A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are the 1st for Ohio. Other UNESCO Sites include Mammoth Cave National Park, the Grand Canyon National Park and Waterton Glacier International Peace Park. It is hoped that Serpent Mound and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park will receive this designation in the future.
The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are also listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places & is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Plus, 2023 is the Hopewell Culture NHP Centennial!
Mound City Group
The mounds are scattered across southern Ohio and consist of 8 sites.
Ohio History Connection:
U.S. National Park Service:
1840s map of Mound City by Squier & Davis
It is thought that the Great Hopewell Road connected the Newark and the Chillicothe sites (60 miles / 96.56 km), but it has not been proved so far.
Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, please visit the Ancient Ohio Trail to explore Ohio’s Native American heritage and learn more about the Hopewell Culture.
Happy traveling!
Ohio State News (“Newark Earthworks earn UNESCO World Heritage designation”)
Ohio State University Press (“The Fertile Earth and the Ordered Cosmos“)