Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

16062 State Route 104
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601

Phone
Visitor Information
(740) 774-1126

WELCOME to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, formerly known as Mound City Group National Monument, is a United States national historical park with earthworks and burial mounds from the Hopewell culture, a cultural complex of ancestral Native Americans. 

The park is composed of five separate sites in Ross County, Ohio. The park includes archaeological resources of the Hopewell culture, and is administered by the United States Department of the Interior's National Park Service.

In January 2008 the Department of the Interior included Hopewell Culture National Historical Park as part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, one of 14 sites on its "tentative list" from which the United States makes nominations for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[1]

Mounds of various shapes and enclosures often built in geometric patterns dot the landscape of the Ohio River Valley. These earthen structures were doubtless the work of many human hands. Evidence suggests that Hopewell earthworks were used for a variety of ceremonial and social activities between 200 BC to AD 500. Come learn about these sacred spaces and reflect upon the lives of their builders.

Archeology

The Ohio River Valley has been inhabited for over 12,000 years. Archeologists have documented thousands of sites that span this vast amount of time, including the five earthworks preserved at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.

Enjoying the Park

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park has many opportunities to learn about the people, plants, and animals that lived in Ohio in the past and in the present. Visitors can watch a 17-minute award winning film, browse the museum, take guided tours of the Mound City Group, or attend a special program.

Nature

Plants and animals are an important part of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. National Park Service staff is inventorying and monitoring species, such as bats, birds, insects, native and invasive plants, and mammals. In addition, disturbed land is being restored to native grassland designed to encourage ground nesting birds.

History and Culture

The present Hopewell Culture National Historical Park evolved in part from the former Mound City Group National Monument. The national monument was established by a proclamation signed by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 to preserve prehistoric mounds of "great historic and scientific interest." 

In 1980 Congress expanded the monument by adding a portion of the nearby Hopeton Earthworks and authorized the investigation of other regional archeological sites to determine their suitability for preservation. The National Park Service recommended four additional sites. 

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park was thus established in 1992 by a law that renamed Mound City Group National Monument, expanding boundaries at Hopeton Earthworks, and included High Bank Works, Hopewell Mound Group, and Seip Earthworks.

The park protects the prehistoric remains of a dynamic social and ceremonial phenomenon that flourished in the woodlands of eastern North America between 200 B.C. and A.D. 500. 

The term Hopewell describes a broad network of economic, political, and spiritual beliefs and practices among different American Indian groups. The culture is characterized by the construction of enclosures made of earthen walls, often built in geometric patterns and mounds of various shapes. 

The culture is known for a network of contacts with other groups, which stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountains. This network brought materials such as mica, shark's teeth, obsidian, copper, and shells to Ohio.

Picnics

A small picnic area is located near the Visitor Center and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

Groups requiring larger facilities may wish to use Yoctangee Park in Chillicothe. That park has three covered picnic shelters that are available by reservation. Please contact the Chillicothe Recreation Department by mail at 35 S. Paint St., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601, or by phone at 740-772-5626. 

Another picnic area is available at Camp Sherman Memorial Park, 1.5 miles south of Mound City on State Route 104. Playground equipment is located at both Yoctangee and Camp Sherman parks.

Did You Know?
William Mills documented the presence of 49 enclosures and 370 mounds in Ross County in his book entitled "Archaeological Atlas of Ohio," published in 1914.