190 Ohio State Academy of Science - 



Some of the sand dunes near the south end of Peninsula 

 Point were nearly as high, Mr. Lyman said, as the highest on 

 Cedar Point. Three other persons recall their height as twenty 

 feet or considerably more. Along the west side was clay covered 

 with black soil several inches deep. The trees were not willows 

 and cottonwoods alone, as on Marblehead bar which has since 

 formed farther west, but white oak '2}-2 feet in diameter, red oak, 

 shell bark hickor}^, ash, elm, buttonwood, basswood and red 

 cedar. Mr. Lyman wrote me: "quite as large timber on it as 

 there is on Cedar Point, viz., sycamore and oak." At one time 

 there was an orchard. 



Before 1834 the lake had made an opening through the 

 northern end, after which it was known as Spit Island. The 

 government spent "$40,000" in trying to save it. A large 

 boarding house was erected for the workmen who built a crib 

 along the whole length of the lake side. But in spite of efforts 

 to protect it from the waves, it was worn away at both ends and 

 the last remnant disappeared in the high water of about 1860. 



EAGLE ISLAND AND SQUAW ISLAND. 



In 1820, when the first survey was made Eagle Island in the 

 western part of the bay (see Map II) contained 134.42 acres. 



There are now, 1904, two remnants which together contain 

 less than two acres. The western one of these as seen from the 

 Steamer Hayes Aug. 30, 1904, appeared to be entirely marsh. 

 The island being located where the waves of the bay attain con- 

 siderable force has suffered from every northeast storm, those of 

 1 858-' 62 dealing it some severe blows. 



Miles Pearson told me that his mother, who was born in 

 1809, when a girl used to walk to the island from the south, 

 crossing a channel on a plank, or in dry times stepping across. 

 At that time the cattle used to go there to graze. Porter Wright 

 told me that he walked to the Island and could have ridden a 

 horse all the way ; there was no danger of miring. He remem- 

 bers when it had more than a hundred eagles' nests and it was 

 unsafe, after the eaglets were out of the nests and on the ground, 

 for a man to cross the island without carrying a club. Eagles' 

 nests wxre also numerous on the neighboring mainland. 



Squaw Island at the mouth of the Sandusky River, through- 

 out the early part of the century was connected with the penin- 

 sula to the west, which was much wider than now. As late as 

 1855 it was separated merely by a channel for small boats. In 

 1873 the channel had widened to 230 feet, and in 1904 it was 

 about 600 feet. It is said that the Indians used to swim their 

 ponies from Peach Island to Squaw Island and then ride along 

 the north bank of the river to Fremont. 



