upon its second year with a fund
consisting only of the
balance of $12,000, left over from the
previous season.
What were the reasons for this sudden
change of
heart on the part of legislators, who
less than a year
before, had voted so enthusiastically
in favor of a sur-
vey? Of course, there can be little
doubt but that the
Panic of 1837 had considerable
influence upon those
who held the purse-strings of the
State. But a more
serious reason might be deduced from
the Resolution of
the House of Representatives on March
15, 1838, four
days before the final end of the
matter, inquiring
Whether any member of the geological
corps, in consequence
of information derived from
examinations they have made, pur-
chased either directly or indirectly
any land, mineral resources
of which have been developed by survey;
giving account of
amount and location of lands made by
themselves and others
by their advice.
The fact that a lengthy denial33 was
made did not
altogether lessen apprehension, and may
have been a de-
ciding factor in the matter of
appropriations. At any
rate, the combination of politics and
lack of finances
effectively called a halt to any
forward steps in the Ohio
survey.
When the next December arrived,
Governor Vance
made one final attempt to influence the
Legislature be-
fore his departure from office. In his
Annual Message,
he reminded his audience that the
appropriation for the
support of a geological corps had
failed at the last ses-
33 Ohio,
House Journal, 1837-38, 814-816.
122 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
sion of the Legislature; but that a
portion had been kept
on duty by an unexpended balance from
the former
appropriation. The Survey, he urged,
was too impor-
tant to be stopped short of its
original design.34 On
December 6, a new committee was
appointed in the
House to recommend further action.35
Before the re-
port of this committee was ready, the
Second Annual
Report of the Geological Survey was
presented on De-
cember 18. Professor Mather's plea for appropria-
tions to carry on the work was in the
nature of a hope-
less appeal:
There are many places which have come
under our examina-
tion during the progress of the Survey,
where the expenditure
of a small sum of money, say from $10 to
$100 in each locality,
would settle questions of greater or
less importance, such as
determining the presence of expected
valuable minerals, the
junctions of rocks, the superposition,
amount of dip, and various
other points, where natural or
artificial facilities, such as ravines,
mines, excavations for wells, railroads,
etc., did not exist. These
questions often involve important
economical results to the com-
munity, and it is deemed of sufficient
moment to induce me to lay
the matter before the Legislature, that
they may, if they should
deem it expedient, place a small
additional fund at the disposal
of the geologist for application to such
purposes.
There are several other sources of
contingent expenses that
ought to be provided for; such as rent
of laboratory, fuel,
apparatus and materials, instruments for
the different depart-
ments of the survey, boxes and transport
for the specimens which
are collected in obedience to the
requisitions of the law for the
Survey, procuring temporary local
assistance in the topographical
and other departments, and various other
items which it is not
necessary to mention.
At the last session, the Governor was
authorized to expend
$1,000 for geological books to go into
the State Library for aiding
in the Geological Survey, and which
ought to be in every public
library, but as this amount was expected to be disbursed from
34 Ohio, State Papers, 1838-39,
1.
35 The committee consisted of Hughes,
Smucker, Waddie, Ford, and
Patterson. On December 11, Briggs was
substituted for Hughes. (Ohio,
House Journal, 1838-39, 25, 52.)
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 123
the appropriation for the Geological
Survey, and as that appro-
priation was not made, the books have not been
procured or
ordered, and cannot be until the funds
for their purchase shall
have been appropriated. . . .
