Blackhand Gorge State MaturePreserve is a 956-acre area that wasdedicated as an interpretive naturepreserve in 1975. This dedicationprocess ensures that the area's scientific,educational and aesthetic values willbe preserved indefinitely for use by allOhioans.

TopographyThe prime feature of the preserveis a narrow east-west gorge cut by theLicking River through the Black Handsandstone formation. This cross-bedded,conglomeratic sandstone, well exposedin many places, creates a ruggedtopography. The dry hilltops aredominated by oak, hickory, Virginia pineand mountain laurel. Mixed hardwoodsand a lush spring flora abound on thewooded slopes and ravines. The floodplain is predominantly sycamore,cottonwood box elder.

The name "Blackhand," for whichthe preserve is known, originated froma large, dark hand-shaped petroglyphthat was engraved on the face of thesandstone cliff. Many Indian legendswere passed on to early pioneers aboutthe origin of the "black hand." Possiblythe most prominent is the one that says itmarked the boundary of a sacred Indianterritory where no man was to raise hishand against another. The petroglyphwas destroyed in the 1820s during theconstruction of the Ohio-Erie Canaltowpath when canal builders blasted thecliff face.

Historically, the area around thegorge was very important to both themodern Indian and the prehistoricMound Builders. The rich deposits offlint found nearby at Flint Ridge madethe Licking River system a strategicallyimportant transportation route evenbefore the advance of white settlers.By 1929, the gorge had witnessed thepassing of the Ohio-Erie Canal, thesteam powered Central Ohio Railroadand the electric CN&2 interurbantrolley line.

Today the canal boats, trolleys andsteam locomotives are gone. A modernrailroad has been relocated to higherground, but the stark remains of old canallocks still dot the preserve.