History of Clermont County, Ohio , 1880
In this connection it might be well to remark that there are several prehistoric cemeteries in this
county. The most prominent ones are located near the Miami Township cemetery, on the Cincinnati
Turnpike, on the farm of Oliver Perin, in Union Township, and on the farm of Moses Eltsun, Esq., in
the same township. In all of these implements are found in connection with the skeletons. The one on
the farm of Moses Elstun, Esq., is situated on what is called “Sand Ridge,” which runs at right angles
with the east fork. In this cemetery the skeletons are found about two feet below the surface, in a cist.
On the farm of Daniel Turner, at the mouth of Dry Run, is one, which, as to the number of skeletons
found in it, is the largest of any, found so far in the county. It is situated on the brow of the hill,
overlooking the east fork valley, at an elevation of two hundred feet above it. This area is about forty
feet square, enclosed by flat stones set on edge. This cemetery seems to be a large ditch, in which the
bodies have been buried, one on top of the other, to the depth of five feet, and over which is a stratum
of earth two feet in thickness.
In the skeletons found in the above mounds, etc., there is a similarity. The forehead is low, and the
maxillary bones are unusually large, and so are the femur, which would, in proportion, make a man
eight feet in height. One of the largest skeletons noted by the writer was found in the Sand Ridge
Cemetery. The skull was in a good state of preservation, together with the teeth; all the rest of the bones were decomposed, with the exception of the femurs, which was unusually large. The cranium, etc., are now in the possession of the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati,
History of Clark County, Ohio , 1881
Half a mile north of this fort is a huge mound, the base of which covers about one acre. From this
mound many bones have been exhumed, of a race of beings differing greatly from the present, and
having no similarity to the red man. A mile west of the fort above mentioned, on the farm of William
Allen, is an ancient burying ground of an extinct race. The bones taken from this place are much larger
than those of Americans, and, in many respects, give evidence of having belonged to prehistoric
people.
History of Champaign County, Ohio, 1881, The Baldwin Mound-this mound is located on the top of a hill lying between the North and East Forks of Buck Creek at their junction, about eight miles southeast of Urbana… Further excavation disclosed a second skeleton, with head toward the west. The bones of this skeleton were very large and strong, and those of the lower limbs in a remarkable state of preservation; near the hand, and lying across the body, were the flint heads of three spears or arrows. Their position seemed to show that they had been held in the hand by wooden shafts now moldered away. The upper part of the body had been crushed and distorted to a great extent by the pressure above. It had apparently been placed on the left side, and the arrows grasped in the right hand. Removing the earth carefully from this, a third skeleton was seen, its head pointing to the east. This was lying upon its back, and measured form its toes to the top of the head nearly six feet.
Hamilton County, Ohio. “The Past and Present of Mill Creek Valley,” 1882
When the Hamilton pike was constructed it cut through a very large mound to the south of the village
on the grounds of Mrs. Cummings, near the locality of Station Springs. The West half is still
Discernible. Large skeletons were found in it when cut through.”
History of Portage County, Ohio, 1885
“Several years ago a burial mound was opened in Logan County, from which three skeletons were
taken. The frame of one was in an excellent state of preservation, and measured nearly seven feet from
the top of the skull to the lower part of the heel…”
“…In 1850 a mound lying on the north bank of Big Darby about one mile northwest of Plain City, in
Union County, was opened and several massive skeletons taken there from. The lower jaw-bones, like
those found at Conneaut, easily fitted over the jaw of a very large man, outside the flesh. These bonesand they are usually large wherever found-indicate that the Mound Builders were a gigantic race of
beings, fully according in size with the colossal remains that they left behind them.”
A Standard History of Springfield and Clark County Ohio
Other skeletons found in this lateral were those of little children, as indicated by the size of the bones
and the thickness of the skulls; some of the bones were from persons of larger stature; at this point the
interment ranged in depth from one foot and a quarter to four feet.
Mr .Altick and Mr. Cusick began excavations at the summit of the mound, where a perpendicular shaft was sunk eight feet square, and one foot from the surface in the black leaf mold they found a complete skeleton lying face downward, in horizontal position; however, the bones crumbled when they were lifted from the earth. They excavated another six inches, carefully removing the sand and gravel in order not to injure any deposit they might find; the material removed was screened so that small objects would not escape their notice, and here they came across another skeleton lying face upward, with only six inches separating them. It lay in a sandy mixture, and was in better state of preservation than the first skeleton, and while due precaution was taken in removing it, the bones crumbled as they handled them.
