Adams; 1866, Isaac Stookey (Stookey died and J. L. Sauber was elected to fill vacancy), Samuel B. Erskine; 1868, Isaac J. Finley, Lawrence T. Neal; 1870, Lewis W. Sifford; 1871, Milton McCoy ; 1874, Milton McCoy; 1876, J. C. Entrekin; 1878, William H. Reed; 1880, William H. Reed, Theodore Spetnagel; 1882, Charles H. Patterson; 1884, O. P. Goodman; 1886, John C. Entrekin; 1888, Elias Moore and W. H. Wiggins; 1890, Elias Moore; 1892, Byron Lutz; 1894, W. S. Metcalfe; 1896, Byron Lutz; 1898, F. C. Arbenz; 1900, R. L. Irwin; 1902, James C. Foster.

Prosecuting Attorneys, Clerks and Sheriffs. See chapter on Bench and Bar.

Recorders. The first mention of this officer upon the records of the commissioners of Ross county bears date June 15, 1819, when it was "ordered that Humphrey Fullerton and A. L. Langham, former recorders, be paid for their services." The following successors to this office are given from memory by elderly citizens who are conversant with the affairs in the court house for many years back: Samuel Taggart, Arthur O. Luckett, Josiah L. Hearn, S. D. Stratton, Henry Whisson, William Briggs, Edward Cryder, the latter serving until 1882; 1883, Daniel Wilhelm, 1886, Joshua R. Wisehart; 1889, John F. Brown; 1895, Lee Des Martin; 1901, J. E. Ratcliff.

County Treasurers.-The first mention of this officer occurs in 1810, when Moses McClean, treasurer, deceased, and September 3d, of this year, John McLandburgh was appointed; 1812, James Ferguson was elected to the office; 1818, James McClintick; 1832, Henry S. Lewis; 1852, Thomas Ghormley; 1856, Daniel Dustman; 1859, A. Pearson; 1860, William Rittenhouse; 1865, S. A. Langdon; 1870, William A. Wayland; 1875, David Shotts; 1878, Stanislaus Burkley; 1882, Rufus Hosler; 1886, Nelson Purdum; 1890, Samuel M. Veail; 1894, Frank A. Sosman; 1898, Luther B. Hurst; 1902, Milton J. Scott.

County Auditors.-1804, John McClean; 1813, William Wallace; 1815, John McClean; 1821, David Collins; 1823, John McClean; 1841, William B. Franklin; 1857, William H. Skerrett; 1859, William B. Franklin; 1863, Samuel Kendrick; 1865, Daniel Dustman; 1871, R. D. McDougall; 1873, P. G. Griffin; 1877, Frank J. Esker; 1877, Frank J. Esker; 1887, John A. Somers; 1893, P. White Brown; 1896, Harry S. Adams; 1902, John H. Miller.

County Commissioners.-The record of the proceedings of the board of commissioners begins with the "March term, 1799," when a "return of the road from the town of Chillicothe to intersect the road from the falls of Paint creek to Brush creek," was received and recorded, and instructions were given to Duncan McArthur, as chief, and Thomas McDonald and Frederick Bray, as assistants, to survey said road. No names of the commissioners occur until 1808, at which time John Matthews, John McClean, and Ebenezer Fenimore

