The "Clinton" Sands in 

Canton, Dover 

Massillon, and Navarre 

Quadrangles, Ohio

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1003-A

The "Clinton" Sands in 

Canton, Dover 

Massillon, and Navarre 

Quadrangles, Ohio

By JAMES F. PEPPER, WALLACE de WITT, JR., and GAIL M. EVERHART

OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1003-A

The geology of three "Clinton" sands 

as interpreted from a study of well 

records. Includes map showing 

location of wells

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1953
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Douglas McKay, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. E. Wrather, Director

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office 

Washington 25, D. C. - Price $1.50 (paper cover)
FOREWORD

By RALPH L. MILLJBR

This report, in a series of separate chapters, describes the geology of 

the so-called Clinton sands of early Silurian age in Ohio. The data 

presented were compiled from a detailed study of drillers' records 

supplemented by study of available cuttings from wells. Each chapter 

covering four or more contiguous 15-minute quadrangles, includes 

maps that show by symbols the location of wells drilled into or through 

the Clinton sands, by isopach lines the thickness of each, and by color 

overprint the wells that encountered oil and gas. The text accompanying each chapter discusses the subsurface stratigraphy and the 

sedimentation of the Clinton sands in that particular area and the 

possibilities of locating additional productive areas. The last chapter 

of the report will discuss the over-all stratigraphy and sedimentary 

history of the Clinton sands throughout Ohio and their relationship 

to rocks of equivalent age in other parts of the Appalachian basin.

The Clinton sands of Ohio are of Silurian age, but they are not 

equivalent to the stratigraphically higher Clinton formation of New 

York, which is also of Silurian age. The name "Clinton sand" has 

been in continuous use in Ohio by drillers and others since 1887, when 

it was applied to a sand encountered in a well at Lancaster, Ohio, at 

about the same stratigraphic position as the limestone that was named 

"Clinton" by Orton in 1870. As the Clinton sands do not crop out 

in Ohio, their stratigraphic relationships to rocks above and below 

can be determined only from drillers' records and from well cuttings. 

In this report, the name "Clinton" is used in an informal sense and 

is not considered a formal stratigraphic name.

CONTENTS

Abstract _________________________________________________

Introduction.____________________________________________

Location and selection of the area__ _____________________

Method of investigation.______________________________

Acknowledgments -_--__-.__-___-___-________-__-_-_____---

Stratigraphy _____________________________________________

Correlations _________________________________________

General character and distribution of the "Clinton" sands. 

Structure. _______________________________________________

Sedimentation___________________________________________

Accumulation of gas and oil____--_____________---_--_-_---

Areas of possible future production.________________________

Literature cited.__--_-_-_______-__-_____-__-__-._--___-_--

Index.__________________________________________________

Fag* 

1 

1 

1 

3

3

4

4

6

8

8

10

13

13

15

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Plates 1-7 in pocket]

PLATE 1. Diagram showing comparison of the driller's log and a detailed 

sample record of a well in the Dover quadrangle, Ohio. Shows 

relative position of the three "Clinton" sands.

2. Fence diagram of the Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre 

quadrangles, Ohio, showing the relationship of the three 

"Clinton" sands and the relative position of the stratigraphic 

units.

3. Map of the Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre quadrangles, 

Ohio, showing thickness of the "stray Clinton" sand, location 

of wells drilled to the sand, and oil or gas in the sand.

4. Map of the Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre quadrangles, 

Ohio, showing thickness of the *red Clinton" sand, location 

of wells drilled to the sand, and oil or gas in the sand.

5. Map of the Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre quadrangles, 

Ohio, showing thickness of the "white Clinton" sand, location 

of wells drilled to the sand, and oil or gas in the sand.

6. Map of the Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre quadrangles, 

Ohio, showing thickness, by pattern, of the "white Clinton" 

sand.

7. Map of Alliance, Carrollton, Lisbon, Salineville, Columbiana,

and Wellsville quadrangles, Ohio, showing location of wells. 