That estimate, viz.: $16,000, if
adopted by the Legislature,
will be sufficient for the current
annual expenses including all
the contingencies enumerated.36
Five thousand copies of the report were
ordered
printed on December 22, and it was
referred to the
committee.37 Professor Locke's section of the
report
was delayed, not being read until the
28th, two days
after the committee had filed its
report and recom-
mendations for a future course of
action.38
Smucker, of Licking County, was the
chairman of
the committee. In its report, the
history of the survey
was traced from 1835 -- Governor
Lucas's message --
down to the date of the legislative
action of 1838. The
similar activities in other states,
notably Virginia, New
York, Massachusetts and Tennessee, were
recorded,
before the investigators delved into
the reasons for con-
tinuing the Survey. Much valuable
mineral wealth had
already been found by accident, they
said, and what
might not still be discovered with the
aid and direction
of geology? "Ohio seems to be
almost entirely under-
laid with minerals," they thought,
"and your committee
is led to believe that the geological
corps, if authorized
to continue their operations, would
bring to light numer-
ous deposits of coal, iron and other
valuable minerals
now unknown, which would tend to
increase emigration
to our State -- bring among us
capitalists and manu-
facturers -- expedite the sale of the
public domain
36 Ohio, State Papers, 1838-39,
XXII, 25-26.
37 Ohio,
House Journal, 1838-39, 103, 120, 134, 144.
38 Ibid., Appendix, 8-13.
124
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
within our borders, and consequently
extend our list of
taxable lands, and largely increase our
physical strength,
and our fiscal, moral, and intellectual
wealth." The
continuance of the Survey was
recommended, and
twelve thousand dollars was thought to
be a suitable
sum as an appropriation.
In spite of this enthusiastic report,
the bill met with
considerable difficulty on its way
through the two
Houses. On February 11, it was taken up
in the House,
but tabled,39 after three
votes on the question had been
taken. On March 8, an attempt was made
to insert, as
a rider to a bill providing for a new
State-house, a pro-
vision for six thousand dollars for
survey purposes; this,
however, did not meet with the favor of
the House, and
a substitute motion finally prevailed
-- to provide not
over four thousand dollars "for
the payment of arrear-
ages for services of the geological
corps, and for pro-
curing engravings." On March 13, a
resolution was
passed by the House, which ordered that
all the books,
papers, instruments, apparatus, and
collections of every
description whatever, be deposited for
safe-keeping with
the Ohio Historical Society. Three days
later the Sen-
ate agreed,40 thus ending
all discussion of a survey dur-
ing that session. One-third of the
appropriation had
been granted, but only for the purpose
of paying the
debts of the geological corps -- not for advance em-
ployment of the staff.
When the Legislature of 1838-39 failed
to pass fur-
ther appropriations for the work of the
Geological Sur-
vey, the death-knell of the enterprise
was sounded. Oc-
39 Ohio, House Journal, 1838-39,
428, 429, 681, 682, 740, 797.
40 Ohio, Senate Journal, 1838-39,
625.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 125
casional echoes still were heard, but
from that time
forth activity practically ceased. In
Governor Cor-
win's message, in December, 1841, he
announced that
the specimens procured during the
survey were labeled
and ready for distribution to literary
institutions; then
urged the propriety of continuing the
Survey, espe-
cially in reference to the agricultural
interests of the
State.41 The matter was
referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Manufactures and Commerce,
which re-
ported February 25, 1842:42
That however desirable it might be,
under different circum-
stances, to prosecute to completion the
geological survey of the
State, the present exigencies of our
financial affairs would seem
to forbid any appropriation for that
purpose at present. In the
opinion of your committee, the inquiry
should not be how much
money can be expended in prosecuting
public enterprises, but
should rather be limited to the
promotion and prosecution of
such interests as are indispensable to
the welfare of the great
body of the people, and without which
the public service must
be subjected to some serious disadvantage. The
geological sur-
vey of the State does not, in the
opinion of your committee,
come within the limits of the latter
consideration, and they would,
therefore, ask to be discharged from the
further consideration
of the subject.
As directed by the provisions of the
original Geolog-
ical Act, Professor Mather, on February
25, 1842, pre-
sented to the Legislature "a
catalogue of geological
specimens, collected on the late Survey
of the State,"
which was accepted and filed, thus
bringing to an offi-
cial close the entire matter of the
first survey.43
There seem to be three questions which
demand an-
swers as the first survey draws to a
close. What were
the results? What were the reasons for the failure?
41 Ohio,
State Papers, 1841-42, I, 11.
42 Ohio, Senate Journal, 1841-42,
467.
