National Park Service LogoU.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park ServiceNational Park Service
National Park Service:  U.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park Service Arrowhead
Hopewell Culture National Historical ParkPeople of the Hopewell culture built these mounds nearly 2,000 years ago.
view map
text size:largestlargernormal
printer friendly
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Hopeton Earthworks

This earthwork is located about one mile east of Mound City Group on a terrace east of the Scioto River. The 292-acre site consists of a square enclosure about 900 feet on a side that is joined to a circle with a diameter of about 1,050 feet. Smaller circular structures also join the square at various points, and linear parallel earthworks extend westward toward the river for about 2,100 feet from the northwest corner of the square.

A description from 1848 indicates that the circle and square walls were 50 feet wide at the base. At that time the walls enclosing the square were 12 feet high. Continued cultivation since then has reduced the earthworks to less than 5 feet in height in most places, and the small circles and parallel walls are no longer visible.

 
Historic map of the Hopeton Earthworks.
Squier and Davis 1848
Least weasel, the smallest living carnivore.  

Did You Know?
The smallest living carnivore uses the grounds at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park for hunting and nesting. Least weasels mainly prey on meadow voles, but will dine on shrews, moles, birds, and insects.

Last Updated: June 23, 2006 at 12:44 EST