FIGURE 1. Map showing area of this report---_-_-_-_-_---_--__-__-.-- 

2. Map showing the generalized trends of bodies of thick sand in 

the "stray", "red", and "white Clinton" sands...________

Page 

2

OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" 

SANDS OF OHIO

THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF EARLY SILURIAN AGE IN

CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE

QUADRANGLES, OHIO

By JAMES F. PEPPER, WALLACE DE WITT, JR., and GAEL M. EVERHART

ABSTRACT

The Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre quadrangles cover about 880 

square miles in eastern Ohio. Canton is the largest city in the mapped area. 

In these four quadrangles, the well drillers generally recognize three "Clinton" 

sands in descending order, the "stray Clinton", the "red Clinton", and the 

"white Clinton". The Clinton sands of Ohio are of early Silurian age and 

probably correlate with the middle and upper part of the Albion sandstone in 

the Niagara gorge section in western New York.

The study of drillers' logs and examination of well samples show that of the 

three so-called Clinton sands, the red is most readily recognized. The "Packer 

shell", a probable equivalent of the Clinton formation of New York, and the 

Queenston shale the drillers' "red Medina" are also good units for short distance correlations.

Each of the Clinton sands consists of a thin layer that contains long narrow 

lenses of thicker sand. Although the pattern of the trend of the lenses varies for 

each of the Clinton sands, the trend generally is westward across the mapped 

area. It is thought that these lenses represent deposition in channels, probably 

offshore from a large delta.

Production of gas and oil from the so-called Clinton apparently is closely 

related to the sorting, porosity, and permeability of the sand. Stratigraphic 

traps contain the oil or gas, and structure appears to be relatively unimportant 

in localizing the accumulation of the petroleum.

East of the mapped area, the Clinton sands have not produced oil or gas in 

commercial quantities. Several parts of the mapped area may hold additional 

amounts of gas.

INTRODUCTION

LOCATION AND SELECTION OF THE AREA

This report is the first of a series to be published on the oil and gas 

sands of early Silurian age in Ohio which are called the Clinton 

sands by the well drillers.

1
OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO

As shown in figure 1, the area described in this first chapter lies in 

eastern Ohio. It covers the Canton, Dover, Massillon, and Navarre 

quadrangles, an area of about 880 square miles, and includes much of 

western and central Stark County, northern Tuscarawas County, part 

of southern Summit County, eastern Wayne County, and part of eastern Holmes County.

In this area the drillers generally record three so-called Clinton 

sands in descending order, the "stray Clinton", the "red Clinton", 

and the "white Clinton" or "Clinton". Their relative position is 

shown on plates 1 and 2. Because the red Clinton is present in most 

of this area, it was selected as the subject for the first chapter on the 

preliminary study of the Clinton sands. Where the red Clinton is 

present, fairly reliable correlations can be made with little difficulty. 

Where the red Clinton is absent, it is difficult to make satisfactory 

correlation.

MICHIGAN

Akron

AREA COVERED 

IN THIS REPORT

OHIO

o Columbu*

d

1

i

c

Cincinnati

V~-^/-\

KE NTUCKY

WEST VIRGINIA

50

FIGURE 1. Map showing area of this report.

100 Miles 

i
CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE QUADRANGLES 3 

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

The locations and drillers' records of the "Clinton" wells were collected from State and private organizations. The locations were 

plotted on township maps showing land ownership and transferred to 

the topographic base of the present maps. The position of some wells 

in relation to roads on the accompanying maps may appear to be incorrect because the topographic maps were issued many years earlier 

than some of the township maps and differ from them where roads 

have been relocated or lands resurveyed.

Although an attempt was made to obtain locations of all wells known 

to have been drilled to the Clinton sands, some locations may be lacking because the wells were drilled in the early 1900's and their locations were never recorded. The locations shown on the accompanying 

maps are nearly complete to January 1950; they number more than 

1,700.

The information contained in the drilling records used in this study 

varies greatly in accuracy and completeness. Many records of wells 

drilled before 1930 are lacking in such details as the subdivision of 

the Clinton into sands of different color; the position, thickness, and 

color of the lenses of shale or "breaks" that separate the Clinton at 

muny places; and the depths at which oil or gas occurred. In a gas 

pool where many wells have been drilled in a small area, fairly accurate correlations of the strata can be made. Where only scattered 

"wildcat" wells have been drilled, correlations are conjectural.

