RUSSEL, Ohio — A local volunteer stumbled upon an ancient piece of history while on a hike in Russel Upland park in Geauga County. 

What You Need To Know

  • Tom Keesey works as a volunteer "trailgater", keeping the Russel Upland park clear from trash and debris

  • Keesey was hiking the trail and stumbled upon a piece of flint rock that looked manmade 

  • Mike Fath is also a volunteer at the parks and collects ancient artifacts

  • Fath identified the piece of flint as a backed knife, dating it back to 10,000 B.C.

Nestled deep in Geauga County lies many hidden gems, some of which are managed by the Geauga Park District. Keeping those parks clean and free from debris are their dedicated volunteers, known as "trailgaters".

Tom Keesey has been volunteering for over three years, picking up things like litter and sticks, but while hiking Keesey picked up something that dates back to 10,000 B.C.

"The first thought was that is a very dark stone,” Keesey explained. “Something unnatural, didn't look like a piece of trash because I'm constantly watching for trash.”

Far from trash was what Keesey had picked up, while he had known it was something manmade he was unable to identify exactly what the ‘rock’ was.

“My first thought was it was a broken scraper for hides because I think they get pretty big,” said Keesey. 

Determined to figure out what the flint was used for he reached out to the parks and asked for someone who would be familiar with ancient artifacts. 

“These are the hammers and screwdrivers for whatever job they were working on at the time,” Geauga Park volunteer Mike Fath explained. 

Fath has been collecting ancient artifacts for decades, it’s sort of a hobby for him. He has over thousands of artifacts. When he saw the artifact that Keesey had found, he was quick to identify it. 

“It's got an edge that's comfortable and safe for gripping opposite the cutting edge,” Fath said. 

Keesey had found a backed knife, dating back to 10,000 B.C. during the European upper Paleolithic times. 

“A lot of times it's just making the spear points or the shaft for it, anything wood or cutting.” Fath said. “Chopping meat or breaking bones. Anything that you would use in your own workshop right now when you needed a hammer or a screwdriver.”