Israel Ludlow: The Man That Surveyed Ohio

Although not particularly of an archaeological nature I thought the following would be of interest. One can only imagine the awe and astonishment experienced by the first technically trained surveyors as they came across the mounds and earthworks that once covered the landscape of Ohio. These individuals had the distinct privilege to be among the very first to see them in their pristine state with the ability to recognize and understand the sophisticated engineering involved in their construction. I really wonder what they thought. One of these elect few was Israel Ludlow, the man who surveyed Ohio, or so it would seem. He was one of those remarkable individuals that appeared to be everywhere and do everything. Although not a Daniel Boone or a Simon Kenton without him and his colleagues would we really know where we are in Ohio. The following is part of an article that appeared in Professional Surveyor Magazine, March 2009



After the Revolutionary War had ended in 1783, many eastern settlers migrated to the Ohio Valley in search of better land. During the 1780s, four major land surveys were conducted in the Ohio Valley, north of the Ohio River: the Virginia Military District, the Seven Ranges, the Ohio Company of Associates Purchase, and the Symmes (or Miami) Purchase.Before these lands could be legally settled, they had to be surveyed and platted. To survey these lands, certified surveyors were brought to Ohio from the east. One of those surveyors was Israel Ludlow.Israel Ludlow was born in 1765 on his family’s farm at Little Head, near Morristown, New Jersey. This farm was located near a battlefield of the American Revolution. While growing up in New Jersey, Ludlow had studied to become a surveyor.

Earlier Surveys
Ludlow had done some surveying in the Seven Ranges in 1786-87. He worked for Thomas Hutchins, the first and only Geographer of the United States. While conducting this survey, Ludlow surveyed the western boundary of the seventh range. Ludlow also surveyed for the Ohio Company Purchase in 1788-89. Here, he worked for general Rufus Putnam. Ludlow surveyed along the Ohio River and along the northern boundary of the Donation Tract. This northern boundary bears the names of Ludlow’s Line or Israel Ludlow’s Survey.

Cincinnati
In 1787, Hutchins had ordered Ludlow to report to judge John Cleves Symmes to survey Symmes’ land. In 1788, Ludlow traveled to the Northwest Territory to survey the Symmes Purchase.Ludlow was their first surveyor and was the surveyor who laid out the east-west base line for this survey. He located this base line at a point six miles north of the southern-most point in the Symmes Purchase.In January 1788, three proprietors, Matthias Denman, Colonel Robert Patterson, and John Filson, purchased about 800 acres of land from Symmes for less than $500. Denman provided the money, Patterson provided the first 30 settlers, and Filson would survey the tract and establish this new town. On September 22, 1788, Ludlow, Symmes, Denman, Patterson, Filson, and more than 50 other men arrived to begin the survey. Unfortunately, Filson disappeared while surveying and was presumed killed by the Indians. Ludlow subsequently assumed Filson’s interest in establishing this new town.On December 28, 1788, a second group of men landed and founded this new town. This new town would be called Losantiville: a composite of words meaning “city across from the mouth of the Licking River.” The “L” was for the Licking River, “os” was Latin for its mouth, “anti” was Greek for opposite, and “ville” was French for city.By January 7, 1789, Ludlow had surveyed the town’s tract and had platted the town. Ludlow had surveyed two types of lots for this town: 30 out-lots of four acres each and 30 in-lots of one-half acre each. As an incentive to lure settlers into this new town, the three proprietors offered the first 30 settlers a free in-lot and a free out-lot. On their out-lots, each new settler had to raise two successive crops of not less than one acre. On their in-lots, within two years each settler had to build a house of at least 25 square feet and at least 1½ story high and with a clay, stone, or brick chimney. Initially, the settlement of Losantiville was slow and only a few cabins were built. Three cabins were built on the in-lots; 20 cabins and a single frame house were built on the out-lots.In August of 1789, General Josiah Harmar selected a site just west Losantiville as the site for Fort Washington. With this new fort for protection, settlement increased. By 1790, there were about 500 residents of Losantiville. By 1791, there were about 700 residents.On January 2, 1790, general Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, established Hamilton County and made Losantiville its county seat. Because St. Clair disliked the name of Losantiville, he changed its name to Cincinnati.Cincinnati was named in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, which was an organization of former officers of the American Revolution and of which St. Clair was a member. The society was named for the retired Roman dictator, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who left his farm to lead his Roman soldiers to victory, then returned to his farm. Aside from St. Clair, other members of this society were Israel’s father, Cornelius Ludlow, and President George Washington. Although there were troubles with the Indians in the area during that time, Ludlow continued to survey Symmes Purchase. Ludlow had repeatedly asked for military protection while surveying but was denied. In 1790, Ludlow built a blockhouse along Mill Creek, which he named Ludlow Station (present-day Cumminsville, Ohio). In 1796, Ludlow built a frame home, which many people called the Ludlow mansion.Ludlow, who had obtained the rank of colonel, completed the survey in early 1792. On May 5, 1792, Ludlow sent his final report to secretary of the treasury Alexander Hamilton. In his report, Ludlow stated, “I now have the satisfaction to present to you the whole of the survey of the Ohio and part of the Miami purchases executed agreeably to instructions.”