43 Ohio, Executive Documents, 1841-42,
Pt. 2, LXXVI.
126 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
What harm resulted from the inactivity
which followed?
Considering the first question, it is
perhaps not enough
to say that the reports were good or
that the results
were carefully recorded. They gave,
instead, promise
of enormous future wealth for the
State. Consider, for
example, this quotation from the first
report, with re-
gard to the resources of coal in the
State:
The working of the coal mines of Ohio,
which may be con-
sidered inexhaustible, must become one
of the most productive
branches of industry of the State. From
the reconnaissance of
the past season, it is estimated that
about 12,000
square miles
of the State are undoubtedly underlain
by coal, and 5,000 by
workable beds of this valuable material.
In many places, several
successive beds of the coal are superimposed one over
the other,
with sandstone, iron ore, shale and
limestone intervening. The
coal beds are favorably situated for working, as they
are found
in the hills and ravines suitable for
draining, and without deep
shafts and expensive machinery, like
those in Europe. It is
impossible, with the data as yet
ascertained, to estimate the
amount of workable beds, but probably a
mean thickness of 6
feet of coal capable of exploration over
5,000 square miles, is a
moderate estimate. Our citizens are not
yet aware of the pros-
pective value of coal lands and, it is,
perhaps, only by setting
forth their practical utility, that they
will appreciate the impor-
tance of this mineral on their
estates.44
And in such a manner were iron and the
other val-
uable products of Ohio listed, together
with their prob-
able quantities, certainly sufficient
to arouse the State
to the possible value of the land.
In general, it can be said that the two
reports of
the Survey contained a mass of
well-digested facts.
Technical terms and idle speculations
were neatly
avoided, that "he who runs may
read," and be not con-
fused. Professor Mather's section of the first report
contained a description of the
principal formations of
44 Mather, First Annual Report on the
Geological Survey of Ohio, 6.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 127
the State. Among other things, he
called attention to
the assaults made by Lake Erie on the
shore at Cleve-
land, and feared that in the course of
a century or two,
the site of the city would be entirely
removed. Dr.
Hildreth, first assistant, reported
upon the range and
extent, as well as the economic value
of the "calcareo --
silicious deposit." The report of
Briggs and Foster em-
braced all the economic facts collected
on the detailed
survey of the southern portion of the
State. Among
the most interesting details were those
respecting the
fossil elephant discovered during the
course of their
investigations. Whittlesey's
topographical report was
last. He included a description of the
ancient "works
and remains" in Ohio, namely at
Marietta and Ports-
mouth, and those in Ross County.
"No portion of
Ohio," he said, "seems to be
destitute of ancient tumuli
and embankments; the object and origin
of which are
still, in a great measure, mysterious
and unknown."
The second report was published in the
last days of
1838. The Survey had proceeded, it
said, but because
of the lack of sufficient funds, it had
been necessary
to dispense with two assistants.
Because an impression
had gone abroad that no part of the
State would benefit
from a survey except the coal and iron
regions, particu-
lar attention was directed to the
counties which were
not expected to reap any benefits. The
result was what
might have been surmised; namely, that
the development
of marl, clay, peat, and limestone was
adapted to many
useful purposes, such as for lime,
building stone, and
marble. Among the subjects covered in
the report were
brick manufacture, the rise and fall of
Lake Erie, varia-
tion of the magnetic needle, mineral
springs, and salt-
128 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
wells. The geology of the State was
taken up by coun-
ties, with dozens of diagrams
contributing their ex-
planations. The conclusion of the
report was in the form
of a list of barometrical observations
for determining
altitude. But quite aside from these
details, interesting
though they may be, the emphasis upon
iron and coal was
continued; indeed, it was accentuated
to such a degree
that today there are few people who
would not say that
the discontinuance of the Geological
Survey of Ohio was
an action dictated by gross
short-sightedness.
What were the reasons for its failure?
They seem
to have been three in number, that most
commonly given
being the Panic of 1837. J. S.
