Mohican State Scenic River
December 31st, 1969
The Mohican River is the 12th largest river in the State of Ohio, yet us bordered by very few populated areas for its nearly 30-mile length. Nevertheless it is one of the most well-known rivers in the state, owing to the extensive canoeing and camping available along its upstream reaches. GEOLOGIC / HYDROLOGICAL FEATURES The river drains a watershed of about 1,000 square miles, although its largest tributary, the Black Fork (draining about 350 square miles) is not included in the portion for which Scenic River designation is sought. Designation IS sought for nearly 5 miles of the Clear Fork, beginning at Pleasant Hill Dam and continuing to a point just east of Ohio Route 3, south of Loudonville, where the Mohican River proper is created by the confluence of the Black and Clear Forks. From there, the river continues for 27.5 miles to a point just south of Ohio Route 715 near the village of Walhonding, where the Walhonding River (Ohio’s 7th largest) is created by the confluence with the Kokosing River. (After just a dozen more miles from there, the Walhonding in turn joins the Tuscarawas at Coshocton to form Ohio’s largest river, the Muskingum.) The course of the ancient (pre-glacier) Mohican River was altered significantly in this area by the Illinoisan glacier. The river formerly flowed southwestward toward Howard and Utica, joining the ancient Teays River drainage system. Illinoisan erosion and deposits forced the river directly southward through the Knox County village of Brinkhaven, and left a valley so narrow (due to its youth) that seldom is the floodplain wide enough for a field on both sides of the river. In most cases, the 300-foot deep valley is gorge like, holding only one field, then the river, with a road either clinging to the side of a hill right at the edge of the river, or following the far edge of the field. CULTURAL HISTORY By far, the most significant human development in the valley was the “Wally” Railroad (officially the Toledo, Walhonding Valley, and Ohio), a subsidiary of and connector for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It ran between Coshocton and Loudonville from 1892 to 1940. It contributed to a period of greater prosperity and population in the villages along its path in the first part of the 20th Century. Its demise (caused both by economic conditions as well as the construction of Mohawk Dam across its path, 10 miles downstream),left economic depression in its aftermath, but also provided a splendid corridor for recreational travel, and left several interesting bridge spans or foundations. Parts of its right-of-way have become public roads (along the northern reach), and others are now the “arteries” of some campgrounds situated farther downstream. A lesser role had been played earlier by the Walhonding Canal (sometimes referred to as “Twenty-five miles to Nowhere”) that ran from Coshocton (actually, the well-known canal town of “Roscoe Village”) to Cavallo/Rochester on the Coshocton /Knox County line. Although well-constructed, the canal lacked good terminal facilities at the Knox County end, and thus never attracted the wheat shipments for which it had been intended during the 1835-1850 period. It ceased being profitable long before its right-of-way was supplanted by the railroads of the pre-Civil War era, and was largely eradicated by the flood of 1913. Fortunately, one significant vestige of that canal is the “towpath” that is now a rather good county road; it parallels the river for its final four miles to Walhonding, and provides access to camping and fishing areas along that downstream reach. The (unincorporated) village of Greer (aka Greersville or Edlam) was established in 1836 by Robert Greer, born 1806, near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, who emigrated to Ohio with his widowed mother and 3 brothers and several sisters in 1827. Robert. Greer was an investor in the projected “Calico* Railroad” (officially, the Springfield, Mount Vernon, and Pittsburgh RR).that would have run from Lakeville in Holmes County, somewhat parallel to current Rt. 514, and then SW from Greer to Howard (following that pre-glacial course of the “ancient” Mohican.). Unfortunately, another RR reached Howard first, and the “Calico” route was abandoned. However, traces of some nearly completed “cuts” (trenches) and “fills” (ridges) as much as 20 ft. deep or high are visible in the first mile SW of Greer. During the era of the “Wally” railroad, Greer thrived. At one time it held a RR depot, a grain elevator/feed mill/stockyard, 2 general stores, 2 hardware’s, a farm implement dealership, a creamery, and a blacksmith. Still visible above the masonry block store building is a 2nd-story community hall, that hosted cultural events. Until 1958, the Greer “Farmer’s Institute” was held there, one of the last such community education programs still held within Ohio. The modern, compoundly-curved bridge over the Mohican River was built in 1971. An earlier bridge was swept away by the statewide disastrous flood of 1913. The village of Brinkhaven (aka Gann) was incorporated in 1892, although it had been existence for about 20 years before that on property donated by William Gann. It likewise owed its prosperity not only to railroads (the “Wally” plus the “CA&C”--Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus--running NE to SW), but also to a water-powered mill. The “mill race”--a canal that led water from the millpond to the mill’s wheel) can still be seen, and was the cause for a small adjoining span of the long bridge (now partly dismantled) that carried Ohio / US Route 62 over the Mohican River. That mill burned to the ground in 1950 and was never replaced. The US highway was relocated south of Brinkhaven around 1959. The “Wally” railroad also was important to commerce and civic affairs in Brinkhaven. (It still had a high school as late as the 1920’s, and students could commute there from Greer on the RR.) Likewise, the village’s economy suffered when that rail line was closed in the late 1930’s. The CA&C was likewise discontinued after the Flood of 1969 destroyed irreplaceable sections of track around Killbuck, 15 miles to the east. Today, the railroad’s heritage is still visible at the “Bridge of Dreams”--a shelter erected over the abandoned CA&C structure that now makes it Ohio’s “longest covered bridge.” * So called because the cash-strapped investors and organizers sometimes paid the workers in bolts of that colorful cloth rather than currency. Written by David Greer for the Mohican State Scenic River Designation
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December 31st, 1969
