Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Licking County Ohio

Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Licking County Ohio in USA


This massive sandstone cliff along the Licking River at one time contained a dark hand-shaped Indian petroglyph. Unfortunately, the engraved petroglyph was destroyed in 1828 during the construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal which runs through the gorge. Notice the sandstone block walls at the river's edge that were part of the Ohio-Erie Canal towpath. Oral traditions ascribe the "Blackhand" as a warning to Palaeo-Indian tribes, i.e., 1000BC to 400AD, traveling up the Licking River to Flint Ridge, to keep the site a peaceful and shared resource for the quarry of high quality flint.