Island History

Island History. . , Inscription Rock and other archaeological sites on Kelleys Island indicate that the island was home to Native Americans for many centuries. Kelleys Island was on the frontier between lands of the Ottawas and Wyandots when Europeans first arrived there., During the 1800s, European traders lived on the island. Until 1834, the island was commonly known as Cunningham Island, after a trader who lived there., The island was abandoned during the War of 18 12, but General William Henry Harrison stationed a watch post on the island to keep track of British ships., In the 1830s, brothers Datus and Irad Kelley began buying land on the island. The Kelley family grew grapes and other fruits. Later, they used the grapes to produce wine. They started quarrying operations to take advantage of the outcroppings of limestone. The red cedar forest was useful for logging, and the surrounding waters were rich with fish., Beginning in the mid-1800s and taking off after the Civil War, Kelleys Island became a vacation spot. Urban families came to the island to escape the heat, congestion, and grime of city life., About 405-390 million years ago , Columbus Limestone Deposition During early to Middle Devonian time, present-day Ohio was submerged in a great environment for marine organisms with calcium carbonate shells. These shells accumulated over millions of years to create the Columbus Limestone., 1200-1600 , Native American Occupation and Inscription Rock Long before any modern settlement on the island, Native Americans maintained permanent structures here that supported their communal life. The petroglyphs were carved into Inscription Rock during this time., 1892 and 1932 , Preservation of the Grooves A small section of the island's quarry was set aside by the Kelley Island Lime and Transport Company in 1892 to preserve the grooves. In 1932, the Ohio History Connection purchased the nearly 3.5-acre plot of land to further preserve the glacial grooves site., About 70,000-15,000 years ago , Ice Age Erosion and Burial During the most recent ice age, a massive glacier flowed south from Canada into Ohio. The ice and water of the glacier carved large grooves within the Columbus Limestone on Kelleys Island. Sediments and soils buried the groove at the end of the ice age as the glacier retreated., 1830s , Earliest Quarrying of Columbus Limestone In 1830, John Clemens and his brother began mining the Columbus limestone along the north shore of Kelleys Island. Shortly after, 1833, Datus and Irad Kelley began buying land on the island to continue mining the limestone. Quarrying during this time led to the first exposure and discovery of the glacial grooves., 1972 , Uncovering of the Grooves Beginning in 1972, the grooves were carefully uncovered using a mixture of heavy machinery and hand tools to clear out the sediments and soil that had been dumped on top of the grooves by ice age glaciers and during the mining of the surrounding area. Now, nearly 400 feet of grooves and dramatic details left by the ice age are exposed.