Author Institution: Route S, Rock Mill, Lancaster, Ohi

Stout, Wilber

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ROCK MILLWILBER STOUTRoute 3, Rock Mill, Lancaster, OhioWhen the pioneers came across the Appalachian Mountains into the westernpart of the Allegheny Plateau, or more definitely into Fairfield County, Ohio,they found the rolling, glaciated, hill country well wooded and abounding withrunning streams fed by clear, cold springs. Massive sandstones, much weatheredand reduced, formed many of the ridge crests. Along a few streams in this areasuch rocks were eroded to deep gorgelike valleys, the result of natural forces andextended time. Such sylvan nooks abounded with plant life of many kinds.Here mosses, ferns, lichens, liverworts, and other low forms were shaded by hugehemlocks, elms, maples, and other large forest trees. In addition, animal life,especially birds, was pleantiful.In years past the Moundbuilder once made his home in this country and lefthis silent, mysterious mounds as mute evidence of his existence. When firstexplored by white man, this part of Fairfield County was the home land or terri-tory of the Wyandot Indians, a part of the great Shawnee confederacy. A smallband of Wyandots still lived at what is now Hookers and another, under chiefTobey, camped just northwest of Royalton.Of chief interest is the gorge and upper falls of the stream in southeast Section25, Bloom Township, Fairfield County. The name "Hock Hocking" was givento the stream by the Wyandot Indians because of the natural resemblance of thegorge to a gourd or bottle. The bowl of the gourd is the large basin at the milland the neck is the restricted gorge above the falls. Rather odd too that theupper falls of the Hocking River at Rock Mill and the lower falls at Logan areboth in the same extension rock formation. The lower falls is over the upperpart of this thick sandstone, whereas the upper falls is over a basal portion of thesame stratum. The large basin below the upper falls is eroded to a depth of 48feet or more and to a width of two or three times this dimension. At the millthe stream turned a 26 foot over-shot wheel. The neck of the gourd is the con-stricted gorge above the falls varying from four to forty feet in width and from20 to more than 40 feet in depth.The name "Blackhand" was applied by Hicks in 1878 to a shelter rock on theLicking River near Hanover. On the wall of this overhanging rock the Indianshad painted a large blackhand with a black pigment. This figure was supposedlya marker for the flint quarries on Flint Ridge in Licking and Muskingum counties.Later the name Blackhand was applied regionally to the formation. To the oildriller, however, this member is known as the Big Injun sand, after a discoverywell on Big Indian Creek in West Virginia.On the outcrop in Ohio the Blackhand sandstone, from 50 to 250 feet or morein thickness, extends from the Hocking-Vinton County line on the south to aboveMansfield, Richland County, on the north. Under cover this massive stratumcontinues southeastward into southeastern Ohio and extends far into West Virginia.In texture the rock is a coarse-grained sandstone, pebbly in many places; and itscolor varies through shades of gray, pink, buff, and brown. The chief bondingcomponent is some form of iron oxide. This rock is of marine origin, usually itis definitely marked by lenslike patterns of sand found along the seashore. Inthis locality the dip of the formation is not far from 20 feet to the mile east andtwelve feet to the mile south.The Blackhand sandstone and associated rocks at Rock Mill belong in theWaverly series of the Mississippian system. As these rocks were laid down inTHE OHIO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 58(3): 171, May, 1958172 WILBER STOUT Vol. 58the ocean and then elevated to a land mass in late Permian time, they havesuffered weathering and erosion through several geological ages. Consequently,they are now reduced to hills and valleys with a few hundred feet of relief. Locally,on the outcrop, through differential weathering, resistant layers form bold escarp-ments, outstanding monadnocks, as at Mount Pleasant, and deep gorges, as atRock Mill.The long degradation cycle from Permian time may be divided rather definitelyinto two parts as follows:(a) Gorge below the falls. The first erosion and weathering period, whichaccomplished much, extended from the emergence of the land above the sea inlate Permian time to the time of the first glacier, the Nebraskan. This ice sheetdestroyed the Teays drainage system and inaugurated the Deep Stage. However,FIGURE 1. The Rock Mill. Photo by Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company.FIGURE 2. The gorge above the falls. Photo by Theresa Stout.during this long period of change, which reduced the Allegheny Plateau to