Newberry, in a brief
historical sketch prefaced to the
Report of the Second
Survey, in 1869, said that:
In consequence of the financial panic of
1837, and the
paralysis of business that followed, it
was considered necessary
to diminish, in every possible way, the
public expenditure, and,
accordingly, the Legislature of 1838-39,
made no appropria-
tion.
. . .45
Two other possible causes for failure
have been
listed, however, by less official
sources. G. P. Merrill,
in his First Hundred Years of
American Geology,
says:46
The survey lasted two years, seeming to
have fallen through
on account of local jealousies. Mather
showed here, as in his
later work on the New York Survey, a
singular lack of dis-
crimination as to the comparative value
of the different subjects
with which he had to deal.
This hint of fault in the personnel has
appeared
before in the Resolution of the House
concerning a
45 Ohio, Second Geological Survey of
Ohio, Columbus, 1870, 5.
46 Merrill, G. P., First Hundred
Years of American Geology, New
Haven, 1924, 71.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 129
possible misuse of information by the
geologist and his
assistants. Professor Silliman,
however, gave still an-
other reason as the chief cause of the
Survey's suspen-
sion:
By a letter from Columbus, we regret to
learn that the
Survey is just suspended, and party
grounds are assigned as the
cause! On such a subject, there should be but one
party! The
noble State of Ohio must and will
vindicate her honor and her
interest by resuming and finishing this
great work so ably begun,
and carried forward with so much spirit
and success !47
And it has been noticed before, how
rivalry between
counties and jealousy in matters of
local interest were
apparent in the voting on the various
bills. Certainly,
other reasons than the Panic of 1837
played a prominent
part in the discontinuance of the
Survey.
What harm was done by the resulting inactivity?
The development of the mineral
resources of the State
was greatly retarded and diverted from
public into pri-
vate hands. There can be very little doubt that for
private investigations of territory
supposed to contain
minerals, and for analyses of coal and
iron, far more
money was paid than would have sufficed
to complete
the public Survey of 1837-38. All the
information thus
gained, was, however, monopolized by
those who paid
for it, and instead of enlightening the
landholder as to
the abundance and value of the minerals
his land con-
tained, it more often served the
purposes of the specu-
lator, guiding his purchases and
placing the farmer
quite at his mercy. The benefits
derived from the first
year of the Survey undoubtedly brought
to light the fact
that it was not a consumer, but a producer;
and that it
added far more than it took from the
public treasury.
47 American Journal of Science and
Arts, 1838, XXXIV, 198.
Vol. XXXVII-9.
130 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
What few reports there were, served to
arrest the use-
less expenditure of money in the search
for minerals
outside of their actual territories.
One final aspect of the survey question
which should
be considered here, though it touches
upon social his-
tory, is the attitude of the scientific
man and the attitude
of the layman toward it. This idea was
suggested by
a volume in the Yale Library, formerly
in the possession
of Professor Benjamin Silliman. It
contains a number
of the committee reports connected with
the Ohio Survey
of the " 'Thirties." On the
title-page of Dr. Hildreth's
report on the best method of obtaining
the survey, are
two inscriptions. The first is in
Hildreth's handwriting:
"To B. Silliman, M. D., New Haven,
Connecticut--
with the respects of his friend S. P.
Hildreth." Just
below is recorded Silliman's response:
"Read Mar. 8
and a notice framed up for the Am.
Jour'l." If Pro-
fessor Silliman was interested in such
a report, others
might well be, also. But little else
was found, since
only one newspaper printed in Ohio in
those years was
available, and there were almost no
scientific journals
of any repute which had been started by
1837, with the
exception, of course, of Professor Silliman's
own, The
American Journal of Science and
Arts. It was neces-
sary, therefore, to gain all the
information from these
two sources, but it is very probably
true that the ideas
contained in the newspaper were
representative of the
trend of thought among the laymen,
while the magazine
gave a typical opinion of the
professional geologists.
