Christmas at the Ohio Village

The Ohio Historical Society opens the Ohio Village for special events. At Christmas, the Village is open and staffed with volunteers dressed in Victorian garb. This is an evening event, and the Village is only lit with gas lights and candles.

When we walked into the Village, we felt like we had stepped back in time. Be careful; and watch where you step. To help you see where you are going, the staff lines the walks and steps with luminaries and lanterns and tries to keep them lit. The first person that greeted us was Old St. Nick himself dressed in a Victorian St. Nick costume. He was very helpful and showed us how to use our map of the village to visit all the open sites.

The staff was all friendly. Any time we showed any interest in participating in activities, they were quick to get us involved. While the activities may be designed for kids, we participated and learned a lot about how the Victorians celebrated Christmas. We made mummers masks, hand tinted a Christmas card, made cranberry and popcorn chains to hang on a tree, and played parlor games.

The Historical Society also provided some entertainments that were similar to those the Victorians might have attended. There was a mummer performance, a story teller who told ghost stories, and a performance by Charles Dickens himself. Through out the evening we met the Ohio Village Singers who strolled through the village singeing carols. They also gave two performances in the town hall. We also met Bob Marley several times during our walk around the village. You could tell he was coming when you heard the chains clanging.

We also learned how to give a Cobweb Party. This is a fun activity that involves stringing yarn around a room—one color for everyone playing. Attached to the strands of yarn are little gifts like candy. When you reach the end of your strand of yarn, you get a bigger gift. This sounds like lots of fun and I am going to try it with my family.

The American House and Hotel was serving a limited menu of light meals like sandwiches and mac and cheese. The tavern was serving selected beverages. A local Boy Scout troop sold roasted chestnuts and hot cider. We had a good time and enjoyed celebrating Christmas without electric lights and expensive presents

Hours: Two week ends in December. Watch for ads next year.
Location: Ohio Village next to the Ohio Historical Society Museum
Fees (if applicable): $10/adult OHS member, $7/child OHS member, $12/adult nonmember, $9/child nonmember, $4/parking fee for nonmembers.
Additional information: Ohio Historical Society: Dickens Christmas

Byesville Scenic Railway

The Byesville Scenic Railway is a work of love by a dedicated group of volunteers who are descendents of the coal miners who used to dig coal in the southeastern Ohio area. The 1 hour rail trip uses the train and cars that the miners used to get to and from the mines.

Guides ,dressed as coal miners including coal dust, will point out traces of the old mines and tell stories about the history of the area and how the miners and their families lived. Listen carefully and you will learn what the miners used for toilet paper in the mines.


The Christmas trip is really nice. The guides explain how the miners and their families celebrated Christmas. Decorations were very different because they didn’t have electricity and artificial Christmas trees. Since they didn’t have much money, Christmas was more about the religious reason for the season and not so much about presents. People tended to make gifts for each other out of materials they had at home. The trip was a nice antidote to the hustle and bustle of today's Christmases.

Additional pictures.

Hours:

• April-May: school charters accepted



• May through December--Saturday and Sunday 1:00 and 3:00



• Check their web site for special trips and times such as: Wine Tasting Excursions, Fathers Day Special, Fall Steam Weekend and Coal Miners Festival, Halloween Excursions, and Christmas Specials.

Location:

• Byesville, Ohio



• Map and directions

Fees:

• Adults $10.00



• Children 3-12: $7.00



• Children under 3: Free
  

Dickens Village--Cambridge, Ohio

During the month of December and the first week of January, Cambridge, Ohio, hosts the “Dickens Village." One of the highlights is over 40 life-sized sculptures of Victorian and Dickens characters that line the main street. Cambridge has a lot of buildings on main street in the Victorian style. The figures fit right in and make great photos especially when there is a little snow in the air. We started our visit in the Dickens Welcome Center which offers Dickens Village souvenirs and an opportunity to have your picture taken while you are dressed in Dickens era clothing. Watch for costumed street vendors selling local goodies as you tour the street.

At the rear of the welcome center is a tea shop which is open on Saturdays from 1-6:00pm. The shop serves a Victorian tea. On the day we were there, the tea included a choice of three types of tea, scones with lemon curd and clotted cream or raspberry jam, strawberry soup (yumm) hot chicken salad, onion brioche, cucumber sandwich, zebra cake, coconut cream bites, thumbprint cookies, and finally a large slice of delicious cheesecake with lemon sauce. The staff will teach you how to eat scones in the proper Victorian way. The tea gave us a chance to rest our feet.

