Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

I lived in Ohio for over 30 years, attending college there (Miami University) and working in southwestern Ohio for many years after graduation. I was familiar with several of the “Indian mounds” that are found across southern Ohio. Some, like Fort Ancient and Serpent Mound, are under the ownership of the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society when I lived there). Others are under local parks authority. Some still sit on private land. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park is the only mound location in Ohio under the National Park Service, and it was to be my third park visited.

The holdings of the park are fairly spread out over the countryside west of Chillicothe, Ohio. One parcel was over 16 miles west of the Visitor’s Center on US 50. Since I was traveling east from Cincinnati along US 50, it made sense to stop here first, even though my normal practice is to stop first at the Visitor’s Center. This location held the Seip Mound. A small parking lot off of the road provided some safety from the traffic and held a few informational signs about this particular mound. The mound itself was at the far (far far) end of a huge field.

I decided to make that walk out to and around the mound. It was a fairly significant-sized mound, and signs indicated that there had been enclosed structures around it at a distance, and what appears to be an amphitheater-like area where meetings and rituals may have taken place. There were additional trails that led off through the nearby fields for those so inclined, but with temperatures already over 90F, I decided to gaze in awe and return to my car.

Twenty-five minutes later, I was at the Visitor’s Center off of Ohio Route 104. A large collection of mounds of various sizes and shapes extended through the fields just outside the back door of the center. This collection was referred to as “Mound City” and walking paths allowed for walking among the numerous mounds. I headed in a short distance, snapped some photos, then headed back out. To be honest, once you’ve seen a few dozen mounds, they start to look alike. You know – mounds of dirt with grass growing on them!

What I do find fascinating is the history behind them. The extent of the mound-building, the speculation on what their purpose was, and so on. The signs around the Visitor’s Center, and the information inside it, provided a lot of that history. These are not the last mounds that I will encounter on my National Parks tour, and I’m certain other mound sites will have different histories.

Sadly, many of the mounds in this area were destroyed in the early 10th century when the Army decided it would be a great place for a camp (apart from all these little hills). The mounds were leveled and the camp (Camp Sherman) built. Many of the mounds were restored once the Army left and the National Park Service came in, so in some cases, one is not even looking at the actual mounds built 1000 years ago. I’m always disappointed (though unfortunately not surprised) at the lack of respect so many have for the history of this land.

My intent for my visit here was to stop by all of the separate parcels owned by the NPS. There were two or three still left. However, it had been a long day (starting in western Indiana) with a morning visit in Cincinnati to the Taft house. It was 93F, and humid. One look at me in the photo by the park sign sums up how I was feeling, so I turned the car eastward and headed to Logan to spend the night.

Steve