The shaft was then sunk eighteen inches deeper when three more skeletons were unearthed; they were in excellent condition, the bones being firm and hard, due to the greater depth at which they found them. One of the skeleton of a female, one was a child and the other was a male of gigantic stature. As a matter of comparison, Altick held up the femur of the male skeleton by Cusicks leg, and it extended eight inches below his knee; he is six feet in height. The ribs of this skeleton had petrified to a grayish slate color, but none would withstand the contact with the air.
The Stevens Point Journal, May 1 1886
Prehistoric Skeletons
An Ohio County Full of Valuable Relics of the Mound Builders
It is very evident that at an early day in the history of this country this section of Ohio was an important camping ground for the American Indian. There are in this county several burying grounds, and two of them are located five miles west of this city, near Jasper, one on the farm of Mr. William Bush and one on the Mr. Mathew Mark’s farm. These burying places are both in gravel banks and were discovered when the banks were opened fore the purpose of hauling out gravel. In a conversation with a gentleman who has seen a number of skeletons unearthed at the Mark bank was first opened. Some of these skeletons have been measured and the largest have been found to be nine feet long and over. At one time ten skeletons were exhumed. They had buried in a circle, standing in an erect position, and were in a comparatively well-preserved condition. One remarkable fact about all the skeletons unearthed at these places is the perfect state of preservation in which the teeth are found to be. Not a decayed tooth has been discovered, and this would seem to indicate that these people naturally had excellent teeth or some extraordinary manner of preserving them.
The last skeleton taken up was of ordinary length, but the bones were wonderfully large, and a gentleman who examined them says that the backbone was as large as the backbone of a cow. Some think that this may have been a young fellow who had not yet lengthened out. The opinion is held by not a few that these are not the remains of the common Indian, but that they are the last vestiges of a prehistoric race and extinct race,m as there are several mounds which were undoubtedly constructed by the mound builders located in this and adjoining counties. The writer, in digging in one of these mounds, discovered a portion of a crumbli
ng earthen crock, flint spearheads, ashes, ect. In the Bush gravel bank trinkets and weapons of warfare of various kinds were discovered lying about the skeletons.
History of Erie County, Ohio, 1889
“On the highest points and some distance back from the creek banks, in fields of light, sandy soil and
clay sub-soil, are found circular deposits of extremely black earth varying in depth from one to three
feet, in which are found skeletons of a ‘race’-not Indians. The skull is well developed, being full in
forehead, broad, with good height above the ears, and in all respects, different from the Indians. The
skeletons of adults are above average size and some of them gigantic. The writer, together with Dr.
Charles Stroud and Mr. T. L. Williams, have dug up a number in different localities, and always, with
one exception, with the same results.”
Cambridge City, Indiana Tribune, September 26, 1889
RELICS IN OHIO MOUNDS
A Gigantic Man Buried Alongside a Panther
Soon after the 1st of March I left for southern Ohio to collect relics to be placed on loan exhibition in the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, say a writer in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazzette. During the last two moths eleven large mounds have been opened and their contents taken to museums and placed on exhibition.
These mounds vary in height from eight to thirty feet, are generally conical in shape, and contain all the way from 300 to 10,000 square yards of dirt. They were built by the aborigines in this country hundreds of years ago to serve as burial places for the distinguished dead. They are generally placed near some stream in a vally and not unfrequently on high points of land which commanded a good view of the country, but the larger ones are in the valleys. These mounds are usually composed of clay, sometimes of sand, and often have layers off charcoal or burnt clay in them. These layers are often as brightly colored as if they had been painted.
The first mound opened was on rather high ground, the third river terrace. This mound was 13 feet high, 60 feet wide and 110 feet lone. It took six men eight days to dig through. When about twenty feet from the eastern edge we came upon a thick layer of burned bone. The layer was six inches thick and the width of the trench. The ashes of which it was composed were either resultant from animal or human bones, we could not tell which, but at any rate, whether animal or human, it must have taken thirty or forty skeletons (if cremated) to have made that many ashes.
About five feet above this layer, or nine feet from the summit of the mound, was a skeleton of a very large individuale which had buried by the side of it the bones of a panther. Whether the person had killed the panther and it was buried with him as an honor or whether the panther had killed the individuale I can not say. This much however, can be said, that in forty-three opened no find of this nature has been made. It is therefore quit interesting and important. The skull of the panther was very large, teeth very long and sharp. It would take a moundbuilder of a great deal of nerve to attack a beast of this size if he had nothing but a stone hatchet and bow and arrows to defend himself with. So if he did kill the panther he certainly entitled to a great deal of credit.
Upon opening the large mound last fall, skeletons were discovered. Little attention was given to the bones which soon crumbled. When another mound was opened a few days ago, however, the excavators were struck by the peculiar cranial characteristics. The heads presumably those of men are very much larger than those of present day men. From directly over the eye socket the head slopes straight back, and the nasla bones protrude far above the cheekbones.
