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Egypt Valley Wildlife Area

Egypt Valley Wildlife Area
Egypt Bottom
Protected area
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Egypt Valley Wildlife Area
Country United States
State Ohio
County Belmont County
Area 14,300 acres (5,787 ha)
Founded 1994
Management Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Wildlife

Nearest towns Barnesville, Ohio, Morristown, Ohio, Hendrysburg, Ohio, Flushing, Ohio and Holloway, Ohio
Website: Egypt Valley Wildlife Area

Division of Wildlife

The Egypt Valley Wildlife Area is a 14,300 acres (5,800 ha) former surface mining area in northwestern Belmont County Ohio, United States. Since the mid-1990s, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has administered the area. For many years, local residents have fished, hunted, camped and explored the high walls, backwaters, and graveyards that make up this area. People, to a lesser extent, call the area Egypt .

The area encompasses the northwest corner of Belmont County. Morristown and Hendrysburg are on the southern edges of the area, while Holloway and Flushing are on the northern edge of the area. The southern end of Piedmont Lake, the opposite end of the dam in Piedmont, juts into the northern pocket of the area as well.

Before the area became a sporting destination, it was surface-mined. Egypt Valley was home to some of the largest earth moving machines, most notably the GEM of Egypt, and the less known Mountaineer. The high walls and unique look to the area was the end-result of this mining method. Most coal extraction ceased in the early 1990s.

Aside from the coal mining in the area, Egypt Valley is known for its rich tradition of local folklore. The Salem Cemetery, located in the middle of the area, is home to the grave of Louiza Fox, who was murdered in 1869. Her murderer, Thomas Carr, was the first person hanged in Belmont County.

Louiza Fox was a thirteen-year-old girl working as a servant for Alex Hunter, the owner of a coal mine. Thomas Carr, 22 years old, worked for Hunter at his mine.

Fox and Carr began dating. Initially, Fox’s parents approved of the couple, and even gave their consent for the two to be engaged. After learning more about Carr’s violent past, however, the girl’s parents retracted their approval of the engagement. Carr became instantly angry upon hearing this news, and plotted the murder of his fiancée.

Carr waited behind a fence on a path that Fox frequently traveled. When the girl went for a walk with her brother, Carr met up with them and sent her brother back home. Carr then slit the throat of his love and stabbed her fourteen times. He then threw her in a ditch and fled the scene.


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