National Park Service LogoU.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park ServiceNational Park Service
National Park Service:  U.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park Service Arrowhead
Hopewell Culture National Historical ParkPeople of the Hopewell culture built these mounds nearly 2,000 years ago.
view map
text size:largestlargernormal
printer friendly
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Mound City Group

This earthwork consist of a 13-acre rectangular earth enclosure with at least 23 mounds. The height of the earth walls of the enclosure is about 3 to 4 feet, with an entrance or gateway on both the east and west sides. All the mounds are dome shaped except for one that is elliptical. The largest mound of the group was described by early explorers as 17.5 feet high and 90 feet in diameter. There are two additional mounds just outside the enclosure. All the walls and mounds have been reconstructed and are clearly visible. 

During World War I the Mound City Group site was occupied by a military training center known as Camp Sherman. In the early 1920s after Camp Sherman was razed, the Ohio Historical Society excavated the site and began reconstruction of the Hopewell earthworks and mounds.

 
Detail of an historic map of Mound City Group.
Squier and Davis 1848
Ship during the Battle of Lake Erie.  

Did You Know?
British soldiers captured at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812 were marched to a prison camp located near present day Mound City Group unit, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.

Last Updated: April 24, 2008 at 08:24 EST