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 |
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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. |