Sand Hill – Contribution

02/13/2008: Thank you to the anonymous contributor who shared this story about a British/Indian massacre that supposedly occurred on the site of Sand Hill in Erie County. The contributor has found burned grass, copper spoons, bones, arrowheads and even a broken tombstone at the site. If you have any information about the legend of Sand Hill or any supporting documentation that this event did in fact occur, please email .

This legend or story was told to us right after we bought the property. As of right now, three landowners share the spot on which this legend is reputed to have occurred. And a couple of years later we found burnt grass and copper spoons and the like, exactly where we were told this happened. Then later when we tore down an old chicken house and graded the ground, we began finding old bones, toys and buttons. We saved the old trinkets and disposed of the bones as we believed them to be animal, as this was a working farm. Toward the end of the re-grading, we found a broken grave marker that was hand-chiseled and dated to the 1780s era (Eljaih Symth 1770 to 18??).

Well to the legend, it goes something to the effect. It all started when a group of redcoats were heading to Fort Pitt to help in the Indian wars fighting in Pennsylvania. On the way through this area roughly along Bogart Road, Patten Tract and Schenk Road is where the old Carroll log cabin stood until the early 1990s when it was burned down for a new home. The old log cabin was a trading post for the local inhabitants and a winter stop for area tribes. The tribes used the Pipe Creek route which still is about a third of a mile to the east. And about a quarter mile or less due south of the cabin was an Indian campsite set upon the Sand Hill for drainage and view. The braves, I guess is what you would call them, were out hunting and fishing to stock up for the winter. This is supposedly when the troops from Detroit passed through. They massacred the Indians that were at the campsite, women, children, old and newborns. They killed and burned everything, as well as killing the cabin’s owners as they pleaded for the soldiers to stop.

When the hunting party returned to the site, they of course found a scene of total horror. Supposedly this also happened up around the Toledo and Upper Sandusky area around the same time. The ones who relayed this story say they are two different happenings, this did happen here, but proof cannot be found in records. We are told not many records were kept until the 1820s. So to finish, the Indians tracked down the soldiers and caught them camped on the east side of the Huron River. Exactly where, I don’t know. They brought them back to the site of their camp and tortured them over a 24 hour period. Supposedly they had eight live soldiers and they staked them in fire pits over 24 hours, poking them with red-hot irons and then scalped them. Other evil things were said to have been done to the soldiers as well. As dusk turned to night, they set the soldiers ablaze.

It is said on an early fall night when the moon and clouds are as they were that night you can not only see the flames but also hear the screams and smell the burning flesh as the event happened. Also on other nights, you can see the Indian camp as it was the night just before they were murdered. The two old farmers and a local who lived in the area all say the same story. The best view of the hill is from Patten Tract Road on the last curve before Bogart Road. The hill is about 100 yards off the road.

Now I’ve been back on the hill at night. Though I really do not take heart of this, we did find blackened fire pits, copper eating items, and plenty of arrowheads, all dating to that era. Take it for what it’s worth. We seem to have vivid storytellers in the area, as I could tell you a few more, but this one seems to be the most important to the old guys around here.