The Mohican River is the 12th largest river in the State of Ohio, yet us bordered by very few populated areas for its nearly 30-mile length. Nevertheless it is one of the most well-known rivers in the state, owing to the extensive canoeing and camping available along its upstream reaches. GEOLOGIC / HYDROLOGICAL FEATURES The river drains a watershed of about 1,000 square miles, although its largest tributary, the Black Fork (draining about 350 square miles) is not included in the portion for which Scenic River designation is sought. Designation IS sought for nearly 5 miles of the Clear Fork, beginning at Pleasant Hill Dam and continuing to a point just east of Ohio Route 3, south of Loudonville, where the Mohican River proper is created by the confluence of the Black and Clear Forks. From there, the river continues for 27.5 miles to a point just south of Ohio Route 715 near the village of Walhonding, where the Walhonding River (Ohio’s 7th largest) is created by the confluence with the Kokosing River. (After just a dozen more miles from there, the Walhonding in turn joins the Tuscarawas at Coshocton to form Ohio’s largest river, the Muskingum.) The course of the ancient (pre-glacier) Mohican River was altered significantly in this area by the Illinoisan glacier. The river formerly flowed southwestward toward Howard and Utica, joining the ancient Teays River drainage system. Illinoisan erosion and deposits forced the river directly southward through the Knox County village of Brinkhaven, and left a valley so narrow (due to its youth) that seldom is the floodplain wide enough for a field on both sides of the river. In most cases, the 300-foot deep valley is gorge like, holding only one field, then the river, with a road either clinging to the side of a hill right at the edge of the river, or following the far edge of the field. CULTURAL HISTORY By far, the most significant human development in the valley was the “Wally” Railroad (officially the Toledo, Walhonding Valley, and Ohio), a subsidiary of and connector for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It ran between Coshocton and Loudonville from 1892 to 1940. It contributed to a period of greater prosperity and population in the villages along its path in the first part of the 20th Century. Its demise (caused both by economic conditions as well as the construction of Mohawk Dam across its path, 10 miles downstream),left economic depression in its aftermath, but also provided a splendid corridor for recreational travel, and left several interesting bridge spans or foundations. Parts of its right-of-way have become public roads (along the northern reach), and others are now the “arteries” of some campgrounds situated farther downstream. A lesser role had been played earlier by the Walhonding Canal (sometimes referred to as “Twenty-five miles to Nowhere”) that ran from Coshocton (actually, the well-known canal town of “Roscoe Village”) to Cavallo/Rochester on the Coshocton /Knox County line. Although well-constructed, the canal lacked good terminal facilities at the Knox County end, and thus never attracted the wheat shipments for which it had been intended during the 1835-1850 period. It ceased being profitable long before its right-of-way was supplanted by the railroads of the pre-Civil War era, and was largely eradicated by the flood of 1913. Fortunately, one significant vestige of that canal is the “towpath” that is now a rather good county road; it parallels the river for its final four miles to Walhonding, and provides access to camping and fishing areas along that downstream reach. The (unincorporated) village of Greer (aka Greersville or Edlam) was established in 1836 by Robert Greer, born 1806, near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, who emigrated to Ohio with his widowed mother and 3 brothers and several sisters in 1827. Robert. Greer was an investor in the projected “Calico* Railroad” (officially, the Springfield, Mount Vernon, and Pittsburgh RR).that would have run from Lakeville in Holmes County, somewhat parallel to current Rt. 514, and then SW from Greer to Howard (following that pre-glacial course of the “ancient” Mohican.). Unfortunately, another RR reached Howard first, and the “Calico” route was abandoned. However, traces of some nearly completed “cuts” (trenches) and “fills” (ridges) as much as 20 ft. deep or high are visible in the first mile SW of Greer. During the era of the “Wally” railroad, Greer thrived. At one time it held a RR depot, a grain elevator/feed mill/stockyard, 2 general stores, 2 hardware’s, a farm implement dealership, a creamery, and a blacksmith. Still visible above the masonry block store building is a 2nd-story community hall, that hosted cultural events. Until 1958, the Greer “Farmer’s Institute” was held there, one of the last such community education programs still held within Ohio. The modern, compoundly-curved bridge over the Mohican River was built in 1971. An earlier bridge was swept away by the statewide disastrous flood of 1913. The village of Brinkhaven (aka Gann) was incorporated in 1892, although it had been existence for about 20 years before that on property donated by William Gann. It likewise owed its prosperity not only to railroads (the “Wally” plus the “CA&C”--Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus--running NE to SW), but also to a water-powered mill. The “mill race”--a canal that led water from the millpond to the mill’s wheel) can still be seen, and was the cause for a small adjoining span of the long bridge (now partly dismantled) that carried Ohio / US Route 62 over the Mohican River. That mill burned to the ground in 1950 and was never replaced. The US highway was relocated south of Brinkhaven around 1959. The “Wally” railroad also was important to commerce and civic affairs in Brinkhaven. (It still had a high school as late as the 1920’s, and students could commute there from Greer on the RR.) Likewise, the village’s economy suffered when that rail line was closed in the late 1930’s. The CA&C was likewise discontinued after the Flood of 1969 destroyed irreplaceable sections of track around Killbuck, 15 miles to the east. Today, the railroad’s heritage is still visible at the “Bridge of Dreams”--a shelter erected over the abandoned CA&C structure that now makes it Ohio’s “longest covered bridge.” * So called because the cash-strapped investors and organizers sometimes paid the workers in bolts of that colorful cloth rather than currency. Written by David Greer for the Mohican State Scenic River Designation
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