Raccoon Island is a former island in

Gallia County Gallia County (pronunciation: ''GAL-yuh'') is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,220. Its county seat is Gallipolis. Named after the French people who originally settled there, its name � ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, now submerged in the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. It was located above the mouth of Raccoon Creek, in Clay Township, opposite the mouth of Crab Creek in Mason County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

."Clay Township", in ''History of Gallia County: Containing a Condensed History of the county; Biographical Sketches; General Statistics; Miscellaneous Matters &c.'', H.H. Hardesty & Co., New York, Toledo, and Chicago (1882).

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, Topographical Maps, West Virginia-Ohio, Glenwood Quadrangle (ed. 1906).United States Geological Survey, Topographical Maps, West Virginia-Ohio, Apple Grove Quadrangle (eds. 1958, 2002). Most islands in the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia belong to West Virginia, which was part of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

until 1863. When Virginia ceded its claim to the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

in 1784, it reserved control of the Ohio River along its borders, along with the submerged land to the low water mark on the Ohio shore. The fact that Raccoon Island was part of Ohio means that at low water, the island was connected to Gallia County by land. This may no longer be the case, as the construction of the Gallipolis Locks and Dam in 1937 permanently raised the level of the river, perhaps leading to the island's disappearance. A

topographical map from 1906 indicates that Raccoon Island was about a third of a mile long, and about five hundred feet wide. It was closer to the Ohio side of the river than the West Virginia side. The upper end was rounded, and the eastern side curved gently to the southern end, while the Ohio side was relatively straight. The two sides converged at a narrow point. The northern part of the island gradually sloped up to the highest point, about forty feet above the mean level of the river, while the western bank was relatively steep. The USGS reports a village of the same name on the island at an elevation of 571 feet. ''Hardesty's History of Gallia County'' mentions that " post office was established, at a very early date upon Raccoon Island situated in the Ohio river, at the mouth of Raccoon creek." The records of the

United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postmas ...

indicate that William F. Gooldin was appointed postmaster at Raccoon Island on August 18, 1841; the last postmaster was Berton H. Ingels, appointed February 3, 1909. The post office was discontinued, effective October 15, 1936, and the mail redirected to

Gallipolis Gallipolis ( ) is a chartered village (United States)#Ohio, village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia County, Ohio, Gallia County. The municipality is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about 55 miles southeast of ...

, ''Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832–1971'',

NARA The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

Microfilm Publication M841, Ohio, Gallia County. The island may have been rapidly eroding, or perhaps was being abandoned due to the planned construction of the Gallipolis Locks and Dam, which raised the height of the river. By 1958, Raccoon Island was entirely submerged, and appears as a

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

in the Ohio River on USGS maps. The elevation of 535 feet places it three feet under the mean level of the river, which is 538 feet at a point just below the southern tip of the island.

References

{{authority control Islands of Ohio Landforms of Gallia County, Ohio Islands of the Ohio River