Hamilton
On October 30, 1794, General Jonathan Dayton had acquired the entire third or Military Range of the Miami Purchase. On December 12, 1794, in a fractional section, Ludlow laid out and platted a new town. On July 27, 1795, Ludlow had acquired full ownership of the fractional section of Number 2 in Township 1 and Range III. Some of this surveyed this land was located near Fort Hamilton.While surveying this town, every street was 65-feet wide. The main street (High Street) was 99-feet wide, the alleys were 16-feet wide, and all in-lots were 99 by 198 feet.The rest of the land was surveyed in 1795-97. However, the town plat was not recorded until April 28, 1802. Initially, this new town was to be called Fairfield. However, its name was later changed to Hamilton, after Alexander Hamilton.Ludlow became the sole proprietor of that town. He donated a square for public buildings and another square for a church and a cemetery. He also donated $4,200 for the construction of the county court house.

Dayton
On August 20, 1795, a group of men agreed to purchase Ranges VII and VIII of the Miami Purchase, which was located between the Little Miami and the Mad Rivers, from Symmes. Unfortunately, it was later discovered that Symmes did not own this land and that these men had to obtain that land title directly from the federal government.This group consisted of St. Clair, General Dayton, General James Wilkinson, William McMillan, and Colonel Ludlow. They had planned to build three new settlements in that area.On September 21, 1795, two surveying parties under Daniel C. Cooper and Captain John Dunlap set out to survey the ranges and to clear out a road. On November 4, Ludlow laid out a new town at the junction of the Great Miami and the Mad Rivers and named it Dayton, after General Dayton.Dayton was platted into 280 in-lots, each measuring 100 by 200 feet, and 50 out-lots, each measuring 10 acres. The original north-south streets were named St. Clair, Jefferson, Main, Ludlow, and Wilkinson Streets.The first settlers would each receive a donation of one out-lot and one in-lot. Their lot locations were chosen by lottery. These same first settlers were also given the option of purchasing an additional 160 acres at $1.13 per acre.In Cincinnati, 46 men and their families had agreed to relocate into the Dayton area, but only 19 of those men had fulfilled that agreement. On April 1, 1796, those first settlers finally arrived into the area.

