Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1939-01-26

were busy making barrels for pack
ing the apples and flour, which was
then shipped in barrels. Many will
recall seeing the boats load for sew
eral hours at the wharf, with apples
and at the mill with flour, to be
shipped all up ana down the Ohio
river
A few orchards have been kept
IN production these past few years,
but the cost Of spraying and caring
for them has been more than the
income and nearly all the old or
cards have died out, and no new
ones are being set out. Other small
fruits were produced but not in COM
nCrcial quantities, and today only a
Jew raise enough for home con-
sumption. Other small grains have
alt ayS been raised, but their pro-
,,uction has gradually decreased,
,>nd to-day not enough are raised for
local use.
The raising Of sheep, stock and
poultry is today the main source Of
income for the farmer. | have no
way TO secure the amount of income
nom poGltry IN this county, but
iJhin the past few years it has in
u uaSed, until | am OF the opinion
), would be ahead OF all other
~UtL ces of cash income. Our rolling
llils are especially adapted for
Grazing and the raising of fine
sheep has been followed, especially
Mlohin the past few years, until the
p1GaGct Of this county is favorably
EnoWn wherever sheep are raised.
The formation Of clubs among the
boys cn the farms has given it az
impetus that viii carry it on 10
iurther heights. Cattle are fed out
cn nearly every farm until the az
sresate is large.
he mineral resources of the
ounty are varied but have never
been developed beyond some coal
ana oil, though i'll early days salt
: as produced in large quantities
and Muskineun river salt was a
staple item in all markets. While
We have clay OF a quality equal to
cay products in adjoining counties,
this resource has never been devel-
oped.
In as much as salt was the basis
oi our early prosperity l will give
little detailed history of its discov
cry and the development OF the in
.dustry The early records tell us
that salt was brought from the east
ern states and sold as high as zoe
q pound. The Indians were familiar
with certain localities where there
ere salt licks' where the wild an
imals would come and lick the
around TO secure the salt in. the
earth. At these places the salt wa
ter from below would percolate
through the earth until the surface
was more or less saturated with it.
.he first record We have Of salt pro-
ductiOn along the Muskingum was
the discovery Of a salt marsh III
Muskingum county along Salt Greek
in 1895. In 1896 a company was
formed at Marietta, twenty four ket-
ties were bought at Pittsburgh and
brought by water to Duncan Falls,
and then about seven miles by pack
horses to the site of discovery
\ we'll was dug only Is feet deep
and a sycamore log bored to go in it
and through this the water was
evaporated in the kettles 1t is re-
100 pounds of salt a day, it reGuir-
ing about $500 gallons of water to
make 100 pounds of salt After
FEW years the salt springs" were
all taken over by the state, as | have
reported in previous article. and
then leased out, but the lease was
made SO high that they could not be
operated at a profit, and so were
abandoned. Just how long the state
held it's salt monopoly | have been
unable to find out, but the state had
TO give it up as the finding of salt
in localities along the Ohio reduced
the price too much to enable the
local salt works to operate.
A certain Nathaniel Ayres, who
had worked in the making of salt
along the Kanawha river, in what is
now West Virginia, came to Dun |
can Falls and bored a well near the
river bank close to where the flour (
mill stood He went 800 feet and |.
struck a vein Of rich salt water. !
This was about 1917, and from this
discovery of a vein of salt water i
under the ground, developed the
salt industry all along the river. !
The demand was greater than the
supply and the price was high .
enough to cause others to want to .
-et into a paying business. 1t is I
reported that before this, in about .
1914, q man by the name of Hill
bored a well on Olive Green, but he .
struck oil and gas, which rendered
he salt water Of no account for his
purpose. This is likely the first rec
ord Of finding oil and gas in a we'll
IN Ohio, though oil Sticks We're to .
Big found on many springs and the .
3il was Skinned off and used by
.lo Indians as a sovereign remedy /
for many ills. There being no mar
-ot for the oil ald gas it was con-
rdered 4 nuisance and it was many
years later that the value Of this
discovery was appreciated and made +
-Go Of This reminds me that al