There were 5 bus tours in town the day we visited which made for a nice holiday bustle. Stores were busy but not crowded. There is lots to do when you visit—wander through several of the older buildings which have been converted into small shops selling lots of different items. Several specialize in antiques and collectables—Cambridge glass is especially popular and there is often a good selection of Roseville or Weller pottery. On the court house lawn are a group of Dickens shops. Local vendors—different every week-end—offer a variety of items with special Dickens Village prices.

At 5:30-9:00pm, the courthouse light and music show will begin. This is new this year and is fantastic. There are three different 12 minutes shows and Cambridge’s old-fashioned, wedding cake courthouse is the perfect setting. Check out a sample of the show at this You Tube site .

Good places to eat include Theos—right across from the Welcome Center. Try their famous coney dog or chili fries—served with chili and cheese. I recommend their spicy chili soup and their pork chops. On the side street to the left of the courthouse, the Courtside Deli offers sandwiches and soups and daily specials. Or drive east down Wheeling toward Interstate 71 and pull in to Mr. Lees for a meal. They make great chimichangas and offer a big selection of home cooked items. Head away from the courthouse to Rt. 209 and you will find the usual franchises and another local restaurant—The Forum. Their Greek sampler is great and so are the fajitas and pizzas.

If this is not enough action for one day, you can take the Byesville Scenic Railway trip which is offered on Saturdays at 1:00 and 3:00pm in Byesville.

Related sites: Dickens Victorian Village

Hopewell Mound Group; Hopewell Culture National Park

There is not too much left of the extensive earthworks that were originally here. You will find a parking area and an observation area. There is a tamped gravel trail large enough to drive a golf cart on up to the observation area which provides a view of the field where the earthworks were located.

Be warned, if you continue to follow the path it will gradually narrow and finally the gravel portion comes to an end and the path enters the forest. The trail continues down and around the original location of the outer earthworks. If you look closely through the foliage on your left, you may see some remnants of the walls. The picture is of what appears to be the remnants of the wall.The hike is probably about 4-5 miles.

You can get a good sense of the site without the hike if you walk across the road from the parking lot to the bike path on the other side of SR 104. Three interpretive signs have been placed at intervals along a quarter mile of the bike path. When you get to the third sign, look very closely across the road and slightly to your left—you will see a slight rise—the remnants of one of the mounds.

Additional pictures.

Hours:
Location:

Additional information:
Ohio History Central: Hopewell Mound Group

Related blog posts:
Mound City Earthworks
Seip Earthworks

Seip Earthworks

Seip (pronounced Sipe) is an impressive mound near a high school. At this time only a small part of the mound complex is open to the public. There is a small park with picnic tables and an informational kiosk.

As you walk from the kiosk to the mound you will pass by the outlines of 3 of 7 seven Hopewell structures—probably houses. The excavators have reconstructed the posthole patterns. Behind these structures is the entrance through the outer enclosure which has shrunk considerably from its original size of 10 feet high and 50 feet across as the base. The picture shows the view of the mound through the entrance in the earthwork.

The mound is steep and large and looms over you. It is located on the second terrace up from the river behind it. Impressive.

The Ohio Historical Society manages the site currently open to the public. The Hopewell Culture National Park has acquired the rest of the site but these sections are not open to the public. Unfortunately, plowing has nearly obliterated the rest of the earthworks associated with the central mound.

Additional pictures.

Hours:

Location:

Additional information:

Ohio History Central: Seip Earthworks

Mound Builders of the Eastern Woodlands: Scioto River Sites in South Ohio (scroll down the page to the Seip Mound entry)

Related blog entries:

Mound City Group

Hopewell Mound Group

Mound City Group, Hopewell Culture National Historic Park

When I was growing up this group of mounds was just called Mound City. In 1992, This park and several other mounds nearby became the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park.

The Mound City Group has 23 mounds enclosed in a low rectangular wall. During WWI most of the mounds were leveled when Camp Sherman occupied the area.

The mounds are all shapes and sizes including the big central round mound and a long oval mound. There used to be stairs to the top of the Central Mound but they have been removed and visitors are asked to stay off the mounds. The picture shows the large central mound and part of the long oval mound.