Five complete sets and 25 fairly complete sets of cuttings through 

the Clinton sequence were available for study in the mapped area. 

The data derived from examination of these cuttings aided materially 

in interpreting the drillers' descriptions of the rocks.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writers wish to express their gratitude to all the organizations 

and individuals who aided in this study by furnishing well records, 

locations, and production data. They are especially grateful to the 

Ohio Division of Mines for its cooperation in permitting the copying 

of its well records; to the Geological Department of The Ohio Fuel 

Gas Company for its generous assistance in making available well 

records and locations and in supplying much data for individual 

wells; and to John Bird, of Hanley & Bird, who supplied much pertinent data from wells drilled by that company and by others in the 

Canton area.

The writers wish to acknowledge the assistance of J. W. Wiggins, 

F. T. Fischer, G. W. Colton, and L. E. Miller in compiling some of 

the data for the accompanying maps.

265153 53 2
4 OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO

STRATIGRAPHY

The name "Clinton sand" has been in continuous use in Ohio by 

drillers and others since 1887, when it was applied to a sand encountered in a well at Lancaster, Ohio, at about the same stratigraphic 

position as the limestone in western Ohio that was named Clinton by 

Orton (1870, p. 142-143). This term is used as a convenient descriptive name in this report for sands of Silurian age in Ohio, which 

are not equivalent to the rocks of the Clinton formation in New York.

CORRELATIONS

The so-called Clinton sands do not crop out in Ohio, and their 

stratigraphic relationship to rocks above and below can be determined 

only from drillers' records or from well cuttings. The Clinton and 

associated rocks are equivalent in part to the rocks of early Silurian 

age in western and central New York. This relationship has been 

discussed by Rittenhouse (1949) andbyLockett (1949).

The following table shows the sequence of the rocks between the 

basal part of the "Big lime" and the upper part of the "red Medina" 

as recorded by the drillers in the area of this report, and tentative 

correlations with the Silurian sequence in western New York based 

on the writers' interpretation of available data. Because the study 

of the Clinton is still in progress, these correlations are preliminary.

Correlation of the rock sequences in the mapped area with the rocks exposed in 

the vicinity of Niagara Falls, New York

Mapped area 1 Niagara Falls area. 

New York 2 Remark!

Basal Big lime.

Shale, gray to greenish-gray.

Packer shell.

Shale, gray, greenish-gray, and

red.

Sand, stray Clinton. 

Sand, red Clinton. 

Sand, white Clinton or Clinton.

Shale and shells. 

Shale, gray.

Shale, red Medina.

Lockport dolomite. 

Rochester shale. 

Irondequoit limestone. 

Reynales limestone. 

Neahga shale.

Thorold sandstone. 

Grimsby sandstone. 

Cabot Head shale.

Manitoulin shale. 

Whirlpool sandstone.

Queenston shale.

Probable equivalents of the Dayton

limestone in western Ohio. 

Approximate equivalents.

The white Clinton sand of Ohio has 

no equivalent sand in western 

New York. It is equivalent to 

some of the upper part of trie Tuscarora sandstone of Pennsylvania.

i Rock units as recorded by drillers. 

* Gillette, 1940, 1947.
CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE QUADRANGLES 5

The interval between the base of the Big lime and the top of the 

Packer shell as recorded by the drillers is variable. Beds of magnesian 

limestone that occur in the upper part of this interval at some places 

may be included in the drillers' Big lime. The base of the Big lime is 

not a satisfactory key horizon for correlations, therefore, but it can be 

used sometimes as a check on correlation.

The Packer shell, so-called because the drillers generally use this 

hard unit as a seat for casing or production tubing, is a medium to 

coarsely crystalline limestone or magnesian limestone containing some 

interbedded greenish-gray shale. It is 10 to 40 feet thick and lies from 

80 to 130 feet below the base of the Big lime and from 10 to 30 feet 

above the stray Clinton. A study of well cuttings shows that the 

drillers are not consistently correct in their identification of the top 

and bottom of this unit. Beds of light-gray finely crystalline dolomite 

that occur at some places in the lower part of the shale above the 

Packer shell may be included in the drillers' Packer shell, whereas shale 

present at some places in the lower part of the Packer shell may be 

omitted from the unit. The Packer shell is most useful for correlation 

in local areas where comparison can be made between the drillers' 

records and data derived from examination of drill cuttings.

