History of Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
- Historical Areas
- Hocking Hills State Park
- Old Man’s Cave
- Cedar Falls
- Ash Cave
- The Rock House
- Cantwell Cliffs
- Tar Hollow
- Lake Logan
Hocking Hills State Park
The State Parks of Hocking County, with the exception of Lake Logan, owe their classic characteristics to a number of mind-boggling circumstances. More than 330 million years ago, the area was relatively level and was covered by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. For millions of years, the ocean’s currents deposited immense amounts of sand and gravel. After millions of years, the ocean receded, and the sandy layers bonded with silica to form the Black Hand Sandstone that underlies the area. It formed like a sandwich, with a hard top and bottom and a soft middle layer. When the Appalachian Mountains arose, form and feature were cast upon the area.
The area was hemmed in by the ancient north-flowing Teahs River to the west, and the then north-flowing Hocking to the east. The landscape remained fairly static for millions of years. Any changes were miniscule, and were slow to develop. When the Wisconsin Glacier began melting back to the north about 10,000 years ago, the landscape would undergo dramatic changes.
The glacier stopped in northern Hocking County, so the area suffered indescribable flooding. The ancient Teahs River was buried under tons of glacial silt, and the direction of the Hocking River was reversed. Tons of Hocking County real estate were transported to the Gulf of Mexico, where core drilling today tells the tale.
When the glacial torrents found cracks in the hard capstone, the water poured through to flush out the soft middle layer. This left long tunnels where the gorges are today. Eventually, the weight of the tops caused them to come crashing down. The "slump rocks" in the gorges today are what’s left of the hard top layer. In silent repose, they bear witness to dramatic events of long ago. In just a few centuries, the rushing waters of the glacier carved the soft middle layer of sandstone into the myriad dimples and wrinkles that decorate the cliffs and grottos today.
Early settlers in Muskingum County found an ancient black human handprint on a cliff that is part of this same sandstone formation. That is the same "Black Hand Sandstone" that is seen in six areas of the Hocking Hills State Park.
Old Man’s Cave
The Rowe family lived in the Cumberland Mountains in eastern Tennessee. The older of their two sons was named David. Their younger son was born about 1784. His name was Richard Henry. Mrs. Rowe died in 1796.
The father migrated up through Kentucky with his two sons to the banks of the Ohio River. There he set up a trading post. The elder son grew up to become a freighter pilot on the Ohio River. Richard worked in his father’s business until about 1810. For a couple of years, he traveled the Ohio and Scioto Rivers, observing the workings of the War of 1812. Afterwards, he became a recluse, preferring to live alone in the forest.
In due time, David Rowe married an Indian woman, probably Shawnee. David and his wife migrated to the Great Lakes, and then to the Black Hills in South Dakota.
Richard made several autumn trips to the Old Man’s Cave gorge, where he would stay for the trapping season. Laden with prime pelts, he would return in the spring to his father’s trading post on the Ohio River. His favorite route was to follow Salt Creek, which he called "Clearwater," to the Scioto River. He then followed that stream southward to the Ohio River.
There came a time when Richard was missing from the area for about three years, and was presumed to be dead. He returned, however, and told his acquaintances that he had gone to visit his brother. He had walked to the Ozarks, and then found that his brother was no longer living, and his widow had no means of support. Richard told of having a stash of money back home in the "gorge." He promised to return to the Black Hills to give that money to David’s widow.
One day after returning home, Richard had gone to the stream in the gorge to get his supply of water. As he had done many times in winters past, he used the butt of his musket to break the ice. The weapon discharged, with the muzzle pointing under his chin. A few days later, he was found by a couple of other trappers. They wrapped his body in the bark of an oak tree, and buried him with all the ceremony the wilderness could provide, in the sand on a ledge in his beloved gorge. There is no one living today who knows the location of his final resting place.
A few months later, an Indian from the Black Hills came to the area. In talking to a trapper who knew the area, he inquired about a place called "Clearwater" and further asked the trapper if he knew of a man by the name of Richard Rowe. He was directed to the Cedar Falls – Old Man’s Cave area. In about two weeks, the Indian returned to the trapper’s home, and related the following story:
"Richard Rowe came to visit us in the Black Hills. He said he had a stash of money, which he would bring to us. Fearing that foul play had overtaken my friend and relative, I came looking for him. There is much danger between here and the Black Hills. I will return now to my people." The Indian gave his name as "Oblivious Tarrow-he." (At this point, he walks off the pages of history, and we know nothing more about him.) His visit was in 1857, so Richard Rowe lived to be about 74 years of age.