Greenville Treaty Line
On August 3, 1795, a treaty at Fort Greenville (present-day Greenville, Ohio) was signed between General Anthony Wayne and several Indian tribes of the Northwest Territory. Under this new treaty, the United States received about two-thirds of present-day Ohio.A boundary line was established to mark this new territory. This line began at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie and ran up the river to the portage with Tuscarawas River and down the Tuscarawas River, to a crossing about one mile above Fort Laurens. From this crossing, the line ran southwesterly to Fort Loramie, then northwesterly to Fort Recovery, then in another southwesterly direction to the Ohio River, across from the mouth of the Kentucky River.In January 1797, General Putnam, the first Surveyor general, hired Ludlow to survey this new boundary line. On July 9, Ludlow began surveying the boundary line from the crossing north of Fort Laurens to Fort Loramie. This line ran S. 78 degrees, 50 minutes W. for 153 miles and 2,310 feet.On August 3, 1799, Ludlow began surveying the boundary from Fort Loramie to Fort Recovery. This line ran N. 81 degrees, 10 minutes W. for 22 miles and 3,399 feet.A few days later, on August 8, Ludlow began surveying the boundary from Fort Recovery to the Ohio River, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River. This line ran S. 11 degrees, 35 minutes W. with only six miles being in present-day Ohio.

Later Surveys
In 1798, Ludlow surveyed land west of the Great Miami River. He surveyed from the Great Miami to a line that ran north from the Ohio River at the mouth of the Great Miami. This new line would become both the first principal meridian and Ohio’s western boundary.After the Greenville Treaty Line was surveyed in 1799, Ludlow surveyed part of the boundary line between the Miami Purchase and the Virginia Military District. From the source of the Little Miami River, Ludlow ran his line approximately 20 degrees west of north to the Greenville Treaty Line. This was a distance of nearly 42 miles. This line, which was adopted by Congress in 1804, was named the Ludlow Line.

Later Years
On November 11, 1796, Ludlow married Charlotte Chambers of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. They had four children.After a four-day illness, Ludlow died on January 21, 1804, at the Ludlow mansion, at the age of 38. He was buried with Masonic honors at the First Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, which was located upon a square he had donated for churches, schools, and courts.
Bill Pickard

Frontiers in Ohio Archaeology

Announcing the 2010 SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park Lecture Series

Frontiers in Ohio Archaeology

This presentation series will explore new directions in Ohio Archaeology and provide updates on some of Ohio's celebrated archaeological sites. All presentations are free and open to the public.

Saturday, 9 January, 10:30 AM
Shipwrecks and Archaeology on the Great Lakes with Carrie Sowden from the Great Lakes Historical Society.

Saturday, 13 February, 10:30 AM
Pickawillany: an 18th Century Miami Village with Andy Hite from the Piqua Historical Area

Saturday, 13 March, 10:30 AM
Recent Excavations and geophysical discoveries at the Moorehead Circle, Fort Ancient with Robert Riordan from Wright State University

Saturday, 10 April, 10:30 AM
Going High-Tech to locate Ohio's past: geophysics and the archaeology revolution with Jarrod Burks from Ohio Valley Archaeological Consultants

For more information, contact SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park
2301 West River Road
Dayton, OH 45418
(937) 268-8199
www.sunwatch.org

A View Within the Circle, Part II: Inside Looking Out

In an earlier blog post I provided a brief history of how that magnificent earthwork just south of Newark known as the Great Circle managed to survive the onslaught of progress and civilization over the past two centuries first by serving both as a state and county fairgrounds and then as Idlewilde Park, sort of a forerunner of the Cedar Point/Kings Island amusement venues of today. It's possible that much of its survivability in those days was due in large part to its mystique as “the Old Indian Fort” as anything else of a more noble nature. A reporter from a Columbus newspaper, writing in 1877, declared that "Licking County can rightfully lay claim to the finest Fair Grounds, all things considered, in the State." He remarked upon the "splendid shade trees," the excellent display of stock, and the extravagantly beautiful Floral Hall, but he was especially charmed by the mysterious "circular earthwork overlooking the track and grounds." But what of the history of the Great Circle history before the Euro-American concept of its history began? It lay more or less fallow for nearly two millennia before it was “discovered” by early settlers, but it must have truely been a sight to behold in its original condition. Obviously, for the builders to have invested so much labor, it had to have been a place of notable importance, a sacred place, a festive place where achievement was celebrated, a place of obligation and commemoration and a gathering place for esteemed and prominent leaders. The ceremonies and pageantry that took place there in the distant past can only be imagined.