The study of drill cuttings shows that a layer of hematite is present 

at the base of the Packer shell in much of the mapped area. In some 

wells the driller records red shale at the stratigraphic position of this 

hematite. If generally recorded, this characteristic bed would be 

useful in correlating between wells.

Correlation of the Clinton sand sequence between wells is difficult 

because of the lateral variation of the rocks. Many of the beds of finegrained sandstone, siltstone, and shale are lenticular. Furthermore, 

the lithologic units intergrade vertically in some places. The drill 

may penetrate shale, silty shale, silt, and fine-grained sand in descending order and the driller is unable to determine any sharp contact 

between them. In such a sequence, he records as sand the first hard 

bed encountered by the drill.

The study of well cuttings shows that the stray Clinton is usually 

thicker than the drillers record it. In most of the area, the stray 

Clinton is a well-cemented coarse-grained quartz siltstone containing 

some fine or very fine grained quartz sand. Because siltstone commonly breaks under the drill and wears the drill bit in a manner 

similar to limestone or dolomite, the driller may record the upper part 

of the stray Clinton as a limestone or as a lime shell where it is a very 

fine grained siltstone. At some places the driller has included the 

upper part of the stray Clinton in the basal part of his Packer shell.

Comparison of drill cuttings and drillers' records shows that the 

red Clinton is the best unit for correlation throughout the area of the
6 OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO

present map. The change in color from the white stray sand to the 

red Clinton below is very evident in the drill cuttings and mud bailed 

from a well. The change from red to white at the base of the red 

Clinton where it is in contact with the white Clinton is less evident 

because the drilling mud bailed from the white Clinton is stained red 

by fragments from the red sand above. Between these two sands a 

shale "break" of a few feet commonly occurs throughout the mapped 

area except in Jackson, Plain, Canton, Bethlehem, and Pike Townships, Stark County. In those townships the white Clinton is generally recorded directly below the red. The base of the red or the top 

of the white Clinton is usually recorded correctly by the driller within 

a range of 10 feet, and is a useful key horizon for correlating between 

wells.

The base of the white Clinton is distinct in some wells. In many 

wells, however, especially in the southern part of the mapped area, 

drillers record shale and shells below the white Clinton or record the 

formation as "broken." The study of well cuttings shows that the 

basal part of the white Clinton consists of -thin sands and silts interbedded with shale and that the proportions of sand, silt, and shale vary 

greatly from place to place.

Most of the wells were completed in or a few feet below the white 

Clinton sand. Some, however, reached the red Medina (Queenston 

shale) of Ordovician age. The top of the red Medina is a good key 

horizon for subsurface correlation, as it is generally accurately recorded. The abrupt change in color from the greenish gray of the 

overlying Silurian beds is easily observed by the driller.

GENERAL CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE "CLINTON"

SANDS

Stray Clinton sand. The stray Clinton sand of the drillers consists 

of white or very light gray coarse- to medium-grained quartz silt and 

some fine to very fine grained quartz sand. The grains are subround 

to subangular; the shape of some has been modified by overgrowths of 

secondary silica. In most of the mapped area the sand is tightly 

cemented by silica. Consequently the permeability and porosity of 

the sand are very low.