This site was used for a long time first by the Hopewell and then later by the Intrusive Mound Culture. During excavations of the mounds, many different types of grave goods were found: mica, effigy pipes, copper and beads.

Wear comfortable shoes and take the self-guided tour through the mounds and down to the nearby river. Be sure to stop at the museum and visitor center for a video and an introduction to Hopewell culture and to the uses of the mounds. The staff is friendly and will will give you directions to the other sites that are part of the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park.

Additional pictures.
Hours:
Location:
Fees:

Additional Information:
Hopewell Culture National Historic Park

Related blog posts:
Hopewell Mound Group
Seip Earthworks

Campus Martius Museum/Marietta, Ohio

Campus Martius is a museum celebrating the early settlement of Marietta. Be sure to visit the Putnam House which has been preserved by having the museum built around it. By our standards, the house is a cottage with two rooms downstairs and three up. Fine for two people but the Putnams housed themselves, their children and at least one of their children’s families. Space would have been tight.

In back of the museum is the reconstructed Land Office where new settlers chose and claimed sections of land.

The museum has three floors. Floor one contains the Putnam House and the early history of Marietta. There is also a large contour map of the original Indian mounds which put the mounds we saw in morning in perspective. The lower floor provides a history of migration into Ohio from the original settlement in Marietta to Appalachian influx in the 1970's.

Additional pictures.

Hours:

Location:

Additional information:
Campus Martius/Ohio Historical Society
Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau: Marietta
Campus Martius/Ohio History Central

Big Bottom Memorial

The Big Bottom Memorial is located on SR 266 near Stockport, Ohio, in Morgan County. If you are in Marietta, take State Route 60 toward Stockport. This is a pleasant drive as the road runs along the east bank of the Muskingum River. The early settlers probably followed the same route as they headed north.

When you get to Route 266, turn west toward Stockport. Before you reach Stockport, you will come across the Big Bottom Memorial. It is in a roadside park between you and the river. The memorial marks the massacre of 9 men, 1 woman and 2 children who had come to Big Bottom to homestead. The settlers knew there were Indian hunting parties in the area but decided not to complete the palliside around their cabins. A mixed group of Delaware and Wyndott attacked and killed 12 of 15 settlers.

Look for a small 10” high, lichen covered memorial on the left. It lists the names of the male survivors. The woman and children are anonymous. The park is peaceful today—filled with large trees and the sound of the river. It is hard to imagine this place filled with war whoops, shots, and the screams of the dying.

The memorial reminds us that Ohio was settled by brave people who went into a lonely land without any back-up. They needed to be totally self sufficient. If something went wrong, they handled it or they didn’t survive. I think the memorial also should help us remember the other, unknown settlers who died in the wilderness while they were trying to make a new life for themselves and their families.

More pictures:

Hours:

Location:

Additional information:

Big Bottom Memorial/Ohio Historical Society

Big Bottom Massacre/Ohio History Central

Historical Collections of Ohio: Morgan County

Marietta Indian Mounds: Capitolium Mound

This mound has been preserved because the public library is built right on top of it. if you are not looking for it, you might not notice the mound itself.


Hours: Daily at all times.
Location: Washington County Public Library, 5th Street, Marietta, Ohio.

• Exit I 77 at Exit 1 onto Sr 7 going west into Marietta.


• At the lights at 4th Street, turn right onto 4th.


• The library is located between Washington and Warren.

Additional information:

The Ancient Earthworks of Eastern North America: The Earthworks at Marietta, Ohio...
Mounds of Marietta Brochure (pdf)

Marietta Indian Mounds: Conus Mound

The Conus Mound is located in the middle of a cemetery and has survived fairly well. Use the gate on 5th St. The mound will be ahead of you and slightly to the left. It is covered with trees and rises higher than I expected.
It is a conical mound with a shallow ditch around it. The steps to the top are steep and irregular—not too much of a problem going up, but tricky coming down. A sign warns visitors to stay off the sides of the mound. If you walk to the top, you will discover a couple of benches and a plaque marking the burial site of a time capsule buried in 1976 and due to be opened in 2076.
The cemetery where the mound is located is interesting. It was established in 1801, and many of the original settlers of Marietta are buried here as well as a large number of Revolutionary War veterans. If you visit, look for the Revolutionary Soldier’s Memorial.

Hours: During daylight hours.
Location: 5th and Scammel Streets, Marietta, Ohio.

• Exit I 77 at Exit 1 and turn west on SR 7 into Marietta.