The last fair was held at the Great Circle in September of 1933. That same year Emerson F. Greenman of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society began restoration of the earthwork in an attempt to return it to at least a semblance of its long past former self. It was the height of the Great Depression and his crew was made up largely of city unemployed paid from the Newark Relief Fund. Well into the 20th century the Great Circle continued to see its share of use and abuse as a county fairgrounds and finally as an amusement park and I have been told that as late as 1932 the race track remained a favored venue for motorcycle racing. It was about time to treat the Great Circle with the respect due such a magnificent example of human endeavor. As could be expected the restoration work at the Great Circle went slowly at first but good things are worth waiting for. However, going back to an earlier time, a time when the public seemed to be proudly content with county fairs and other recreational diversions at the site of the “Old Indian Fort” and there are two events in particular that bear mention and rise above what might seem to be the site’s then typical uses.

In October 1861 Camp John Sherman was established at the Great Circle as a training installation for the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. John Sherman was a noted judge and politician in Ohio at that time and younger brother of General William Tecumseh Sherman. The regiment shipped out in early February 1862 and was involved in heavy action just six days later at Fort Donelson,. The76th served in exemplary fashion throughout the war having been engaged in 47 battles, while covering more than 9,000 miles of march. The unit was disbanded in July of 1865. On July 22, 1878 the 76th assembled one more time at the Great Circle as hosts of the Grand Reunion of the Veteran Soldiers and Sailors of Ohio. Between 15,000 and 20,000 veterans and friends were in attendance. Among the invited dignitaries that day were President Rutherford B. Hayes, General James A. Garfield, General William T. Sherman and Ohio Governor Richard M. Bishop. A speaker’s platform was built at the site of the Eagle Mound and as the veterans and others eagerly jammed into the circle to witness the proceedings. Part way through the program, the platform began to collapse and President Hayes and General Sherman, according to an account published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, "only saved themselves by springing forward out of their chairs, which tumbled back into the ruins." Disaster was averted and Newark spared the infamy of being responsible for the deaths of both a US president and a favorite son Civil War hero. It has been alleged that Sherman was later heard to remark something to the effect that “in a single afternoon one drunken carpenter nearly accomplished what 400,000 Rebels with loaded muskets failed to do in four years”. Such is life.

Just six short years later on October 13, 1889 the Great Circle was the backdrop for William F. Cody and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, perhaps the greatest entertainment extravaganza of its day. The Wild West was a grand celebration of horsemanship combined with an array of cowboys, scouts, shootists and “Brawny Braves of Bloody Records”. A handbill for the show claimed that it had the "largest delegation of wild Indians ever brought east." The show was replete with re-enactments of cavalry charges, the riding of the Pony Express, wagon train attacks and buffalo hunts. The performance would often end with a rendition of Custer’s Last Stand with Cody himself in the fatal lead role. In the inset Cody is seen posing with the great Sioux Chief Sitting Bull, who by then had sadly been reduced to a grand character in the Wild West.

In an odd artifact of history, the Wild West happened to be witnessed that day in Newark by none other than a young Warren K. Moorehead. Moorehead would go on in life to be celebrated in his own right as an antiquarian, early student of archaeology, author, academic and defender of Native American rights. Recognizing the buffalo as the lifeblood of the Plains Indians he was shocked and dismayed at the treatment received by the buffalos in what he saw as somewhat of a burlesque-like pageant. In his 1914 book The American Indian in the United States, Period 1850-1914 Moorehead related the following. “At Newark, Ohio in the early 80's when a boy, I attended Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. I shall ever remember my sensations when witnessing the grand buffalo hunt. Three or four poor old scarred bison were driven into the fair ground enclosure by some whooping cow punchers. Buffalo Bill himself dashed up alongside the lumbering animals and from a Winchester repeater discharged numerous blanks into the already powder burned sides of the helpless creatures. The crowd roared with appreciation as the cow punchers pursued and rounded up the hapless bison. Before the grandstand, Buffalo Bill reined in his steed and spurring the horse so he would prance bowed to the right and to the left. Professor Hornady's report together with other information indicates that enough buffalo were carted about the East to have formed a very respectable herd had they been permitted to remain in some favored spot in the buffalo country”.

