...Protecting Our Sacred History

Today, er' well yesterday rather, I took a little field trip to Chillicothe, OH. Chillicothe is a very historical rich area, it was home to the first state capital, before being moved to Zainesville, back to Chillicothe, and finally to its current resting place in the Columbus Central Ohio area.

I took a trip to the National Hopewell Culture Historical Park, where I got to walk among the mounds and earthenworks, left by a native people long since gone, and got to learn a little bit about them, as a person who enjoys history and culture it was quite interesting and enlightening, and as a Pagan, I felt a sense of power, like I was standing upon very hallowed, holy, and sacred ground,



The present Hopewell Culture National Historical Park evolved in part from the former Mound City Group National Monument. The national monument was established by a proclamation signed by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 to preserve prehistoric mounds of "great historic and scientific interest." In 1980 Congress expanded the monument by adding a portion of the nearby Hopeton Earthworks and authorized the investigation of other regional archeological sites to determine their suitability for preservation. The National Park Service recommended four additional sites. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park was thus established in 1992 by a law that renamed Mound City Group National Monument, expanding boundaries at Hopeton Earthworks, and included High Bank Works, Hopewell Mound Group, and Seip Earthworks.The park protects the prehistoric remains of a dynamic social and ceremonial phenomenon that flourished in the woodlands of eastern North America between 200 B.C. and A.D. 500.

The term Hopewell describes a broad network of economic, political, and spiritual beliefs and practices among different Native American groups. The culture is characterized by the construction of enclosures made of earthen walls, often built in geometric patterns and mounds of various shapes. The culture is known for a network of contacts with other groups, which stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountains. This network brought materials such as mica, shark's teeth, obsidian, copper, and shells to Ohio.

Did You Know? Freshwater mussels were an important resource for people associated with the Hopewell culture. Mussels were used as a food source, provided pearls for ornaments, and shells were utilized for hoes.

Source: http://www.nps.gov/hocu/historyculture/index.htm

I didnt get to visit the other sections today, all I got to do was stick in the main area known as the "Mound City Group"



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.

This link to our historical and Cultural past was threatened under the administration of Woodrow Wilson and the coming of World War 1,

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.

Source: http://www.nps.gov/hocu/historyculture/mound-city-group.htm

The Army had actually put their barracks, and other infrastructure on top of some of these mounds and destroyed them, some of the Area's Historians and Archeologist's convinced the Army to build their camp around some of these mounds as to preserve them as best they could, still other mounds were lost or heavily damaged, and so alot of these mounds have been reconstructed based on the writings and findings of local historians and archeologist's and explorers who investigated the area before Camp Sherman came into being.

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Part 2 of 2 of our Sacred history)

This part will obviously be less religiously significant, as to my knowledge there is no ceremonial or elaborate burial mounds on this property, but It is still a key historical link to this area.After visiting with what was left of the hopewell culture, the founders of this reigion, (seriously it is speculated they were probably the first inhabitants of this Eastern Forest woodland area)I went across the way, about 5 minutes, to Adena.



Now some of you may be asking yourself What "Adena" is?..and what it has to do with the hopewell, well it probably may have nothing to do with the Hopewell per say. However, it is another Key historical piece to that area.The State of Ohio's Historical Society has taken this 18th century "mansion" and did thier best to reconstruct it based on thier findings and evidence, to the time that it was owned by Thomas Worthington. Some of you may be going who is Thomas Worthington and why do I care? well Mr. Worthington, was one of Ohio's first Governors, and WAS in fact Ohio's first Senator,

Senator Worthington was very influential and the driving force, in getting our fledgling country at the time to get Statehood for the state of Ohio, the Federal Gov't wanted to make Ohio into 2 smaller states, but Sen. Worthington fought and won, statehood for the whole of what today is Ohio.

Sen. Worthington was also one of the 13 minority state leaders, that voted against going to war with Great Britain during the "war of 1812".

Throughout the years, Sen. Worthington had very prominent guests in his home, and kept correspondence with many other's. President Thomas Jefferson, was friends with Worthington, probably for a definite Political purpose, because Having Ohio in his pocket was key to a presidential re-election. Sen. Worthington had many guests in his home over the years including Jefferson, President James Monroe, Shawnee Leader Tecumseh, and Gen. William Henry Harrison.

The architecture of this home is also significant, as it is one of only a handful of private residences that is documented as being the brainchild of Famous British Architect Benjamin Latrobe, who is famous for his designs of the United States Capitol building, as well as Baltimore Cathedral.

I find all of this a fascinating page of our History, to learn what our Ancestors, from the 18 and 1900's did, as well as our ancestors from Thousands of years ago did. it is sacred to me, and I think we have a moral obligation as a people to do what we can to preserve these cultural and historial mecca center's. to learn from the past,so that we may learn from past mistakes and better our future. and we should be ever vigilante as to not let another "Camp Sherman" happen. to any of our historical and cultural landmarks, no matter how great..or insignificant they may appear to be.

*some information has been copied directly from the sources mentioned in this essay, as to do the best of my ability to make sure accurate reliable, verified information is passed along.Photo's of the Hopewell mounds and the Adena Mansion Courtesy of:

The Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Website: http://www.nps.gov/hocu/

and The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission's website: http://www.culture.ohio.gov/ http://www.culture.ohio.gov/commission/state.asp

Thank you.

I am openly admitting that I directly copied some information(the bolded and Itallacs info if you want me to be specific), from the Park websites I sourced, in an effort to try to protray reliable, verified, scholarly facts. the point of this post was simply for Historical and educational posterity and purposes, Also the images are courtesy of the sites mentioned and sourced as well, I am laying all of this out there, in an effort to be completly honest, and so that you all know that I "borrowed" my information from the sites, the other information listed, that is not bolded, as far as my knowledge, was written by me, based on my personal recollection of reading the literature, and taking the guided tours. - I am sharing this information openly, so that you see that this is strictly an honest effort to portray information accurately, and to avoid any potential copyrite violations, if any, though I do not know how that works with things in the Histoical/academic/public domain type field, nevertheless I would rather be safe than sorry, and am choosing to share this revelation with any potential reader, to hopefully squash any trouble before it gets the chance to get started. *