The thickness of the stray Clinton averages about 25 feet but in a 

few places is as much as 50 feet. The thickness is shown on the accompanying map (pi. 3) by means of isopach lines, printed in blue, 

which connect points of equal thickness. Where the wells are more 

widely spaced, the isopach lines are generalized and the patterns of 

deposition are less clearly shown. In areas where only a Jew «ells 

have been drilled and data are insufficient to draw isopach lines, the 

thickness of the stray Clinton is noted by a figure in blue beside the 

well symbol on the accompanying map.
CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE QUADRANGLES 7

Red Clinton sand. The so-called red Clinton is composed of very 

fine grained quartz sand and coarse-grained quartz silt containing a 

small amount of gray, greenish-gray, and red silty shale. The grains 

of sand and silt range from subangular to subround. The red Clinton 

contains much secondary silica cementing the grains. A small amount 

of secondary calcite cement is present at some places. Hematite, 

which produces the red color, usually cements the grains where secondary silica cement is absent. Where secondary silica is present, the 

hematite occurs in minute grains on the surface of the original grains 

or as a corona suspended in the clear secondary silica cement.

Although the drillers usually record the red Clinton as a "red sand", 

the study of well cuttings shows that hematite is not always present 

throughout the total thickness of the drillers' red Clinton. At many 

places, especially in the southern half of the Dover quadrangle, lenses 

of light-gray to white sand or silt and gray or greenish-gray shale are 

present in the predominantly red rock. The sand is usually more 

porous and permeable in the lower part and more tightly cemented in 

the upper part, although lenses of porous sand may occur at any place 

within the sand body.

The thickness of the red Clinton, which in the eastern part of the 

mapped area is as much as 50 feet, is shown on plate 4 by means of isopach lines in blue.

White Clinton sand. The white Clinton sand of the drillers is a 

white to light-gray, fine to very fine grained quartz sand which grades 

downward into a coarse- to medium-grained quartz siltstone. The 

grains range from subangular to subround. Some have been greatly 

modified by overgrowths of secondary silica. Secondary silica is the 

cementing mineral; some calcite and clay minerals are also present. 

The white Clinton generally appears most porous in the upper part 

although lenses of porous sand may occur at any horizon in the sand 

body.

As shown in plate 5, the sand at some places is as much as 60 feet 

thick, reaching its maximum thickness in the eastern part of the 

mapped area. At some places, for example in the southern part of the 

Dover quadrangle, where much shale is interbedded in the sand, the 

driller records the white Clinton as "broken" or "shale and shells". 

Wells so recorded are indicated on the map by the notation "BKN" 

in blue beside the well symbol.

In some places the records of the wells were not sufficiently detailed 

to permit the determination of the thickness of the white Clinton. For 

example, in Paint Township, Holmes County, where most of the wells 

VRTOBnfeiUedinthei^SOfesand tibejEee&rds are not detailed, the thickness 

of the white Clinton in many wells could not be determined. Where 

r determined, the thickness has been noted on the map by
8 OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO

a figure beside the well symbol. In the Chippewa gas field in the northwestern part of the Massillon quadrangle the records of wells drilled 

in the early 1920's show a white Clinton sand ranging from 40 to 84 

feet in thickness. In the early 1940's, several wells were drilled in 

this field as input wells for gas storage. The rock sequence in these 

wells is recorded in much greater detail than in earlier records and 

the presence of all three Clinton sands is shown. The later records 

were used, therefore, to determine the position of the thickness lines 

in the Chippewa field.

STRUCTURE

The depth to the Clinton sands increases from northwest to southeast across the mapped area. The regional structure is monoclinal, 

dipping S. 60° E. at about 50 feet per mile (Stout and others, 1935, 

p. 899). Locally the dip varies slightly, producing small terraces or 

noses on the regional monocline. The regional dip greatly increases 

the depth to the Clinton to the southeast. For example, the top of 

the stray Clinton occurs at a depth of about 3,550 feet in the northwestern part of the Massillon quadrangle and at about 4,900 feet in 

the southeastern part of the Dover quadrangle.

The relatively small size of the lenses of porous sand, and the absence 

of closed structures and of water drive in the so-called Clinton sands 

make structure a factor of small importance in the localization of 

oil and gas in the mapped area.

SEDIMENTATION

On the maps (pis. 3, 4, and 5) accompanying this report, the thickness of the individual Clinton sands is shown by means of isopach lines 

printed in blue. In areas where wells are closely spaced, the isopach 

lines show patterns and trends that reflect the depositional history. 