During a later visit to Newark, Buffalo Bill told a reporter for the Newark Daily Advocate that the Newark Earthworks were “the most wonderful mounds in existence.” Oddly enough no one apparently thought to record what the western Indians thought about the earthworks built by their ancient brethren. Such is life, part II.

Restoration work at the Great Circle began in earnest in 1934 with the arrival of Civilian Conservation Corps( CCC) Company #1544 at Camp Licking-Moundbuilders. Company #1544 numbered 220 veteran enrollees and was soon busy removing fairgrounds buildings and other remnant structures as well as restoring the earthwork walls and grounds in general. About that time Dache Reeves of the US Army Air Corps captured the accompanying aerial image of the Great Circle with the fairgrounds buildings and the remnants of the pony track still visible. The CCC restoration work continued into 1936. In 1937 approximately 6.1 acres at the Great Circle Earthworks was deeded to the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society by William and Laura Wehrle and Augustine Wehrle and thus was created the park–like reservation we see today.

The first scientific exploration of the Great Circle wall took place in the summer of 1992. A relatively narrow trench was excavated on the north side of the earthwork, that side of the Circle closest to the fairgrounds out buildings and that part of the Circle that had been subject to the most abuse and degradation during that time. In the accompanying inset the results are seen as distinct layers. No artifacts or burials were encountered during the project which, it should be stated, wasn’t the point of the excavations in the first place. The excavators were much more interested in how and when the earthwork was constructed. What was gleaned from the excavations was that original construction took place somewhere about 160 BC over a truncated prairie soil that had been cleared of the uppermost layers of grass and soils. These strata contained the contaminants such as bugs, worms and toads – the stuff of the ordinary, profane world that certainly didn’t belong in the harmony or order they were trying to achieve. And it should be remembered that earthworks are in fact constructed, that is with a definite theme and purpose in mind according to a preferred set of guiding principles. By no means are they just haphazard piles of soil or simply elongated berms used to define a social space. It has also often been wondered by those who think of such things just how the original builders were able to clear the ancient forests that likely covered earthwork sites in order to construct their spectacular monuments. In the case of the Great Circle at least it would appear that needn't have happened. Pollen analysis and the presence of a truncated prairie soil at the base of the structure amply demonstrates that at the time of construction the land form was an open, savannah-like pocket prairie likely interspersed with small clusters of oak trees. There was no forest to get in the way. The project also confirmed that the so-called Salisbury Wall actually existed, at least where it was tested for. The Salisbury Wall was a low earthen embankment that circumscribed the Great Circle noted only on an early map authored in the mid 1800's by brothers James and Charles Salisbury. However, it should be noted all weren’t totally thrilled with the overall project, neither in concept nor in practice. Part way through the excavation a group of Native Americans made their feelings known and staged a protest stating their displeasure. After a certain amount of negotiating, the protesting group was invited to conduct a prayer ceremony at the site to assuage the spirit of the ancient builders and the project was allowed to proceed to conclusion.

In the past 200 or so years events at the Great Circle have included the gathering of folks to celebrate their achievements as well as the gathering of folks for camaraderie and relaxation. There have also been grand expositions of spectacular prowess and the telling of tall tales about life elsewhere. Some have found cause to marshall their forces there to go out in defense of their society, as it was their duty, to hopefully return and feted as heroes and celebrated by important dignitaries. There has also been a certain amount of rancor and discontent in the goings on.