In The Buckeye and Cincinnati
Mirror, then, in De-
cember, 1835, appeared this news-item:
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 131
The Legislature of Ohio convened at
Columbus on the 7th
instant. The annual message of the
Governor was read on the
eighth. It is a plain, sensible and
interesting document. . . . He
concludes his very full and interesting
message, by urging upon
the attention of the General Assembly,
the propriety and impor-
tance of an early Geological Survey of
the State.48
In the same issue appeared a
communication on the
subject, signed "D. B.":
The proposition for a Geological and
Mineralogical Survey
of the State of Ohio, under legislative
sanction, is gaining favor.
It is understood that the subject will
be brought before the
General Assembly at an early period in
the present session. The
beneficial results that would follow a
scientific reconnaissance of
our State are so numerous, and so
obviously important to every
class of citizens that it is not to be
supposed any objections will
be lodged against the measure. A
knowledge of the existence
and localities of the various mineral
bodies, such as iron, coal,
salt, gypsum, slate, clay, sand and the
various substances which
are found in the earth, and necessary or
useful in the arts which
minister to the comforts and luxuries of
life, is a matter of the
first importance.
Connected with the proposed survey,
there should be an
examination of the mineral springs, the
medicinal plants, and the
forest trees, especially the latter, so
far, at least, as they are
useful in the mechanic arts . . . . And
it should be made the
duty of the individual who may be
selected to perform this
important work, to survey and to
describe, both by words and
drawings, the ancient mounds and
fortifications of a bygone
period, which are scattered over the State. . . . How
appro-
priate that a scientific survey of that
soil should be made to
embrace them! We earnestly urge it upon
those who may bring
the proposed survey before the
Legislature of Ohio, not to neglect
these singular relics of ancient days.49
The editor commented as follows:
It is an important subject, and we are
glad our friend
"B. D." has determined to keep
it in view.50
The final mention of the subject was
the following
editorial:
48 The Buckeye and Cincinnati Mirror, V, No. 8., p. 62.
49 Ibid., p. 60.
50 Ibid., p. 54.
132 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
Geological Survey--"In the March number of the Western
Monthly Magazine, among other interesting articles, is one by
??. L. Riddell, M. D., on the Geological
Features of Ohio. In this
paper many important advantages which
would probably result
to the State from a geological survey
are pointed out with much
clearness and ability. The propriety of appointing a
suitable
person for the purpose of making such a
survey, has been agi-
tated at Columbus during the present
session of the Legislature;
and it is to be regretted that no such
appointment has been
made. In many sections of Ohio, there
are indications of the
existence of various mineral substances
-- of salt, coal, lead, iron,
etc., which demand attention. Certainly,
if the Legislature had
restricted the sphere of its operations
to the limits of our own
State, the people of whom it is
representative could have derived
quite as much benefit from its wisdom.
The fact, that our soil
embowels minerals of immense importance
to our prosperity, is,
in our opinion, a sufficient reason why
the survey should be
ordered."51
Since it is probable that all editorials
in The Ameri-
can Journal of Science and Arts were written by Pro-
fessor Silliman himself, they bore the
stamp of author-
ity. The chief reference is the notice
referred to on the
title-page in question, written after
the receipt of the
first Hildreth report:
This report is the result of
reconnaissance of the State of
Ohio, under the direction of Dr.
Hildreth, whose eminent quali-
fications for the discharge of this duty
have been often made
apparent in the pages of this Journal.
The prevailing argument
with popular legislators, namely that of
utility, in the sense of
pecuniary advantage, is fully sustained
in this preliminary report.
Immense quantities of coal, of iron ore,
of limestone, of gypsum,
clay, sandstone, marl, and salt are
found in Ohio, and in situa-
tions exceedingly accessible and
favorable for transportation. All
this has been abundantly proved by Dr.