hillsand valleys, resistant layers held up ridge crests, like Chestnut Ridge to thenorth, and produced bold escarpments and deep gorges like the so-called caveregion of the Hocking Valley. At Rock Mill this level of reduction is quitedefinitely marked by glacial grooves near the Stout home and by a large pegmatitegranite boulder at the corner of the Alspach garden, not far from the mill. Bothmarkers are not much more than 990 feet above sea level. In this area the evi-dence for the Nebraskan glacier is afforded by the till sheet which is largelyweathered away, and by the widely scattered large boulders with some smallerresistant debris. At Carroll the floor of the old Groveport River of Teays agestands at an elevation approximating 650 feet above the sea.In the massive rocks of variable strength, such as the Blackhand, differentialweathering and erosion cause the hard layers to form the rimrock of ruggedbluffs, bold escarpments, and deep gorges. In such a variable deposit smallNo. 3 ROCK MILL 173streams cut deep gorgelike valleys like Conkle Hollow, Cedar Falls, Old Man'sCave, Ash Cave, and others of the Hocking Valley. The gorge below the fallsat Rock Mill is only an extension of such work farther south. Hence, it wasfashioned largely by the various forces of nature during the long period from thePermian uplift to the advent of the Nebraskan glacier.(b. Gorge above the falls. Since only one glacier, the Nebraskan, passed overthe Rock Mill area, the time of cutting the narrow gorge above the falls maythus be considered to begin with this ice invasion and to continue to the present.However, some work was done before this time by small streams in a limitedbasin. The headwaters of what is now the Hocking River formerly belongedto a Deep Stage stream that flowed northeastward through southeastern Section24, Bloom Township, and diagonally across Section 19, Greenfield Township, tothe north-flowing Lancaster River. The Illinoian or the Wisconsin drift sheets,or both, then filled this stream passage with debris and caused the present stream,the Hocking River, to be diverted through a new way to Rock Mill.This later stream is thus largely responsible for the cutting of the gorge abovethe falls at Rock Mill. Here the gorge is generally narrow, fairly deep, andabout a quarter of a mile long. From the hard rock, bearing the glacial groovesnear the Stout residence, to the rock floor of the stream the depth of the gorge isclose to 35 feet; under the bridge, just above the falls, it is near 20 feet in depthand so narrow in one place that boys jump from one wall to the other. The upperrestricted gorge is cut mainly in strata above the rimrock of the lower broadergorge and thus displays its geological youth. Hence, the two gorges are differentin age but similar in workmanship, both resulting from the degrading forces ofnature.Some form of falls has been active for a long time in the Rock Mill area. Thisfact is evident from the outline of the gorge there, approximately one mile inlength. This depression was cut by the headward migration, through falls andrapids, of the excavating powers of small streams through massive rocks. Suchwork is exceptionally well shown by the many gorges and falls in the Blackhandformation of the Hocking Valley and by that master one, the gorge and fallsof the mighty Niagara River. Such accomplishments are referred to as sapping.The causes consist essentially of the direct scouring action of boulders, sand, silt,and rubble passing over the precipice; of loosening of rock particles throughsolution by water; of chemical changes such as oxidation and hydration of bondingcomponents; of the direct action of plant life on rock surfaces bathed by water orby humid air; of the natural resistance of the rock's texture, whether hard or soft;and of such weather factors as freezing and disiccation.With just a small flow of water over a falls, these many forces acting togetherin time will eventually dig and widen a valley to gorgelike proportions. At RockMill the large gorge, that below the falls, is the result of such degradation throughseveral geological ages. However, at this place there is a good example of theseforces starting to work where the water of the Alspach spring crosses the roadand pitches over a low falls into the restricted gorge of the Hocking River. • Here aminature and youthful falls is starting to dig its way to a gorge of small dimen-sions. At this place most of the forces of excavation listed above are quiteapparent.The present falls at Rock Mill, seen from the bridge, is about 14 feet in heightand both falls and swift rapids around 20 feet. However, from the position of thepool and the depth of the pit the stream evidently once pitched from the rimrockat a height of forty or fifty feet. Now, during flood stages, the waters of thestream