Mound City Group National Monument

3 miles north of Chillicothe on St. Rt. 104 The Chillicothe area is the heart of the mound builder activity in Ohio. Mound City is not actually a city, but a village, and burial site of the Hopewell Indians. It contains 13 areas enclosed by a 3-foot earthen embankment. In this area are 23 restored conical mounds.

Ephriam Squier, a Chillicothe newspaper editor, and Edward Davis, a Chillicothe physician, were the first to explore hundreds of mounds in this area during the 1840’s. They named the area Mound City. These men personally surveyed the area and recorded their finds in a book, “Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley,” in 1848. Drawings were made of many of the artifacts. They could see many similarities between the prehistoric cultures at Mexico and those of the Mississippi Valley area.

In 1920-21 Mills and Shetrone followed the excavations carefully and recorded their work.

The display in the Visitor’s Center is amazing. These items were all found in Mound City, or are reproductions of such items. Be sure and see the decorated elk and bear teeth, copper beads, copper head dresses, copper ornaments, large obsidian spear points, pottery, shell beads, tools, mica ornaments and effigy pipes. The Hopewell Indians were truly great artisans and they like beautiful things.

The Hopewell traveled and traded. The obsidian no doubt came from the Yellowstone National Park area, the mica from the Blue Ridge Mountains, shells from the Gulf of Mexico and the copper from the Lake Superior area. Many of their first trade routes are now our highways. Many also traveled in dugout canoes following rivers and streams.

Before touring the ground, you may want to go up the observation deck. Here you can see the overall view of Mound City. Then, while walking around, stop and read all the explanations of what was found at each site. It is always fun to wonder why certain artifacts were placed in mounds. The “Mounds of Pipes,” with almost 200 pipes, is a good example. The bowls of most of the pipes found in this mound were carved in miniature figures of animals, birds or people. Was the person buried in this mound a smoker, a craftsman, or a trader?

Most of the pipes were broken; possibly symbolizing the release of the object’s spirit as death released the spirit of man. Or they may have been broken in a ritural to prevent the robbing of graves.

The Charnel House site shows where cremation took place. A shaman, or medicine man in costume, was in charge of the ceremony. Gifts or burial offerings were placed in the fire. The ashes and other offerings were then put in a shallow grave and covered with a low mound of earth. Then the Charnel House was torn down and more soil was added to make the mound bigger. The bigger the mound, the more important the person buried there, they think.

Quote from from “Arts & Burials in Ancient Ohio,” Published by Eastern Park & Monument association in cooperation with the Mound City National Monument:

“The huge mounds demanded the labor of their whole community. Thus, the life of these people found its highest expression, and expended its greatest efforts, in meeting the mystery called death. With complex rites, and artistic symbols, the Hopewell people marked the pathway to eternity for their illustrious dead.”

Why the offerings? Probably for the same reason we send flowers or memorials to honor the dead. Or they may have had another reason; they may have wanted to give the dead person articles needed in the after-life. Some objects were the personal property of the deceased.

At the northern edge of Chillicothe is the Adena Mansion. This mansion was considered one of the finest houses in the west in 1807. From the mansion you can see the hills shown on the seal of Ohio. It is worth the time to visit this beautiful house. Also, enjoy the city and its landmakes. Chillicothe was Ohio’s first capital.

Squier and Davis found many other mounds and geometrical (large squares, circles, etc.) earthworks along the Scioto River. This area had many advantages for early man. The Hopewell Indians must have prospered and been happy here. They stayed from approximately 200 B. C. to 600 A. D. We do not know why they disappeared.

Below is a picture of Mound City and a layout.





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