In the years to follow, the pioneers in the area often avoided the gorge. To keep their children from playing on the dangerous ledges and cliffs, they would tell them ghost stories about the place. "Don’t go there. That’s where the old man died." Or "That’s where the old man shot himself." Or "The old man’s ghost roams the bottom of the gorge." In time, it became known as "The Old Man’s Gorge" but today, it is known far and wide as "Old Man’s Cave." It is the best known of the Hocking Hills State Park areas.
Cedar Falls
Early settlers to the area misidentified the stately hemlock trees as cedar trees, consequently, this park was incorrectly named. The beauty of the falls began drawing visitors right away. The scenic gorge was, and is, an added bonus. In the early 1800’s, a trading post was built just a short distance downstream from the falls. It served the Indians and early settlers alike. There is a cave in the gorge where the Indians and early settlers obtained saltpeter, which was used in the curing of meat.
The water plunges 50 feet over the falls. Cedar Falls has the greatest volume of water of all the falls in Hocking County and is easily the most photographed waterfall in the area. It has been featured in magazines, newspapers, film and calendars and is at its glorious best during the rainy season, since its feeder stream is little more than a roadside gully.
The stream that ripples down the gorge below Cedar Falls is sparkling, unpolluted water. It supports a thriving community of marine creatures. Large snapping turtles that one would expect to find only in rivers and lakes are seen in this stream. There are several species of fish, including smallmouth bass. The depth of the gorge moderates the temperature. To hike the gorge trail on a hot summer day is a cool and refreshing treat.
The "bent bridge" below the falls was originally straight. Large trees floating down the gorge during times of high water rammed the bridge with enough force to bend the massive steel girders. In this tortured configuration, the bridge became a favorite with the visitors. When extensive repair and modernization was done in the gorge in 2002-03, the bridge was repaired, but was left with the familiar curve. Guard rails have been added for safety.
A new bridge spans the stream just above the falls. It stands just a few yards onto the trail toward Old Man’s Cave. From the bridge, looking downstream, can be seen the outline in the sandstone where the water-powered grist mill once stood. The mill was built in 1835. The burr stones from that mill are on display at the end of the bridge.
Ash Cave
Ash Cave is a huge horseshoe-shaped shelter cave, open on one side. Formed by the forces of water in Black Hand sandstone, it measures approximately 100 feet from the rim to the bottom of the back wall. The rim is 90 feet above the plunge pool of the falls. A small waterfall plummets down from the rim to form a stream that flows beside the trail. The distance around the rim is 700 feet. Having remarkable acoustics, it was used by the Shawnee and other Indian tribes as a temporary shelter and as a meeting room. Parts of the cave are still known as whispering galleries. The large rock out front was used as the speaker’s platform, and became known as "pulpit rock."
The name "Ash Cave" came from the large ash piles that were found by the earliest settlers. In 1837 it was estimated that there remained 300 to 400 bushels of clean ashes "as dry as they were on the day they were burned." Test excavations of the ashes in 1877 revealed arrows, sticks, stalks of coarse grasses, flints, bits of pottery and corn cobs. Found in later excavations were bones of elk, black bear, skunk, deer, wild duck, rabbit, box tortoise, passenger pigeon, squirrel, wild turkey and wildcat; all of which were a part of the food supply for the Indians.
The Indian Salt Trail, from the Pickaway Plains to the salt springs where Jackson, Ohio is located, entered Hocking County near the Perry and Good Hope Townships line. It passed by Cantwell Cliffs, Rock House, Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls and Ash Cave. It was about 100 miles from one end of the trail to the other. The visitor walks along part of this trail from the parking lot to Ash Cave. The Indian salt workers would walk from their villages to the salt springs, where they would set up a salt camp. It took several days of grueling work to evaporate the salt water. The workers would then load the dry salt onto their backs and trudge the 100 miles back home.
The Ash Cave trail has been used by man in a recreational and commercial way for centuries. It was a communications link between Indian villages, as well as a hunting trail for the Indian tribes who came to this area for elk, buffalo, deer and black bear. In more recent times, this trail became a part of the Buckeye Trail.
Ash Cave is the largest shelter cave in Ohio. Everyone who sees it is overwhelmed by its grandeur, and they vow to return.
The Rock House
The trail to the Rock House is a bit more challenging than most of the other trails in the area, but the rewards are well worth the added efforts. The very trail that the hiker follows was the scene of intense and violent drama more than a century ago.
