This World Heritage Day, Ohio is celebrating its first UNESCO World Heritage site with the opening of a “reimagined” rest stop in Licking County that celebrates the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.
“It will be, I think, kind of like a great, overwhelming visual, for anybody that's coming through there and really a gateway to being able to visit all those sites,” said Ohio History Connection Executive Director and CEO Megan Wood.
Governor Mike DeWine, Wood and representatives from the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Department of Transportation unveiled the revamped rest stop on I-70 West in Hebron on Thursday.
The rest stop includes information about the eight Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks that became the state’s only World Heritage Site, and the 25th in the U.S., in September. The rest stop has a special focus on the nearby Great Circle and Octagon earthworks in Newark.
“It's in a perfect place that getting off at the next exit heading towards Columbus, visitors could very easily get to the Great Circle and the Octagon,” Wood said. “And it gives a lot of information that situates people, so they know where and how to get to all the sites.”
Wood said the redesigned rest stop also features motifs that the Ohio History Connection has been using in its marketing of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks and the colors of the earth and sky.
“Really, the whole theme of the interior of the place will really evoke the earthwork sites,” Wood said.
The rest stop also includes information about other historic sites and points of interest in Licking County, including Dawes Arboretum and the restored 1928 Midland Theatre, and Columbus attractions like COSI and the Columbus Zoo.
“We have a wonderful story to tell here in Ohio," said Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik. "Our ultimate goal is to inspire travelers to enjoy and extend their stay while they’re here and then return to our great state in the future.”
"You don't have to go far to find something that's important to all of humanity.”- Ohio History Connection Executive Director Megan Wood
The stop's “reimagining” is part of a larger plan to rebuild or renovate dozens of rest stops across the state.
"We are transforming Ohio’s rest areas to not only provide travelers a chance to take a break, which makes everyone safer, but also invite them to discover our beautiful Ohio,” DeWine said.
Last May, the Preble County Welcome Center on I-70 just inside Ohio’s western border, was upgraded to include native Ohio plants, dog trails, Ohio music, rocking chairs and an outdoor Storybook Trail.
It also was loaded up with information on Ohio’s history as the “birthplace of aviation,” with displays on the Wright Brothers, the National Museum of the U.S. Airforce and Ohio’s astronauts, among others.
In 2023, the state started building 33 new rest area buildings, with the last of those expected to be finished by 2026.
Dozens of other stops are slated to be updated with native landscaping and regional tourism information, like the ones in Licking and Preble counties.
Wood said she hopes that the Licking County rest stop will inspire people to visit the World Heritage Sites, including the ones in Ross County and Fort Ancient in Warren County.
“I also hope that they understand that in Ohio, we have globally significant history that is on par with places like the Roman Colosseum, Stonehenge, the Great Wall of China, and that you don't have to go far to find something that's important to all of humanity," Wood said.