are really hurled from the higher level and descend into the basin belowwith violent boiling and swirling. Nature as seen at Rock Mill is thus a wonder-ful worker when given forces and time.The headwaters of the Hock Hocking River is, as generally considered, in a174 WILBER STOUT Vol. 58spring on the Silas Alspach farm nearly one mile north and west of Greencastle insoutheast Section 16, Bloom Township, Fairfield County. Following themeandering of the stream, the distance from the spring to the falls at Rock Millis close to six miles but in a straight line only four miles. The entire basin abovethe falls is less than four square miles in extent and lies almost entirely in south-eastern Bloom Township. At the falls the stream is constant, never known to bedry. The water during normal flow is from springs, and during the warm weatherof July and August it is slightly cool for wading. Also of importance in theregion of the thick Blackhand sandstone, the supply of rock water is abundantand is of high potency.A feature that attracts attention and causes comment is the deep pool belowthe fall and adjacent to the mill. This pit in the rock was worn by the impactof boulders, sand, and other debris that came over the falls with sufficient forceto abrade the sandstone floor to a deep depression. At one time the falls wasevidently much higher than it is at present; assurdedly the water pitched fromthe rimrock some 48 feet or more above. Also, when the dam was in place andwhen the force of the water was sufficient to keep the pool clean, the millersreported the depth to be about 40 feet. Boys swimming in the pool now statethat bottom is reached at 12 or 15 feet. The water in the pool is always coolas it is supplied partially from nearby springs.In the gorge at the edge of the pool and on the mill side of the basin is a finespring formerly used for household purposes. The water was drawn by lettinga bucket down on a cable from the opposite rim of the gorge. The bucket, properlyweighted, filled when lowered to the spring and then, filled, was returned by awindlass. The spring still pours its stream of water from a master joint or opencrack in the massive rock.The stone used in the foundation of the mill was taken from a quarry not fardistant down the stream. The material used is from the rimrock where the stoneis well bonded by iron oxides and is quite strong, very durable, and weatherresistant.(In this article much data were supplied by Mrs. Millie Dildine Alspach, nowdeceased, and many measurements were made by Willard and Florence Betz.)Concerning Rock Mill, really named for the rocks at this scenic spot, Scottsays, "Joseph Loveland and Hezekiah Smith, both New Englanders, erecteda log grist mill at the upper falls of Hocking, now called Rock Mill. This was thefirst mill built on the Hocking. It was set low down among the rocks. Thegrists were taken in at the gable-end and let down to the hopper with ropes andthen raised to the level by the same means. The mill was on the old Columbus-Marietta road, seven miles from Lancaster. These men are said to have soldgoods at their mill which were brought by pack-horses from Detroit. Also aslate as 1822, it is said, there were no grinding facilities in Bloom Township besidesone small raccoon-buhr mill" (1877).Some data on the living conditions of that time are also supplied by Scott,"The settlers subsisted principally on corn bread, potatoes, milk and butter, andwild meats. Flour, tea, and coffee were scarcely to be had, and when brought tothe county, such prices were asked as to put it out of the power of many topurchase. Salt was an indispensable article and cost, at the Scioto Salt Works(Jackson) $5.00 for fifty pounds; flour cost $16.00 per barrel; tea $2.50 per pound;coffee $1.50; spices and pepper $1.00 per pound."Some additional notes are supplied by Howe, "This log mill was built in thebasin below the falls and around 1820 was washed out by a flood It was poweredby an overshot wheel. The present mill now standing, [1958] was built in 1824and powered by an overshot wheel, 26 feet in diameter" (1908).Aside from Loveland and Smith, Rock Mill in its many years of existencepassed through several hands. "The next owners were Christian Morehart andNo. 