WASHINGTON COUNTY. 493 



water in these rivers, and of the formation of large sand banks and 

 sandy flats. The terrace in the city of Marietta contains an interstrati- 

 fied layer of blue clay, which appears on Putnam street. It is said to 

 form the retentive bottom of the well of Col. John Mills, and reveals 

 itself by springs at several points. This terrace, at the confluence of the 

 Muskingum and the Ohio rivers, presented attractions to the ancient 

 Mound-builders, and the extent and character of the earth-works they 

 have left show that they once had here a populous fortified town. The 

 views from Harmar Hill, College Hill, and other high points around 

 Marietta, are almost unequaled for their beauty. 



There is very little of interest or of economic importance in the 

 geology of this township. A thin seam of coal is found in the hills, but 

 it has never been found thick enough for profitable mining. It is seen 

 on College Hill, and was passed through in the well of the Hon. W. F. 

 Curtis. It is seen on the roadside a little east of town. Probably 

 the same seam of coal is in the hills between Duck Creek and the 

 Muskingum River. The latter has been opened on the county infirm- 

 ary farm, and at several points near the Muskingum River. If it is 

 the equivalent of the seam under the heavy sandrock below Harmar — 

 the Hobson seam — the place of which is about one hundred feet above 

 the Cumberland, or upper Salem coal, it rises gradually to the east, 

 affected, perhaps, by the Cow Run uplift. On the hill, perhaps a mile 

 or a mile and a half east of the Farmers' bridge over Duck Creek, it is, 

 by barometer, one hundred and forty-six feet above the bridge. It is 

 very difficult to determine the exact stratigraphical position of this coal, 

 since it is almost impossible to connect it with any known stratum or 

 any ascertained datum -line from which measurements can be made. 

 Sandstones, shales, and even the non-fossiliferous limestones, are so vari- 

 able that little dependence can be placed upon them for accurate deter- 

 mination. There are in the township large deposits of sandstone, but it 

 must be selected with some discrimination, if it is to be used for build 

 ing purposes. On College Hill an old quarry was extensively worked 

 in the earlier history of the town. Of late years the favorite building 

 stone has been obtained in quarries in Harmar and in Warren. In the 

 hills we find much of the dark, chocolate-colored clay shales, which often 

 contain considerable lime. Some of these shales contain impressions of 

 ferns. At the foot of College Hill such impressions are very abundant. 



LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP. 



This township lies south of Liberty and east of Fearing townships. 

 The Little Muskingum River runs diagonally through the township 

 from the north-east to the south-west. The principal tributaries on the 



