In popular culture, there is quite possibly no other larger cryptid than Bigfoot. The image of a large, bipedal, hairy creature is on countless t-shirts, toys, beef jerky, beer, and even bicycles. Numerous toys are in the likeness of Sasquatch, some of which are remote controlled. Almost a day does not go by without seeing the image of Bigfoot. Pretty impressive for an animal that some people do not even believe exists. Countless books have been written on this creature, some great, some not so great, but this is a very broad topic, that you could dedicate an entire blog to. I'm sure someone has done that already. So to make things a little easier, I will stick to Bigfoot sightings that have happened only in Ohio.
The history of Bigfoot in Ohio goes back to the late 1800s. The very first sighting was in Gallia county, near the town of Galliapolis. In January of 1869, a man and his daughter were traveling by carriage when a "wild man" covered in hair and gigantic in height attacked the father by grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. After a drawn out struggle, the daughter picked up a rock and hit the creature in the head. This in turn, did not startle the animal, just made it stand up and walk away back into the woods.
Some of the more recent Bigfoot sightings have been all over the state, especially in the northeastern, and also southeastern unpopulated areas. In the northeastern areas, particularly around the Akron area, Bigfoot has been dubbed the Grassman. The area that brings the most attention is the so called, "Bigfoot Triangle," which is a larger, unpopulated area around the Coshocton/Amish country area. In this triangle, is
Salt Fork State Park, which hosts the Ohio Bigfoot Conference every year. This state park, in Guernsey County, has had numerous sightings since the mid 1990s. Some of the other interesting sightings/possible encounters from around Ohio:
-Summit County, 11/10: Man hear vocalization similar to
this.
-Fairfield County, 10/10:
Clear Creek Metro Park. Photo session interrupted by something throwing rocks into the lake. Photographer takes many shots in the area, getting a couple that show some promise.
-Clermont County, 6/09:
East fork State Park. Two fisherman hear large rocks being thrown into the lake, and loud howling that neither could identify.
-Ross County, 12/02: A young hunter encounter a large, hairy biped near Bainbridge while hunting. Man placed weapon on the ground to show animal that he meant no harm, creature ran past the young man, passing just 25 yards from him.
These are just the tip of the iceberg of Bigfoot encounters here in the Buckeye state. Hopefully this year I can get out and make some trips to some of these areas to investigate for myself. It should be noted, that the famous cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is his book "Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America" placed Ohio in the top 20 best places to see Bigfoot, especially in the Tuscarawas-Coshocton counties. Of all the places in North America, Ohio in the top twenty? Pretty impressive if you ask me. This summer I also plan on making the trip up to Newcomerstown to the annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference, hope to see you there! Now off to drink a
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot!
Check out the
Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization if you have not already, to start your own research.