In the Clinton the accumulation of gas or oil is largely dependent upon 

the porosity and permeability of the sand. Porous zones were formed 

during original deposition. In some places these porous zones were 

probably changed in outline or modified by secondary deposition of 

silica or by base exchange between the original minerals in the sand. 

An understanding of the conditions of deposition of the sand and 

the relation of its porous and permeable parts to the thickness trends 

shown by the isopach lines aids in locating areas that may contain 

more gas or oil.

White Clinton sand. The isopach map of the white Clinton 

(pi. 5) shows a general east-west trend of thick elongate bodies separated by similar trending bodies of thinner sand. As shown in plate 

6 and figure 2 in the Canton and Massillon quadrangles the bodies 

trend roughly N. 70° W. In the northern part of the Dover quadrangle the trend appears to shift to about S. 80° W. The thick sand
CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE QUADRANGLES 9

CANTON

Generalized trends of thick sand 

in the "white Clinton* sand I

NAVARRE DOVER

Generalized trends of thick cand bodies 

in the "red Clinton" sand I

MASSILLON

*

CANTON

EXPLANATION

Bars

DOVER

X

Generalized trends of thick sand bodies 

in the "stray Clinton" sand

FIGURE 2. Map showing the generalized trends of bodies of thick sand in the "stray 

"red", and "white Clinton" sands.

bodies may represent deposition in channels scoured in the surface 

of a delta on the east side of the mapped area and to some extent 

the accumulation of bars offshore. The currents that transported 

the white Clinton sediment across the area apparently sorted the sand 

most thoroughly where the currents were strongest. In the Canton 

and Massillon quadrangles, sorting by stream currents seems to have 

been the dominant factor controlling the deposition and the porosity
10 OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO

and permeability of the lenses. In the Dover quadrangle, longshore 

currents apparently moved and sorted sand into porous lenses trending 

roughly parallel to the delta shoreline and nearly at right angles to 

the trend of the lenses of porous sand lying in the stream channels.

Stray and red Clinton sands. The isopach lines of the red Clinton 

(pi. 4) show a pattern of thick elongate bodies separated by areas 

of thinner sand, all trending generally east-west. The isopach lines 

of the stray Clinton (pi. 3) show a similar pattern. At some places 

the belts of thicker stray Clinton overlie thinner belts in the red 

Clinton. The configuration in the two sands is about the same. The 

thick sand of the stray Clinton fills channels that were cut into and 

at some places through the red sand. The profiles of several of these 

channels can be seen in plate 2. These channels may have been 

formed by near-shore scour of the sea floor by distributary streams 

from the delta on the east. The thicker bodies in the red Clinton may 

represent either the uneroded remnant of a sheet sand or sand-bar 

accumulation. Possibly both features are present in the red Clinton.

The elongate bodies of the stray Clinton trend about S. 70° W. in 

the Canton and Massillon quadrangles. At some places, notably in 

the western part of the Canton quadrangle and the eastern part of the 

Massillon quadrangle, this trend is obscured by a second, less well 

marked group of sand bodies that trend approximately N. 45° W. 

This group that trends N. 45° W. may have formed as beaches and 

bars along a shifting strand line. In the Dover quadrangle the two 

groups of sand bodies cross each other more nearly at right angles. 

The linear and sinuous nature of the east-west trending bodies suggests deposition in stream channels. The grid pattern may have 

originated from the deposition of sediment in a series of west-flowing 

streams which emptied into a shallow sea whose shoreline trended 

northwest-southeast across the mapped area.

ACCUMULATION OF GAS AND OIL

The production from the "Clinton" in the area covered by the 

present report has been mainly gas; only a few wells produced oiL 

Much of the gas has been produced from the white Clinton; somewhat 

less from the red Clinton; and only a small amount from the stray 

Clinton. Some wells produced from two or all three sands. The 

general production practice of anchoring tubing above the Clinton 

and collecting gas from all the producing parts of the Clinton makes 

it impossible to determine the relative amount of gas coming from each 

sand. On the accompanying maps, therefore, some wells shown as 

yielding gas from all three sands may have produced gas profitably 

only from the basal white Clinton.

