Fort Ancient State Park

7 miles southwest of Lebanon, State Route 350. It is now accepted that the Hopewell Indians built Fort Ancient. It is situated on a plateau 290 feet above the Little Miami River. The drive from Lebanon is beautiful. Enjoy the rolling hills; the road is like a roller coaster. The 100-acre enclosure is divided into 3 parts: North Fort, Middle Fort and South Fort. With a little imagination the map of Fort Ancient looks like a map of our hemisphere: North America, Central America and South America. The walls enclosing the fortress are about 3 ½ miles long and 4 to 23 feet high. The Hopewell buried their dead under mounds in all 3 forts. The entire area was used for religious and social ceremonies. The Hopewell was identified by pottery, tools and ornaments found in the area by archaeologist. They also farmed, traded; smoked effigy pipes and had elaborate ceremonies, according to those same archaeologists. Sometime around 1200 AD, the Fort Ancient Indians lived in the fort and built 2 small villages on the out side. The excavation of the Anderson Village site on the Little Miami River bank yielded 150 burials. Bodies were buried in an extended position. Some graves were lined with bark while others were lined with limestone. Prospect Point gives one a spectacular view of the Little Miami for below. It is obvious why this area was chosen for the fort. Directly behind Prospect Point was the center of the mound builders’ largest burial ground, where 300 graves were opened. The Fort Ancient Museum has attractive displays of religious customs, art and relics from the fort and pre-historic Indian villages.

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