Where are you from? Have you ever been asked this question? Have you lived somewhere other than Clinton County? How much do you know about the history of Clinton County? All of these questions are to, hopefully, get your brain cells in motion. The article for November has nothing to do with all of we “foreigners.” YES, I said foreigners because unless we can answer we are 100 % Native American (Indians), we came from somewhere else.
November has been designated Native American month. Perhaps we could learn a bit about the history of our area when we were not Clinton County, Ohio, or even the United States. Are there Indian trails through Clinton County? HINT: at least 10. We have a map. How many tribal groups who roamed this area can you name? Enough of all these questions! I will attempt to reference a bit of some history of the area before the “white man” came and occupied the rich land we now call home.
Did you live in Clinton County when Cowan Lake was formed? Did you read any of the articles that appeared in The Wilmington News Journal in 1949 – 1950? We have a complete file in our records that would help you find answers. I will tell you that many “Indian” relics were found and Ohio State University was overseeing the recovery of the items and many were transported to Ohio State University. The engineering survey of the area is quite extensive and Indian mounds in the area of Lake Cowan are noted. How many Indian mounds were identified in Clinton County? At the Clinton County History Center an entire room is filled with Native American items. We also have a wonderful map on the wall.
We have a copy of a small booklet that had been prepared by C. Clayton Terrell, a resident of Clinton County, who could trace his family lineage back to the early days of Clinton County. In this booklet he explains the process of formation of our area in very technical terms. My brain doesn’t “get it” in that mode so I will give you my imaginary “easy concept.” If we could think of a huge mountain to our north and the huge sheet of ice that was forming at the base of the mountain we begin to get the picture. We later termed this huge layer of ice a glacier and we are told as it moved southward everything – soil, gravel, huge boulders, etc. – was shoved into our area as the sheet of ice moved. The huge boulder at the former Clinton County Infirmary (now WC art department) is estimated to be 90 tons. The large rock in front of College Hall is also courtesy of the glacier. The melting glacier formed the streams that we have now given names. Did you know that bones of a mastodon were unearthed within the Wilmington city limits?
One of the earliest tribal groups were the Mound Builders. After the Mound Builders came the tribal groups that some of us could perhaps name one or two. The largest group were the Shawnees who were led by a young Chieftain Tecumseh. Tecumseh was an amazing individual as it is said he could speak the language of four “languages of the white man.” Do you know the four languages in which he was said to be fluent? Other tribal groups in southwestern Ohio were the Miami, the Wyandot, the Cherokee, the Pickaway, and the Scioto to name only a few.
We need to also mention trails that crossed Clinton County. They came from all directions and literally met together in Clinton County. The Simon Kenton Trail was from Maysville, Kentucky through Clinton County, north past Morgantown and Snow Hill, and then on to Lake Erie. The other “best known” was the Bullskin Trail which left the Ohio River and came northward through Caesar’s Creek and New Burlington.
As we use perhaps only one moment to think of the people who originally occupied this area and called it home, we need to remember those early people and the freedoms they enjoyed. Later, treaties were broken and rights were ignored as their land became what we know today as “our land.” There are active groups in some areas today who are organized to honor the Native Americans, teach others about the Native American heritage and culture, and remember the rich cultural heritage about which many of us know nothing.
At the Clinton County Genealogical Society library we have a small collection of Native American books. I am also sure there are books in the Wilmington Public Library. Expand your knowledge. Read a book about these early residents! They were an amazing group of people about whom many of us know very little.