Production of each sand is shown on a separate map by color overprint red for gas and green for oil. Gas- or oil-well symbols not
CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE QUADRANGLES 11

covered by red or green overprint indicate that the gas or oil occurred 

in one of the other two sands.

Stray Clinton sand. Small amounts of gas have been found in 

this sand at many places in the mapped area. However, few wells 

yielded sufficient gas from the stray Clinton to be commercially profitable. The initial open flow of gas from a few wells was as much as 

200,000 cubic feet per day. Even these wells might have been abandoned if additional gas had not been found in the other Clinton sands. 

The wells shown on the map of the stray Clinton (pi. 3) as producing 

gas had initial open flows of gas from that sand in excess of 100,000 

cubic feet. Very little oil has been found in the stray Clinton in the 

mapped area.

Red Clinton sand. Except in the several townships along the 

eastern edge of the mapped area, the red Clinton generally contains 

some gas. As shown by plate 4, gas has been found in commercial 

quantities in the red sand in the vicinity of Canton, Stark County, in 

a few places in the rest of the Canton quadrangle outside the Canton 

field, in scattered wells in the Massillon quadrangle, and in Paint 

Township, Holmes County, in the Navarre quadrangle.

The red Clinton has been most productive in the immediate vicinity 

of Canton, where some wells have yielded as much as 2,000,000 cubic 

feet of gas per day. Some operators believe, however, that the gas 

came in part from the underlying white Clinton. In tubing the wells 

the operators commonly anchor the packer above the Clinton, and 

the hole below the packer is uncased. In a well that has been shut in 

for some time, gas may migrate under pressure from the white Clinton 

into lenses of porous sand or silt in the red Clinton sand and spread 

to wells in the red sand beyond the limits of porous zones in the 

white Clinton.

From Canton Township, the area in which the red sand yields gas 

extends southward including Bethlehem and Pike Townships in Stark 

County, and Fairfield, Franklin, Lawrence, and Sandy Townships in 

Tuscarawas County. In general the percentage of wells producing 

gas from the red Clinton increases from north to south and seemingly 

from east to west. The red Clinton contains gas in some areas where 

the white Clinton sand is broken and dry.

The initial open flow of gas from the red Clinton generally is 

smaller than from the white Clinton. Most of the wells drilled to 

the so-called Clinton were shot with nitroglycerine to increase the 

flow of gas. Shooting usually increases the flow of gas from the 

white Clinton but does not appreciably increase the flow of gas from 

the red sand. In many wells the flow of gas from the red sand decreased markedly after the wells were shot.

Shows of oil have been found in the red Clinton at many places. 

Generally, however, the amount of oil was insufficient to make its
12 OIL AND GAS GEOLOGY OF THE "CLINTON" SANDS OF OHIO

recovery profitable, although some gas wells have yielded small 

amounts of oil.

White Clinton sand. As shown by plate 5, the white Clinton 

has been productive of gas over much of the mapped area. A few 

wells had initial open flows of gas in excess of 6,000,000 cubic feet 

per day from this unit. The average initial open flow is about 

1,000,000 cubic feet per day. The total amount of gas recovered 

varies from place to place, but the greatest yield generally has been in 

the Canton and Massillon quadrangles. To the south and west the 

initial open flows and the total yield of gas have been smaller. Many 

of the wells in the Dover quadrangle are near the lower limit of 

profitable recovery because the cost of drilling and maintenance 

leaves only a small margin of profit when extended over the productive life of the well.

A few of the wells on the southeast side of the Canton field yielded 

oil in the white Clinton. The potential amount of oil ranged from 5 

to 15 barrels per day. The wells were plugged, however, because this 

amount of oil is insufficient for profitable recovery. In the mapped 

area four wells are reported as producing only oil in the white Clinton sand.

The productive part of the white Clinton is not confined to the 

thicker parts. The gas-producing portions are usually thin in relation to the total thickness, and the gas may occur at any place where 

the sand is sufficiently porous. The porous zones occur in belts of 

better sorted sand, which may represent beaches, bars, or channels 

where current or wave action was greatest. Generally, these zones 

in which the gas is present lie in or near the upper part. A large 

gas pool may include several belts of thick sand each of which contains several porous zones. A study of the rock pressures of.adjacent 

wells indicates that the individual lenses of porous sand may range 

in length from a quarter of a mile to several miles and in width from 

less than 300 feet to 1 mile.

