The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1876-01-13
NOTES ON JACKSON COUNTY.
BY D. MACKLEY.

others.
OF these, Kight, Farney, Crookham and
Martin, settled here in the last century.
| consulted with all these old persons,
but none Of them could tell me when
the first settlement had been made, and |
that fact will never be ascertained, as
there are no written or printed records |
of the event The first settlement was |
evidently made where Jackson is now
located, and was made soon after the de-
cisive victory Of Gen. Anthony Wayne
over the north western tribes OF Indians,
and somewhere between the years 1894
and 1897.
John Kight informed me that he came
to the Salt Licks in the year 1899, and
there was then a few persons settled
around the salt wells. These salt wells
were located around the western outcrop
of the conglomerate, or salt rock and
the salt water to this day comes to Che
surface, and the banks of Salt Creek in
the late spring look like they were Gov
cred with frost, as the salt water evapo-
rates, and leaves the crystalized salt.
The Indians had made salt here long be-
fore the white hunter came to the place
The western edge of the salt rock comes
up in the bed OF Salt Creek near Dia-
mond Furnace, less than a mile below
town, and the water dashing over it has
cut quite a hole below the rock, and
causes n fall of near four feet. When
the creek gets low, much Of this rock is
exposed. The Indians made excava-
tions in this rock, and the salt water
would fill these excavations. The sun
would evaporate this salt water, and
leave considerable portions of salt. The
white hunters soon discovered these
primitive salt works, and naturally
enough dug deeper into the rock, and
procured the salt water in greater abun-
dance Several wells were dug along
Salt Creek bottom, and after time it
was discovered that salt water could be
obtained by digging wells from 20 to 80
feet deep any place along Salt Creek
from the outcrop of the salt rock, some
four or FIVE miles up the creek.
The water was drawn from the wells
in wooden buckets, with balance pole,
or sweep pole, as it was called. The wa
ter was boiled in the common sugar ket-
tie. The first white man who made salt
here as a regular business, was Mr. Conk-
lin. His furnace was in the bottom
nearly north of where Globe Furnace is
now located. Afterwards the wells were
sunk farther up the creek, and their re-
mains can yet be seen all the way up to
the Infrmary Farm, and some distance
south Of that place.
The different wells and furnaces re-
ceived such names as were suggested by
the character of the persons by which
they were surrounded. There was a well
and furnace near the railroad bridge, be-
tween Star Furnace and town, which was
one Of the most extensive establish
ments. The persons operating this es-
tablishment resided in cabins on the
high bluff where are now tas residence
of James Chestnut, and where the Pres
byteran Church now stands. This was
called "Purgatory," and after the town
had been laid out it was called Poplar
Row" as there was a row Of cabins built
of poplar logs. The wells and furnaces
near the Infirmary Farm were called
Paradise" and the next group, beyond
the residence Of H. G. Bum, were named
| New Jerusalem" These names were
perhaps sarcastic
| The salt water, or brine, was weak, and
it took several hundred gallons of it to
make a bushel of salt II was boiled
down with wood, which was cut from
the surrounding hills When the wood
became scarce near the furnaces and
wells, other furnaces were erected near
the timber and the. water was taken
from the wells to the timber in logs
bored through and spliced together. 1t
was sometimes taken nearly mile from
the wells to these furnaces. fhe salt
boilers were utterly ignorant OF the ma
ture and use of stone coal; and although
these salt wells were located in the i'm
mediate vicinity of the best coal in the
world. yet they never used bushel of it.
There is q tradition of an owner OF salt
well who needed stone to erect his fur
mace, and he used blocks Of coal, which
soon burned down, and let his kettles to
the ground.
| had frequent conversations during
their lifetime, with John Farney, John
Kight, John Martin, Vincent Southard
and Mother Sylvester. When / told
them that / desired to publish a sketch
of pioneer life, they related many anec-
dotes of early times about the "Licks."
The story about being shot with pack
saddle at the Licks has gone into history.
Some of the men above named were pres
ent and told me how it occurred. But
must first tell my young readers what is
a pack-saddle 1t was made by taking
two pieces of wood so crooked that they
would fit on a horses back. On the un-
der side was fastened, on each side,
boards some eighteen inches long
These boards were Fastened to the crook
ed pieces with wooden pins, and the un-
der side was padded with linen, and be-
tween the padding and the boards it was
stuffed with straw, chaff or hair. On
these pack-saddles our fathers trans
ported salt as far as Pomeroy and West
Columbia, West Virginia. The time will
soon come, we may hope, when salt will
be brought back from these places, not
on pack-saddles, but on the Narrow
Gauge railroSd.
must 60 back to the shooting with
the pack-saddle. One Of the kettle tend
ara ~ N alt furnace ont of nure cussed-