Ohio History Journal

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-

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