This Is The Oldest Place You Can Possibly Find Near Cleveland And Its History Will Fascinate You
By Nikki Rhoades|Published March 10, 2018
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
There’s adventure hiding everywhere in Ohio, it seems. We Clevelanders pride ourselves on maintaining a landscape that’s worthy of exploration, but it never hurts to take a road trip here and there to explore an entirely new site. Next to the local Fort Hill earthworks site, there are not many local man-made sites that date back to before the founding of Cleveland. Fortunately, if you’re looking to explore the region’s history, you don’t have to travel far:
This unusual structure houses what locals call the Inscription Rock. This limestone boulder is named for petroglyphs — a term archaeologists use to describe carvings in stone — that date back to a time before American settlers populated the region.
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The stone was first found by settlers in 1833, purportedly half-buried in the shoreline.
Weathering and deterioration have made dating the inscription difficult. While it is almost certainly less than a thousand years old, archaeologists have determined that it was most likely created between 1200 and 1600 C.E.
Today, the limestone Inscription Rock is open to the public.
There are at least eight anthropomorphic figures on this stone, as well as a multitude of squiggles and lines. The most popular theory is that this rock was something of a message board, allowing locals to note details about hunting, fishing, and the routes they were taking.
A small-scale replica is displayed next to the rock, showing how the inscriptions appeared based on a rubbing made in the 1850s.
Remnants of at least two Erie villages have been unearthed nearby, adding credence to the "message stone" theory. At least one other similar stone once existed on the island, but it was destroyed by men working with dynamite in the quarry.
Though it is quickly fading, the incredible story on this stone offers a glimpse into local history.
This incredible site tells a story about local history, though the exact meaning of the petroglyphs is unknown. Locals love spending a warm day on Lake Erie’s islands, but this incredible limestone boulder makes such a day trip especially memorable for history buffs.