3 ROCK MILL 175Joseph Knabenshue; then Philip Homrighous; then John Foor. In 1899 the millwas remodeled, a turbine was installed over the falls, replacing the ancient waterwheel. The turbine proved unsatisfactory so they changed to steam power.The remodeling was done by Marion Solt, John Foor, and two Alspach brothers,Edward and Jacob. A Mr. Talley was the next owner. He was bought out byJ. P. Gundy and F. H. Barlow. The mill then passed to W. S. Alspach. It wentout of business about 1905" (Mary and Urcel Alspach, present owners).In the early days a saw mill was operated by the mill owners about one-fourthmile above the falls. From lumber still around, the crosscut saw operatedvertically and the boards were split off from the end of the log. Nearly one miledownstream from the falls a woolen mill operated for many years. Its specialtywas blankets.The mill is built with three main floors, above the rim of the gorge, for thegeneral milling and care of the grain and with two floors below this, within thebasin, the upper one for the buhr-stones and their operation and the lower onefor the motive gearing necessitated by the water wheel. An opening from thelower floor led to the catwalk and on to the flume and the dam. The generaldimensions of the mill as now determined are 34 feet wide, facing the gorge, 38feet long, and 70 feet high. The timbers for the framework are mainly hand-hewn oak, cut from straight, clear logs. The posts, 16 in number, four full heightfor each side, and four short ones for the first floor, are 12 x 12 inches in size.Both the corner and wall posts are substantially braced for strong rigid supportby 4 by 6 inch timbers. The massive plates that span across the mill are alsohand-hewn oak, 14 inches wide by 12 inches thick and 32 feet long. The platesfor the first floor are supported by posts, but those on the second and third floorsspan the entire mill, thus leaving large unrestricted rooms for the spacing of thevarious milling machinery and storage bins. The framework of the mill is infour bends, for carrying both the lateral and vertical finishing parts. The joistsare mainly 3 x 10 inch x 14 feet long, spaced on 4 foot centers. The studs forholding the siding and windows are of 4 by 4 inch material securely mitered intothe sills and plates. The weather boards, chiefly yellow poplar and hemlock, are7 inch wide by }/% inch thick and still serviceable. The flooring throughout themill is tongue and grooved, 1 and 3^8 inch thick and is of various widths up to17 inches and of different lengths up to 22 feet. There are nine windows on a sidewith frames 31 and 3^2 by 56 inches.The grinding operation for the primary milling of the grain was done on thesub-floor of the mill. This is really within the basin of the gorge and is securelyframed by heavy timbers, having floor space 12 by 6 feet which contains the buhr-stone and gearing to the water wheel. The coarse grinding buhr is 42 inches indiameter and the lower or fine grinding buhr 48 inches. Each is approximately12 inches thick. These stones are of cellular flint, probably fashioned atMcArthur.The distance from the main floor of the mill to the rock floor of the gorge isclose to 48 feet. The mill race cut through the solid sandstone is about 30 inchesin width and 22 feet deep. The dam constructed of heavy timbers was anchoredinto the walls of the rock just above the brink of the falls. The mill pond thuscreated was small, only some 35 rods long, but as the stream was continuous, itssupply through much of the year was sufficient for grinding.Most certainly this mill was constructed by millwrights thoroughly familiarwith such work. They understood the principles of framework and the valueof braces, mortise, and tenon and pinning for strength. Thus, the building wasbonded into a rigid mass to withstand the vicissitudes of the natural elements formany years. Good forest timber was plentiful at that time (1824); but today(1958) we ask who felled the trees, who scored the logs, and who wielded thebroadax to fashion such structural material? The old mill is still of much interest.176 WILBER STOUT Vol. 58The first buhr stones used in Rock Mill, from 1799 to 1820, were probablyof French derivation or from local quarries in eastern Pennsylvania. Those after1824, referred to as raccoon buhrs, came from the Raccoon Creek basin in centralVinton County. At McArthur the production of buhr stones began as early as1807. Another possible source was the flint rock on Flint Ridge in Licking andMuskingum counties. The deposits in both places belong on the Vanport horizon,usually marked by a few feet of gray limestone.Rock Mill, with its mighty beams of hand-hewn oak, and with the sound of thesplashing water as it poured over the water wheel, served, for many years, a veryuseful purpose to the countryside. There, grists were ground; also in the interim,news was dispersed and, in season, bathers enjoyed the cool waters of the deeppool. Now the rugged rocks, tumbling falls, weathered mill, and covered bridgeform a scenic spot for viewers, photographers, and artists. The rocks still standfor the supremacy of nature and the mill as an emblem of former days.LITERATURE CITEDHowe, H. 1908. Historical Collections of Ohio. Vol. 1, pages 587-588.Scott, Hervey. 1877. A Complete History of Fairfield County, 1795-1876. Pages 6, 85and 87.

Rock Mill

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