3. Ochsenbach

There is no distinct creek with this name. The name Ochsenbach (exen creek) stands for the location where the creeks Sulzbach and Hainbuchentaler Bach flow together, flow a few meters alongside the path and then over and under the path, today’s Ochsenbachstraße, down the valley.

In earlier times the weary field work was done with the help of draft oxen. The farmers together with the community were responsible for their offspring. According to the village statistics from 1765 to 1791, the number of oxen doubled from 48 to 96. In the morning, the draft cattle were not brought to pasture together with the rest of the cattle, but instead were penned up in the “pen fields” near the village where they could be fetched if needed. Every time the animals crossed the ditch of the Sulzbach creek, they took the opportunity to drink. This is how the name “Ochsenbach” came about. The other cattle from the surrounding farms were also taken to the „Ochsenbach“ to drink.

The need to provide places to water the animals and to protect them is also shown in the decree issued by the municipal council on January 20, 1852, which forbade the miller of the upper mill, Philipp Herzer, to dig up the Hainbuchertal Bach creek for the purpose of his mill. This happened „because the water is small, … with the bleaching of the cloth, the washing, … and then there are two drinking troughs underneath the mill in the village of Kottweiler which could be compromised.“

The „Ochsenbach“ served as a cattle trough until the 20th century.