CHAPTER LXII. 



REPORT ON THE GEOLOGY OF GUERNSEY COUNTY, NORTH OP 

 THE CENTRAL OHIO RAILROAD. 



BY JNO. J. STEVENSON. 



Guernsey county is bounded on the north by Tuscarawas and Harrison, 

 on the east by Belmont, on the south by Noble, and on the west by Mus- 

 kingum and Coshocton. It is somewhat irregular in shape, has twenty 

 townships, and embraces an area of somewhat more than five hundred 

 square miles. 



The portion lying to the north of the Central Ohio Railroad has suffered 

 much from erosion, and its surface shows numerous deeply excavated 

 valleys and many sharply defined ridges. The drainage system consists 

 of Wills Creek and its tributaries, which form almost a net-work over 

 the entire county. Wills Creek follows a tortuous course north and south 

 through the western portion, and has a fall of barely one foot per mile. 

 It is a sluggish stream, carrjdng a good deal of water, which, at one time, 

 was thought sufficient to justify an attempt at slack-water navigation. 

 Formerly tremendous freshets happened each year, during which the 

 stream would overflow its banks and acquire a depth of ten to fifteen 

 feet, which it would retain for several weeks. In earlier years it afforded 

 an outlet for rafts and flat-boats, but of late, owing to the long-continued 

 drouths, the water has been very low. Its bottoms are very broad and 

 rich, and at several localities the valley presents scenes rarely excelled 

 in quiet beauty. 



Aside from that on the bottoms, the soil is usually poor. As this county 

 lies beyond the limit of drift action, its soil is derived chiefly from the 

 underlying rocks. These are chiefly shales and sandstones, with but lit- 

 tle limestones; so that, excejjt on the eastern border, where the limestones 

 at the base of the Upper Coal Group are reached, the soil is thin and 

 loose. In some localities it affords barely hold for grasses on the hill- 

 sides, and during heavy rains is washed out, forming deep gullies, which 

 continue to increase in size, notwithstanding heaps of logs and brush 

 thrown in to impede the erosion. Little of the land remains uncultiva- 

 ted, and even the hill-sides are put in corn — a wasteful operation where 