William Reynolds was a herdsman. The land on his farm was rocky and hilly, and was unsuited for tilling. His farm included the Rock House, which he used as a barn, sheltering his liverstock and storing their feed.
On March 8, 1863, Reynolds was going down the trail to the barn to do his evening chores. On the trail, he met up with a bear, which launched an attack. Although he was severely mauled, Reynolds somehow managed to get back to his house. His wounds became infected, and he died one week later of what was referred to back then as "blood poisoning." He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Gibisonville, just a short distance down the road from the Rock House. To this day, that remains the only recorded death by bear attack in Hocking County.
His widow could not support herself and the children on this poor, rocky ground. She loaded all their worldly possessions onto a covered wagon, and headed north. In southern Marion County, she found land that was suitable for farming, which she claimed by "squatters’ rights." Her descendants still live in that area.
Inside the Rock House are two "turpentine stills," left over from the Indian days. The stills are small recesses, or depressions, hand carved on the top surfaces of two sandstone shelves, each with a small channel leading over to the lip of the shelf.
Turpentine was a vital commodity for the Indians. It was used as medicine, both internally and externally, for a wide variety of illnesses and injuries. The Indians would place bits of pitch pine wood in one of the depressions. A layer of flat sandstone would be placed over the wood, and a fire would be built on top. The heat would drive the sap out of the wood, which would then flow through the channel and pour into a waiting vessel.
In the late 1700’s, the Indians were driven out of the area. The pioneers who moved in and occupied the land had more need for turpentine than did the Indians. They brought farm animals, as well as people, and used the Indian stills, but with a slight change in technology. The pioneers would invert their black, iron kettles over the pine bits, and build the fire on top.
The use of turpentine as medicine for man and beast continued for many years. Turpentine was sold, for medicinal purposes, in pharmacies until the mid-1960’s.
Today, it is sold in hardware stores as a paint thinner, with warning labels cautioning against contact with human tissue.
It is worth mentioning that the use of a glue-like derivative of pine sap was used by the Indians and the pioneers alike instead of sutures to hold lacerations and incisions together. A modern variation of this practice has gained favor in hospitals everywhere, much to the relief of children visiting emergency rooms for the treatment of cuts.
Cantwell Cliffs
Situated on a high outcropping of Black Hand sandstone, Cantwell Cliffs offers hikers the best of two worlds. The high rim trails offer far-reaching vistas of breathtaking beauty, while the valley trail makes the visitor feel diminutive when walking at the base of the cliffs. The massive stone wall seems to reach the clouds. The forces of nature have etched an endless mosaic of crevices and patterns on the towering sandstone portico.
Cantwell Cliffs was named for Josiah Cantwell, a pioneer in the area. Various springs and drainage systems here make up the headwaters of the stream known as Buck Run that flows away down the valley. Cantwell Cliffs has a mile of hiking trail, but it isn't for the faint of heart. There are challenges aplenty that remind the hiker to stay alert.
Situated on St. Rt. 374 between US 33 and St. Rt. 180, it is the northernmost park in the Hocking Parks system.
Tar Hollow
This park takes its name from the pitch pines that grow on the rocky ridges. The sap, or pine tar, was used by the Indians to make turpentine and other medicines. The pioneers in the area continued this practice to doctor themselves and their animals; and to make lubricants for their farm machinery.
In the 1930’s, the Tar Hollow region was set aside for conservation purposes. Soon afterward, the 15 acre Pine Lake and some camping facilities were built by the WPA. The park is bordered by Tar Hollow State Forest, Ohio’s third largest State Forest. The nature lover will be drawn back, again and again, to marvel at the primeval wildness of the many acres of majestic hardwoods.
The wide variety of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians found here harkens back to a time when Ohio was very young. Some of the animal species found here are rare or completely absent in other parts of Ohio.
Tar Hollow covers parts of Ross, Vinton and Hocking Counties. Good highways lead into the park from all directions.
Lake Logan
Lake Logan covers 400 acres, 320 acres of which is dry land, and is two miles long. The lake was built in 1955 for recreational purposes and now attracts outdoors lovers for year-round activities. With hiking, boating, picnicking and swimming, there is truly something for everyone at Lake Logan.
For the fisherman, there is everything from pan fish to the heavyweights. Records and near-records lurk in the depths of Lake Logan. Visit the lake almost any day, and you will see catches of bluegill, crappie, bass, saugeye and catfish. If you want the thrill of landing a nine-pound largemouth bass, this is the place to be.
Article by Leland Conner.
