Ohio History Journal

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274 Ohio Arch

274       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON MOUND

CITY PARK

Mr. A. C. Spetnagel, Chairman of the Committee,

read the following report:

The Committee appointed to supervise the restoration of

the Mound City Group of prehistoric earthworks and the con-

struction of a state park from the tract on which they are lo-

cated, offers the following brief report:

Foreword

For the benefit of those who may not be informed, it may

be stated that the Mound City group of earthworks is one of

the most important in the state. It consists of 23 burial mounds,

lying within a rectangular earthen embankment or enclosure,

embracing 13 acres. The group was brought forcefully to the

attention of the archaeological world through its partial explora-

tion, and the report thereon, by Squier and Davis, in 1847. The

great finds of these pioneer explorers were equalled or surpassed,

however, when this Society carried out complete examination of

the group in 1919-1920.

At the time of the construction of Camp Sherman, in which

the group is located, the Director of the Museum succeeded in

averting threatened destruction of the mounds, through personal

appeal to the military authorities, and later, as above stated, ef-

fected their scientific exploration. At the close of the war, mainly

through the efforts of Mr. Albert C. Spetnagel, of Chillicothe,

the War Department of the Federal government was prevailed

upon to turn over to the Society the area on which the mound

group is located, together with desirable additional acreage --

a total of 57 acres -- in order that the noted prehistoric monu-

ments might be preserved in the form of a state park.

The site of the Mound City group is not of archaeological

interest alone: for it has been the scene of military cantonments

in three wars -- the War of the Rebellion; the Spanish-Amer-

ican War, and the late World War. Without doubt no other

site in Ohio combines, in so great a measure, records of pre-

historic and historic human activities.

Realizing the importance of the site and the desirability of

its restoration and conversion into a state park, the State legis-

lature, at its recent session, appropriated the sum of $2,000 for

this purpose.