The Knox Historical Society will present the first program of the fall season at 7:30 on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

The subject will be the geological resources that put Knox County on the map, and the water resources that will assure its future.

Mr. Mark Jones, division chief of the Ohio Geological Survey in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, will be one speaker. Another will be Knox County resident Robert Gable, scenic river supervisor within another Division of ODNR.

Jones will be joined by Mark Potucek, a hydrogeologist from that Division. (Additional information on our presenters will be available that evening.)

For quite some time both our Society’s Board members and members of the community at large have wanted to learn more about how the prosperity of Knox County was in large part derived from geological good fortune.

Initially the fertility of our soils produced timber, then led to productive farms and growth of our towns. In the early 20th century, the heavy industries in Mount Vernon (Cooper-Bessemer and the Mount Vernon Bridge Company) were joined by large glass factories: Pittsburgh Plate and Lamb Glass. They prospered here because we had the right sand for making glass, and abundant natural gas with which to fuel the furnaces.

Our speakers will describe the geologic features and processes that provided these resources: soil, sand, gas, plus, the even more important water.

Then Mr. Gable will show how our blessing of ample well-water is supplemented by well-preserved surface water in our streams. Working with the late Doug McLarnan, he was instrumental in having the Kokosing River declared a Scenic River in the 1990s -- a feat he repeated for the Mohican River a decade later.

As has been the case recently, Historical Society officials will be present well before the program begins, and will remain afterward, to welcome attendees to visit the museum’s regular displays. And a fun-filled door prize or two will be available.

The museum is located at 875 Harcourt Road in Mount Vernon. The program starts at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

All persons interested in area history are invited to attend.