The jawbones are so long and pointed that one is struck with their resemblance to those of a monkey. The teeth in the front of the jaw resemble the molars in the mouths of persons today.
History of the Villages and Townships of Erie County, Ohio, Berlin Township This creek has a branch called the West Branch. The two branches have had at different times over two dozen saw mills built along their course through the township. The Chapelle empties into the lake in the township of Vermilion. There is a mound on the farm of Henry Hoak, in the eastern part of the township, which covers one-eighth of an acre, with large trees growing on it; and in digging a cellar, some time ago, for a new house, near one which was built in the first settlement of the township, a large human skeleton was found, in a sitting posture. Others have been found at the same place, also many arrowheads, stone axes, and other relics, evincing that the spot built upon must have been a mound.
Smithsonian Institutes Bureau of Ethnology 12th Annual Report, 1890-1891
Franklin County On the level space enclosed by the ditch, 100 feet from the top of the east line of embankment, is a mound (a) 4 feet high and 35 feet in diameter. On the top were numerous flat stones, which it is said had formed graves enclosing skeletons of very large size
Maysville, Ohio Tribune, June 4, 1890
PREHISTORIC RELICS
Valuable Discovery in a Mound in Fayette County.
While a party of men, under the direction of T.M. Worthington, were engaged in excavating a large mound on the farm of E.T. Worthington, in the southern part of Fayette county, have made an important find. Two large skeletons measuring seven feet in length had already been exhumed, and May 27th the workman discovered a large bed of black ashes and charcoal. In this bed was found the skeleton of what evidently been a chief. The skeleton lay on its back with the head to the north. Around the neck was a strand of ivory beads, while around the left wrist were two copper bracelets. These bracelets are in excellent state of preservation. They are ten inches in circumference, one third of an inch wide and one-fourth of an ich thick. They are fit together at the ends, but not welded. They appear to be made of a good quality of copper, and were evidently very valuable in their day. Mr Worthington prizes these relics very highly.
The Ohio Democrat , (New Philadelphia, Ohio) November 19, 1891
A Great Find of Prehistoric Remains is Made at Chillicothe, O.
From an Indian Mound
Two Men Working in the Interest of the Worlds Fair Exhume
A Skeleton In Armour
Huge Pearls, Bears Teeth and Other Valuable Relics Also Found-A Second Skeleton Discovered
Chillicothe, O., Nov. 17-Warren K. Morehead and Dr. Cressen, who have been prosecuting excavations here for the past three months in the interest of the world’s fair, have just made one of the richest finds of the century in the way of prehistoric remains. These gentlemen have confided their excavations to the Hopewell farm, seven miles from here, upon which are located some twenty odd Indian mounds. On Saturday they were at work on a mound 500 feet in length, 200 feet wide and 26 feet in height. At the depth of fourteen feet, near the center of the mound, they exhumed the massive skeleton of a man, which was encased in a veritable copper armor. The head was covered by an ovalshaped copper cap. The jaws had copper moldings and the arms were dressed in copper. Copper plates covered the chest and stomach. On each side of the head, on protruding sticks, were wooden antlers ornamented with copper.
The mouth was stuffed with genuine pearls of immense size, but much decayed by the ravages of time. Around the neck was a necklace of bears’ teeth, set with pearls. At the side of the male skeleton was also found a female skeleton, the two being supposed to be man and wife. It is estimated that the bodies were buried where they were found fully six hundred years ago. Messrs. Morehead and Cresson consider this find one of the most important ones they have yet made and believe they have found the king of the mound builders.
The Weekly News (Mansfield Ohio) December3, 1891
Near Hamden Junction, O., workmen at the Roscoe mound unearthed a gigantic skeleton encased in a
copper covering.
History of the City of Columbus , 1892
One of the most pretentious mounds in the County was that which formerly occupied the crowning
point of the highland on the eastern side of the Scioto River, at the spot where now rises St. Paul’s
Lutheran Church and adjoining buildings, on the southeast corner of High and Mound Streets in
Columbus. Not a trace of this work is left, save the terraces of the church, although if it were yet
standing as it stood a century ago, it would be remarked as one of the most imposing monuments of the
original Scioto race. When the first settlers came it was regarded as a wonder, and yet it was not
spared. As was usual with such works, it was in the form of a truncated cone, its base diameter not less
than a hundred feet...All who remember the opening of this mound have a mile of information to add to
the story of its demolition.... the father of the late William Platt found a skull so large that it would go
over his head.
History of the City of Columbus, 1892
In William's History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties is a description of some remains of
earthworks which occur near Dublin in this county. As these works exist in a much damaged state, the
The Nephilim Chronicles: Fallen Angels in the Ohio Valley Page 37