Aside from the extraordinary there has also been the ordinary. There have been picnics and weddings and family reunions at the Great Circle. High school and college graduations have been celebrated there as individuals move through another of life’s stages toward becomming productive members of society; those who have already lived full and productive lives and have passed on have been eulogized there. All in all there has likely been a celebration on the grounds of the Great Circle for any life occasion that can be imagined. We have no way of knowing what types of ceremonies took place at the Great Circle in ancient times but I can’t help but wonder at times if there isn’t a large degree of commonality in all this past and present, a thread that ties together the long history of events at the Great Circle, the then and the now; perhaps not by type but by theme and/or circumstance. Just food for thought.
Bill Pickard

OCTAGON EARTHWORKS OPEN HOUSE OCT. 18

The Ohio Historical Society will hold the last open house of the year at the Octagon Earthworks on Sunday, Oct. 18, allowing the entire site to be “golf-free” on this day. Visitors will be able to enjoy both the earthworks and the colorful fall landscape. This year’s event is help in conjunction with Newark Earthworks Day on Oct. 17.

The site will be open to the public daylight hours with special programs being offered from noon to 4 p.m. Activities include

noon – 4 p.m. On-Going Activities

The Ohio Historical Society’s History-to-Go van will provide a number of hands-on activities for children and adults alike.

12:30 -3:30 p.m. Tours
Guided tours of Octagon Earthworks will be led by OHS staff and volunteers every hour.

2 p.m. The Tarlton Cross: An Ohio Effigy Mound?
Dr. Michael Mickelson, Professor Emeritus at Dennison University, will discuss how the origin of the Tarlton Cross, one of the so-called effigy mounds of Ohio, is uncertain. Although it has been suggested to date from the Hopewell period there are indications that it may date from a later period. Archaeological research has not provided carbon dates at this time nor have significant artifacts been recovered that would help to assign a date this site. This presentation will suggest a late prehistoric date for the site.

4 p.m. Programming concludes. Site will be available until dusk.

The Octagon Earthworks is a part of the Newark Earthworks, a complex that is 2,000 years old and at one time covered approximately four square miles. Built about 2,000 years ago by the Hopewell culture, the Newark Earthworks is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and has been declared Ohio’s official prehistoric monument of the state. The site is now being considered for nomination to the World Heritage List.

The Octagon Earthworks has operated as a golf course since 1910, and the Ohio Historical Society has administered the site since 1933. Moundbuilders Country Club leases the site from the Ohio Historical Society. While portions of the Octagon are open every day during daylight hours, the open house will be the final opportunity to see the entire site this year.Visitors also are welcome to tour the earthworks on their own, but are asked to please stay off the mounds and golfing greens. There are no restroom facilities at the buildings. Admission is free.

For further information, please call 800-600-7178

ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE WEBSITE FEATURES NEWARK EARTHWORKS

Archaeology magazine, a popular science periodical published by the Archaeological Institute of America, has added a feature on the Newark Earthworks to it webpages!

It was written by Malin Grunberg Banyasz and includes a description of the site, a thematic history, and a page with tips for visiting the site.

One of the best features of the webpage is a 360 degree interactive photograph of the Octagon Earthworks taken by Newark photographer Tim Black.

Check it out at

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/hopewell/

"HOLY ROAD" SONG BY NEWARK TEACHER

Newark teacher Mary Borgia has written a wonderful new song for the up-coming "Walk with the Ancients" program associated with Newark Earthworks Day this year!

Local Newark radio station WCLT has featured it on its webpage:
http://www.wclt.com/cffm/custom/Holy%20Road.mp3

The song is about pilgrims walking from Chillicothe to Newark along what has been called the "Great Hopewell Road."

In one verse, Mary writes --

"I hear the hidden moon
Whisper clear and wise
'Keep on moving forward
You will watch me rise

Within walls of earth
You won't believe your eyes
We'll make time stand still
As my light fills the skies.'"