were the incumbents. 1812, William Wallace and Thomas White; 1818, Presley Morris; 1820, David Crouse and George Porter; 1822, Thomas Marshall and John Carlisle; 1823, Francis Baldwin; 1829, Jeriel Root; 1830, John Crouse, jr.; 1831, Peter Leister; 1832, George Will; 1833, John Carlisle, sr.; 1834, Thomas Scott; 1835, Warner Barnes; 1836, Aaron Foster; 1837, Martin Dresback; 1838, John Carlisle; 1839, Isaac Sperry; 1840, Nathan Gilman; 1841, John Carlisle; 1842, John Thompson; 1843, James Cutright; 1844, John Carlisle; 1845, John Thompson; 1846, James Rowe; 1847, John Carlisle; 1848, John Thompson; 1849, D. C. Entrekin ; 1850, John Thompson; 1851, Simon Ratcliff; 1852, James Rowe; 1853, John M. Wisehart; 1854, James Rittenhouse; 1855, James Rowe; 1856, James Rittenhouse--removed, and Jacob May was appointed to fill vacancy, and in October of that year elected, also George W. Renick; 1857, Isaac Stookey; 1858, Samuel McAdow; 1859, Daniel Karshner; 1860, Isaac Stookey; 1861, Alexander Ewing; 1862, Daniel Karshner; 1863, William Carson and Satterfield Scott; 1864, William Welsh; 1865, Daniel Karshner and Jacob Shotts; 1867, Anton Alberti; 1867, Samuel Nichols; 1869, Samuel Cline; 1870, Anton Alberti; 1871, Wesley Claypool; 1872, Samuel Cline and E. Rockhold; 1873, David Shotts and Wesley Claypool; 1874, W. H. Reed; 1875, Andrew Poe (appointed); 1876, W. E. Floyd; 1878, F. D. Ford; 1880, John Gaynor, A. J. Karshner, Strawder James; 1881, A. J. Karshner, Strawder James, John Gaynor; 1882, Strawder James, John Gaynor, Simon R. Dixon; 1883, John Gaynor, Simon R. Dixon, Austin Pepple; 1884, Simon R. Dixon, Austin Pepple, Conrad H. Reutinger; 1885, Austin Pepple, Conrad H. Reutinger, Taylor Boggs; 1886, Conrad H. Reutinger, Taylor Boggs, John Gaynor; 1887, Taylor Boggs, John Gaynor, Simon R. Dixon; 1888, John Gaynor, Simon R. Dixon, John W. Jenkins; 1889, Simon R. Dixon, John W. Jenkins, Conrad H. Reutinger; 1890, John W. Jenkins, Conrad H. Reutinger, James C. Crawford; 1891, Conrad H. Reutinger, James C. Crawford, Benjamin P. Asbury; 1892, James C. Crawford, Benjamin P. Asbury, J. Philip Gartner; 1893, Benjamin P. Asbury, J. Philip Gartner, James C. Crawford, died in office, William A. Baird, appointed; 1894, J. Philip Gartner, William A. Baird, Simon Holderman; 1895, William A. Baird, Nelson Purdum, Simon Holderman; 1896, Simon Holderman, Nelson Purdum, John W. Jenkins; 1897, Nelson Purdum, John W. Jenkins, Simon Holderman; 1898, John W. Jenkins, Simon Holderman, Nelson Purdum; 1899, Simon Holderman, Nelson Purdum, John W. Ott, Rufus Hosler; 1901, John W. Ott, Rufus Hosler, Henry Greisheimer; 1902, Rufus Hosler, John W. Ott, Charles B. Gearhart.

County Coroners.-1806, David Barnes; 1808, Thomas Steel; 1812, William Rutledge. Here follows an extended period where no

mention is made of this officer on the records. 1854, George S. Baker; 1863, Uriah P. Wheaton; John R. Tucker who served until 1882 (Mr. Tucker served forty years in this office, at various times); 1883, M. Bonner; 1885, Valentine Kramer; 1897, Hiram Streitenberger; 1899, George Smith.

County Surveyors. Following is a list of surveyors, given in the records of the commissioners, but whether any of them were elected to the office is not stated. 1803, Duncan McArthur, Isaac Davis, Jeremiah McLene, John Collett, Thomas McDonald, John Guthrie, David Hays, Joseph Vance, James Denny, Joseph Moffit, George W. Weight, Isaac Fleming, Jesse Spencer, Samuel Smith, William Hoddy, Joseph Kerr, Walter Craige, Nathaniel Massie, Benjamin Hough, Alison C. Looker, Abner Kearns, Alexander Bourne, David Collins, John G. Macan, John Williams, John Evans, John Barr, Jervis Cutler, John McDonald, White Brown, Elias Langham, Moses McClean, John Millican, Jesse Wiley, John P. Neal, John A. and William Fulton, John Gray, David Kinnear, John Russell, Samuel Lutz, Charles McKea, and Robert Johnston; 1871, James B. Mabury, surveyor, resigned, and Alexander McCoy was appointed, and served until 1879. 1879, Lorenzo Wesson; 1883, William P. Delong; 1886, P. J. Laessle; 1892, Benjamin Walker; 1898, A. W. Jones.

State School Commissioner.-Hon. John Hancock, of Ross county, served in this position by appointment of Governor Foraker, and was elected to that office in 1889, serving two years.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.-Hon. John C. Entrekin was elected to this position in 1886, serving during the sessions of 1886 and 1887.

