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Niagara
Issues - Scoville's Knoll http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/ResBot/niag/ |
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Niagara
Issues - Scoville's Knoll This knoll feature (now
called "Oak Hill") appears on topographic maps, especially before
the 1950's as a natural elevation of indurated bedrock. It supports an
interesting forest of mature Oaks and Hickories on its western face. These images
show the western face (facing Ontario and the river). The treeless, snow-covered
slope is that of the spoil area and the suture between the knoll and spoil
area is where the two slopes meet. At the summit of the knoll is a stone
fence that most likely derives from an old farmhouse perhaps built by the
Scoville mentioned in George Clinton's journal from the 1860's (see web site
for mentions of Lewiston in this journal). Although the back of the knoll,
the side facing east, is mostly a forest growth of the weedy Acer negundo
(Box Elder) and other invasive species, the western face seems to give a good
representation of its aboriginal forest cover, the species assemblages
matching those in native areas of the Niagara gorge, such as at Whirlpool
woods (DeVeaux Steps near Whirlpool State Park). The knoll is dignified by
the site of a burial mound attributable to the aboriginal peoples inhabiting
the area.
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