Ohio World Heritage Week begins Saturday with day-long events at Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve in Oregonia. The week aims to highlight the state's first and only UNESCO World Heritage site, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. Events are planned at seven of the eight sites that comprise Ohio's Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks from April 12-18.
"Ohio World Heritage Week is planned by the Ohio History Connection and our partners at the National Park Service," explains Neil Thompson, manager of media and public relations for the Ohio History Connection. "We have created this celebration to focus on April 18 every year. April 18 is World Heritage Day, which is an international observance for UNESCO World Heritage sites all around the globe."
At Fort Ancient, Site Manager Bill Kennedy will lead guided tours.
"This is not just a tour where someone reads a pre-written script or talks about the site with facts — that we have for every tour. This is a site from a trained archeologist; from a subject matter expert in the field of archeology, in the field of preservation, and in the study of the American Indians of the Hopewell culture," Thompson tells WVXU.
Increased interest
It's been about a year and half since the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks were inscribed on the World Heritage List. Thompson says interest in the sites continues to grow.
"We're getting more visitors," he says. "We, and our partners at the National Park Service, we have noticed an uptick in attendance."
Ohio History Connection operates three of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks sites and the National Park Service operates the other five.
Thompson says both have noticed visitors seem to be arriving more informed than in the past.
"Previously — at Fort Ancient, especially — we would get a lot of curious people driving I-71 and they see the [sign for the site] and they stop by, and then they learn more about the site from that visit. Now we are getting some very intentional visitors, and they understand that Fort Ancient is one of the locations of these other sites that are linked throughout southern and central Ohio that are all part of this culture of American Indians who were building these places anywhere from around A.D. 1 to A.D. 400."
Ohio World Heritage Week Events
Saturday, April 12 — Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve
6123 State Route 350, Oregonia, OH 45054
10:30 a.m.: Guided tour with Site Manager Bill Kennedy. Tour lasts 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Sunday, April 13 — Great Circle Earthworks
455 Hebron Road, Heath, Ohio 43056
Noon: Free guided tour led by Site Manager Sarah Hinkelman. Tour lasts 90 minutes to 2 hours.
2 p.m.: Storytime: “Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun” with a make-and-take activity designed for children ages 3–10.
Monday, April 14* — Hopeton Earthworks
990 Hopetown Rd, Chillicothe, OH 45601
10 a.m.: Free guided tour led by a Ranger. Architecture includes earthen monuments memorializing ancestral shrines and geometric enclosures aligned to the endless cycles of the sun and moon.
Tuesday, April 15* — Hopewell Mound Group
4731 Sulphur Lick Rd., Chillicothe, OH 45601
10 a.m.: Free guided tour led by a Ranger. At 111 acres, the main enclosure here is the largest single Hopewell earthen-walled area ever found and contained the largest Hopewell burial mound ever built.
Wednesday, April 16* — Seip Earthworks
7058 US HWY 50, Bainbridge, OH 45612
10 a.m.: Free guided tour led by a Ranger. This massive complex includes burial mounds and a collection of circular structures.
Thursday, April 17* — Mound City Group
16062 State Route 104, Chillicothe, OH 45601
10 a.m.: Free guided tour led by a Ranger. This site is the only fully recreated Hopewell earthwork complex of the five managed by the National Park Service.
*National Park Service Tour Reminders
- Tours will last approximately 2 hours and will cover 2-3 miles of unpaved, uneven terrain.
- Tours are recommended for ages 12 and up.
- There are no restrooms at the Hopeton Earthworks or Seip Earthworks locations.
Friday, April 18 — Octagon Earthworks
125 N. 33rd St., Newark, OH 43055
11 a.m.– 2 p.m.: Food trucks on site.
Noon: Free guided tour. Tour lasts 90 minutes to 2 hours.
3–4 p.m.: Create-and-take activity for young visitors. The group will read Joy Harjo's "Remember," have a short presentation on the stars and moon and discuss how other cultures might have thought about time. The activity will end with participants creating their own clock or calendar to take home.
3:30–6:30 p.m.: Food trucks on site.
4:30–5:30 p.m.: TED Talk-style panel discussion: “What it Means to be a World Heritage Site,” moderated by Site Manager Sarah Hinkelman, with opening remarks from Ohio History Connection Executive Director and CEO Megan Wood and Q&A session to wrap up.
5:30–6:30 p.m.: World Heritage Ambassador reception.
6:30–7:30 p.m.: Free guided twilight tour.
Ongoing activity (11 a.m.–7 p.m.): World Heritage "bake it or make it" contest.
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