• At the lights at 4th Street, turn right onto 4th.


• Go At Scammel Street, turn right and to 1 block to 5th.


• Scammel deadends into 5th and the cemetery.

Additional pictures.

Additional information:

Ohio History Central
Ancient Earthworks of Eastern North America: The Ancient Works at Marietta, Ohio...
Mounds of Mariettal Brochure (pdf)

Marietta Indian Mounds: Quadranaou Mound and the Sacra Via

There is not much remaining of the original mound complexes in Marietta. As the town grew, the mounds disappeared. There are three mounds left. The Quadranaou Mound/Camp Tupper site consists of the Quadranaou Mound—a flat-topped rectangular mound. The outer earthworks are gone and so are the walls marking the Via Sacre from the mounds to the river. What is left is a three acre city park with a cute little gazebo, several monuments honoring local historical figures. Someone has put name labels on all the trees in the park. The area was used as a Civil War camp called Camp Tupper.


Hours: Daily at any time.
Location: Warren and 4th Streets, Marietta, Ohio.

• Exit I 77 at Exit 1 onto SR 7 west into Marietta.
• At the traffic light at 4th Street turn right (northwest) onto 4th.
• Go 6 blocks to Warren--the park with the mound will be on your left.
  

Additional information:

Marietta Earthworks

Ohio History Central: Marietta Earthworks

Ancient Earthworks of Eastern North America: The Ancient Works at Marietta, Ohio...
Mounds of Marietta Brochure (pdf)

The Octagon Earthworks/ Newark Earthworks

The Octagon Earthworks have been preserved in part because they have been incorporated into a private golf course. The picture is a view of the walls of the octagon with one of the flat-topped corner mounds being used as a tee. The mound is located between the two small trees in the center of the picture.

A viewing tower allows you to see the mounds during the day. There is also a public path (follow the signs) that will allow you to walk around the outer edges of the circle earthwork complex that is linked to the octagon with a walled procession way. The path ends near the Observation Mound which looks toward the rising of the moon at one of its solstices.

Monday mornings visitors are allowed to walk on the course to view the mounds more closely unless there is a special golfing event scheduled. The Ohio Historical Society sponsors several days when guides will interpret the mounds. The next event is scheduled for October 19.

When you are in the area, you may also want to visit two related sites: The Great Circle Earthworks and the Wright Earthworks.

Additional pictures.

Hours

Directions

Wright Earthworks/Newark Earthworks

The Wright Earthworks are a remnant of the large complex of earthworks located in Newark. This site is a testimony to how much has been lost. It consists of the corner of what was a much larger earthwork. What remains is at the end of a short, deadend street, and is crammed in between a business, a private residence and the highway. It is marked by a plaque explaining the site and its relation to the larger earthwork complex. The picture is of the corner of the earthwork.

While you are in Newark visit its related sites: The Great Circle Earthwork and The Octagon Earthwork.

Additional pictures.
Hours
Location

The Great Circle Earthworks/Newark Earthworks

The Great Circle Earthworks are impressive even though the mounds remaining are just a portion of the original complex. The circle is about 1200 feet across with walls between 8-14 feet high. The picture is a view of the encircling wall. In the center of the circle are four joined mounds called the Eagle Mound. These mounds were built to cover a Hopewell great house. Just beyond the Eagle Mound is a low crescent moon-shaped mound.
When you first walk through the gap in the wall that leads into the site, you will get a sense of a large space open to the sky. Originally the inner sides of the encircling walls were covered in brown gravel. Even now with trees in the space and no gravel, the area inspires a sense of awe.
Outside the gate and leading away from the circle are parallel walls that used to create a walkway to another part of the mound complex. Now the enclose the museum and visitors' center.
Inside the Visitors Center, you can view a great interactive video that explains the history of the mound complex, how it was built, and how it might have been used. Copies of the cd are for sale in the gift store. The museum was not open the day I visited.
There is plenty of parking and picnic shelters are available.
The Great Circular Earthworks are located in Heath, Ohio, off SR 79. While you are in the area, visit two other sites that were originally part of the larger complex of earthworks: The Wright Earthworks and the Octagon Earthworks.

Additional pictures.
Directions
Hours
Fees
Additional information:

• StateParks.com
  
• Newark Earthworks--Wikipedia
  
• Ohio History Central: Great Circle Earthworks
  
• Ohio Archaeology Blog