The "Walk with the Ancients" will begin on October 10th at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and end with a grand entrance to the Octagon Earthworks on October 16th.

According to Richard Shiels, Director of the Newark Earthworks Center at the Ohio State University Newark Campus and one of the organizers of the event, "We are striving to teach about these Earthworks and, in particular, to teach the idea that these were places of pilgrimage. With World Heritage status on the horizon for both the Hopewell Culture Park and the Newark Earthworks, large numbers of people can be expected to travel to these sites from great distances again."

Even if you can't make the entire 60-mile pilgrimage, join us in Chillicothe on the 10th and again in Newark on the 16th.

For more details, see the Newark Earthworks Center's webpages:
http://newark.osu.edu/earthworks/Pages/WWTA.aspx

HORN'S HILL MOUND RE-DEDICATION

The ancestors of American Indians have lived in this land for more than 13,000 years. Hundreds of generations knew these hills and valleys as their home without leaving any obvious traces of their presence beyond the remnants of their camps and a great many scattered flint spear points. When loved ones died, they were cremated or buried in isolated and, as far as we can tell, unmarked graves.

Something important changed around 3,000 years ago. Certain people were buried in earthen monuments. Were these memorials to the personal greatness of particular individuals -- like the superficially similar mounds described in the European epics of the Iliad and Beowulf, or were they political statements marking territories by burying the bones of ancestors in prominent locations?

We don't know.

The Licking River Valley, however, has an unprecedented array of earthworks from the outrageously extravagant geometry of the Newark Earthworks to simple mounds on the tops of the surrounding hills, such as a small one located on Horn's Hill on Newark's north side. These earthen structures transformed the landscape from a natural environment inhabited by people to a sacred landscape defined by a people's vision.

We know very little about Horn's Hill Mound.

Emerson Greenman, a former curator of archaeology for the Ohio Historical Society, excavated it in 1933 and found -- very little. There was virtually nothing in the mound itself, but at the base, Greenman found that a pit had been dug into the floor of the mound and the remains of a single individual had been buried. But that wasn't the end of the ancient story. Greenman found only a few bones left in the crypt, so he surmised that people had later returned to reclaim the bulk of the remains for reburial elsewhere. At the conclusion of the excavation, Greenman reburied the few bones and the City of Newark erected a memorial on the site bearing the inscription, "Here was buried a patriarch of the prehistoric people."

Greenman had found no identifiable artifacts in the mound and, in 1933, radiocarbon dating had not yet been discovered, so it was impossible to assign the mound more specifically to any of Ohio's known ancient cultures.

It could have been built by the Adena, the earliest of Ohio's mound-builders; or the Hopewell, the builders of the amazing Newark Earthworks in the valley below; or the Fort Ancient culture, builders of the nearby "Alligator" Mound, which is situated on a similar hilltop just a few miles to the west. All of these early peoples built mounds during a period that extended from about 3,000 to 1,000 years ago. Any credible interpretation of the Horn's Hill Mound depends upon an understanding of its cultural context. It would mean something quite different, for example, if this was one of the first mounds ever built in the region or if it was one of the last.

Regardless of its age, the Horn's Hill Mound exists as one of the few remaining hilltop mounds that once seem to have graced nearly every hilltop along the valley of Raccoon Creek. It is an important monument to our American Indian heritage and I was honored to represent the Ohio Historical Society at the October 6th re-dedication of a memorial to what, in some ways, is comparable to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Although we don't know who this particular person might have been, they can represent all the generations of American Indian peoples that once lived here. And by honoring this person with this memorial, we show respect for all American Indians.

The City of Newark and everyone involved in this re-dedication project should be commended for this symbolic gesture that affirms our community's commitment to our American Indian heritage.


For an image of the original marker and a history of Horn's Hill Park, including the mound, read Robert Tharp's article in the Licking County Historical Society's Quarterly:
http://www.lchsohio.org/files/spring_quarterly_09.pdf