Tuesday, October 28, 2008

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.
Additional information:

Related blog entries:

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

Friday, October 10, 2008

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.



Additional information:



Sunday, October 5, 2008

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:

Friday, October 3, 2008

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)

Thursday, October 2, 2008

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.

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.