Hildreth in previous
volumes of this Journal; but it
was necessary to review the
subject, and to exhibit it in a lucid
and popular form to the
Legislature and the public. This has
been ably done in the
report now under consideration -- and it
is not to be pre-
sumed that the local government will
permit this most important
enterprise to fail, or to remain in an
unfinished state, especially
51 The Buckeye and Cincinnati Mirror, V, No. 8, p. 63.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 133
in the hands of gentlemen of competent
knowledge, talent and
zeal.52
Shortly after the appearance of this
editorial, came
a note concerning Dr. Hildreth's
continued ill-health,
making it necessary for him to withdraw
from the field:
Ohio is eminently a vast region of
organic remains and even
its human antiquities arrest the
attention of the geologist as well
as of the antiquary. Both states are in the course of
survey by
very able men, but we are extremely
sorry to see that Dr. Hil-
dreth, who worked early and almost
alone, who worked hard,
and who worked well, has withdrawn from
the Survey, and we
are still more sorry to observe that
ill-health is the cause; for his
country's sake and his own, may he soon
be well again!53
And finally, in the issue of July,
1838, appeared a
review of the First Geological Report,
detailing with
much exactness, the discoveries of the
survey.54 Cer-
tainly the work of the geological corps
lacked no support
either in the popular newspapers or in
the scientific
journals.
The story of the efforts during the
next thirty years
to secure another geological survey is
a story of earnest
endeavor and blasted hopes. The report
of the Board of
Agriculture, in 1851, again emphasized
the benefit that
such a survey would be to agriculture.
New York,
Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland
were cited as
examples of states where great good had
resulted. In
1854, a select committee reported to
the House of Repre-
sentatives the Scott Bill, which
provided for a new
Geological Survey of Ohio;55
but nothing came of it.
Following another recommendation by the
Board of
Agriculture, in 1855, a similar
committee the next year
52 American Journal of Science and Arts, XXXII, 190.
53 Ibid., 198.
54 Ibid., XXXIV,
347-364.
55 Ohio, House Journal, 1853-54,
app., 331-340.
134 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
reported back the Thompson Bill,56
with similar results.
In 1857 and 1858, other reports of the
Board of Agri-
culture carried identical pleas, and
Governor Salmon P.
Chase, in his message of January, 1857,
also suggested
a resumption of the Geological Survey.57
When he
found that nothing had been done,
Governor William
Dennison, Jr., repeated the suggestion
in 1860, and Gen-
eral Garfield was appointed chairman of
the committee.
It was not until 1868, however, that
anything definite
took place; in that year Governor
Rutherford B. Hayes
aroused public opinion to such an
extent that the de-
mand for a second survey became
insistent and the bill
which established it was adopted in
1869. The Survey
was prosecuted with vigor and the
results were far-
reaching and wide-spread. It is almost
true to say, in
fact, that this was the first real survey
of Ohio, and that
the previous one, of 1837-38, was
merely a geological
reconnaissance.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Since this essay is largely legislative
history, of course the
most important source of information
has been the Legislative
Journals of the State of Ohio. The House
Journals of 1835-36,
1836-37, 1837-38, 1838-39, 1841-42,
1853-54 and 1856-57 were
utilized as well as the Senate
Journals of 1835-36, 1836-37,
1838-39 and 1841-42. The official State
Papers (later called
Executive Documents) of 1836-37, 1837-38, 1838-39, 1841-42
and 1857 also proved valuable. A few
separate pamphlets, such
as the Report of the Select
Committee (1835-36), and the Report
of the Special Committee (1836-37), were discovered and quota-
tions therefrom used. The Laws of
Ohio, XXXV, contained the
Geological Act of 1837.
56 Ohio, House Journal, 1856-57,
100.
57 Ohio, Executive Documents, 1857,
I, 9.
Story of the First Geological Survey
in Ohio 135
Among the other books which contained
useful reference
material were Hasse's Economic
Material in the Documents of
the States, Ohio, II; Ohio, Second Geological Survey, Columbus,
1869; G. P. Merrill's The First
Hundred Years of American
Geology, New Haven, 1924; and, for the biographical informa-
tion, Appleton's Cyclopaedia of
American Biography, New York,
1900.
In the periodical and newspaper field,
the most essential
publication used was The American
Journal of Science and Arts,
New Haven, 1836-37-38; but two others,
both important, were
The Western Monthly Magazine, 1836, and The Buckeye and
Cincinnati Mirror, Cincinnati, 1835-36-37.