The Chillicothe postmasters from the establishment of the office in 1799, to the present, were as follows: Joseph Tiffin, from 1799 to 1815; William Creighton, sr., from 1815 to 1831; E. P. Kendrick, 1831 ; John Hough to 1848; Charles D. Martin, from 1848 to 1852; Clement Pine, 1852 to 1856; James McGinnis, 1856 to 1860; E. B. Eshelman, A. P. Miller, Theodore Sherer, 1864 to 1868; Charles E. Brown, 1868 to 1872; George P. Holcomb, 1872 to 1879; Isaac N. Hawkins, 1879 to 1884; William E. Gilmore, 1884 to 1888; Philip Klein, 1888 to 1892; George H. Tyler, 1892 to 1896; R. R. Freeman, 1896 to 1900; S. II. Hurst, 1900 and present incumbent.

CHAPTER IX.

A

RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES.

S THE main source of wealth in Ross county is agriculture, a chapter descriptive of the resources of the county may appropriately be prefaced by an account of the land.

The great features of topography are the valleys of the Scioto river and Paint creek and their tributaries, and the few commanding eminences that rise above the usual level of valley and upland. The altitude above sea level at Lyndon, by the United States Coast and Geodetic survey, is 912 feet; the railroad track at Kingston is 770 feet above the sea, at Frankfort 750, at Hopetown. 675, at Chillicothe 635, and Salt Creek, at the C., H. & D. railroad, is but 588 feet. This latter elevation is not much more than that of the water of Lake Erie (573 feet), and something more than a hundred feet above low water in the Ohio river at Portsmouth (477 feet).

The main surface feature affecting the soil is that the boundary of the glacial deposits in Ohio, known commonly as the drift, passes through the county diagonally from the northeastern to the southwestern corner. Hence, in the northwest half of the county the drift covers the natural rock almost entirely, while in the southeast. half it is found only in the clays of some of the lowlands.

Adelphi is the most interesting place in Ohio on the drift boundary, to the geologist, partly on account of the abrupt change in direction of the line found there, and because of the deep gorge cut through to a depth of about 200 feet in the glacial accumulation by Salt creek. This great ridge left by the glaciers continues at the same height for many miles westward. "Riding along upon its uneven summit," says the distinguished geologist, Edward Orton, "one finds the surface strewn with granite bowlders, and sees stretching off to the northwest the fertile plains of Pickaway, while close to the south of him, yet separated by a distinct interval, are the cliffs of Waverly sandstone, rising 200 or 300 feet higher, which here and onward to the south pretty closely approach the boundary of the glaciated region."

In Green township, two miles east of the Scioto river, are enormous kames, or ridges, one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet, running north and south, and three broad parallel ridges between them and the river. Two miles above Chillicothe, in Springfield township, is a terrace one-half mile in width, forty-eight feet above the flood plain of the river, which marks the flood torrents of melting icebergs. In Twin township, where Paint creek flows, are other large kames running north and south on Cattail run, and in the northeast corner of the same township is the place where Paint creek was forced by the ice to cut itself a new channel. This drift deposit was made when Ohio was dry land. The rocks of Ross county were built many ages before that, in the bottom of the sea, or along a primeval coast.

The oldest rock in the county, exposed to view, is along Paint creek in the western part of Paint township. Here is found the Niagara limestone, of the Devonian age of geology. Overlaying this is the Helderberg limestone, found along Paint creek in Buckskin township mainly. This rock was laid down in an ocean of considerable depth. It is a magnesian limestone, and has been quarried from the early days of settlement. The stone is regular in its bedding, and slabs three or four inches thick, with a superficial area of four feet, can be obtained with surfaces as smooth and regular as if sawed. In fact the slabs can be used for doorsteps without dressing. They are in good demand for curbing and crosswalk stone, and used to a less extent for building. The stone is exceedingly strong, two-inch cubes standing a pressure of over 50,000 pounds before crushing. The color is drab at first, and darkens to a yellowish brown. Occasionally some fossil corals are found in it, some zinc blende, and streaks of iron oxide and bituminous matter that gives a strong fetid odor to the stone when worked. The Ross county quarry has forty-two feet of stone, in layers, capped by only ten feet of drift, and is practically inexhaustible. The spoils are burned into lime in kilns that are kept continually going, and the product has hydraulic qualities that make it specially adapted to outside work.

Above this rock was deposited the Huron shale, which is mainly covered by the drift, but is found out-cropping in the rest of the course of Paint creek, except where that stream was turned out of its old course by the glaciers, west of Chillicothe. But the greater part of the county is covered by the sandstone called Waverly, from the exposure of building stone in Pike county. This was deposited by the action of waves along a rocky coast, and the sand banks of river mouths, at a time when considerable of the land of western Ohio had been raised above sea. But it was some ages before the coal measures of eastern Ohio were formed, and these latter, in that region, overlay the Waverly that is such a large part of the surface