Gas apparently accumulated in the white Clinton soon after 

deposition and at about the time of introduction of the secondary 

silica cement. Possibly the secondary cement aided in forming barriers to the migration of the gas and in part may have controlled the 

shape of the pools by cementing the less well sorted and less porous 

sand along the margins of the pools. Possibly the pore spaces in the 

lenses of productive sand remained open because the amount of secondary silica was insufficient to fill them.

Along the eastern side of the mapped area and in the adjacent 

quadrangles to the east the Clinton is tightly cemented and highly 

quartzitic. As shown in plate 7 only small amounts of gas and oil 

have been found in the so-called Clinton in this area to date.
CANTON, DOVER, MASSILLON, AND NAVARRE QUADRANGLES 13

AREAS OF POSSIBLE FUTURE PRODUCTION

An area extending northward across central and western Navarre 

and Massillon quadrangles is largely untested for gas or oil except 

in Paint Township, Holmes County, and Chippewa Township, Wayne 

County. Many of the scattered wells in the generally undrilled area 

were dry or contained only shows of gas. Some operators believe that 

throughout that area the white Clinton generally contains much shale 

and is too broken to contain commercial amounts of gas. In the 

Chippewa pool, Chippewa Township, Wayne County, much of the 

gas has come from the white Clinton, which apparently is less shaly 

and more porous there than to the south. Records for many of the 

wells in Paint Township, Holmes County, do not indicate the producing sand, but apparently some wells produced gas from the white 

Clinton and a greater number from the red Clinton.

Although future prospecting undoubtedly will prove financially 

hazardous, small pools similar to those in Chippewa and Paint Townships may be discovered in this untested area.

The sparsely drilled area of central and western Lake Township, 

Stark County, and eastern Green Township, Summit County, may 

contain more gas. The few dry holes in central and western Lake 

Township do not condemn the entire area.

LITERATURE CITED

Gillette, Tracy, 1940, Geology of the Clyde and Sodus Bay quadrangles, New

York: New York State Mus. Bull. 320. 

 , 1947, The Clinton of western and central New York: New York State

Mus. Bull. 341. 

Lockett, J. R., 1949, Introduction to the petroleum geology of the Clinton sand in

Ohio: Appalachian Geol. Soc. Bull., v. 1, p. 79-93. 

Orton, Edward, 1870, Report on geology of Montgomery County: Ohio Geol.

Survey [Rept. Prog. 1869] pt. 3, p. 140-161. 

Rittenhouse, Gordon, 1949, Early Silurian rocks of the northern Appalachian

basin: TJ. S. Geol. Survey Oil and Gas Inv., Prelim. Map 100. 

Stout, W. E., and others, 1935, Natural gas in central and eastern Ohio: Geology

of natural gas, Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists, p. 897-914.

INDEX

Page

Acknowledgments . ___ ... __ . _ 3

"Big Lime" __ _ _______________ 4, 5

"Broken formation" __ _________ ... 6, 7

Chippewa gas field. 

Depth to Clinton sands.... 

Factors dominating deposition

Gas, occurrenceproduction..

Hematite____________... ------ 5,7

Magnesian limestone._______.____. 5

Number of wells drilled. 

"Packer shell"... ___.

Queenston shale_____ _________ 4,6

Red Clinton, deposition.___________ 10,11

description.._________________ 7

gas production___.________ 11

thickness__________________ 7, pi. 4

Red Medina (Queenston shale)______... 4

Relative position of sands________ 2, pis. 1,3

Rock sequences in New York, correlation__ 4

Secondary silica cement-.-__________ 7,12 

barrier to migration of gas. ______.-. 12

Stray Clinton sand, deposition.-.____ 6 

description___.___________ 6,10,11 

profiles of channels___________ pi. 2 

thickness___________________ 6

White Clinton sand, deposition_______ 9 

description.______________ 7,8, pi. 5 

thickness_..... .... .-.._.__ 8, 9, pi. 5

15

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