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 er 
any ascertained datum line from which measurements can be made. 
Sandstones, shales, and even the non-fossilifcrous 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 
