An Endangered Resource
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| Hopeton Earthworks received
very little attention during the last half
of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth
centuries. With the establishment of Mound
City Group as a national monument, park Superintendent
Clyde King encouraged action to preserve the
Hopeton Earthworks. In 1958, the National
Park Service assigned Regional Archeologist
John L. Cotter to evaluate whether Hopeton
would qualify for national historic landmark
status. Hopeton Earthworks was officially
listed as a national historical landmark in
July 1964 (Cockrell 1999). |
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From map of Earthworks published by Squire
and Davis in 1848
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Despite
sincere efforts by the National Monument
staff and local archeologists, work to preserve
Hopeton did not begin to bear fruit until
the late 1970s. Following an assessment of
the condition and significance of the site
by David Brose (1976), the National Park Service
developed a proposal for acquisition of the
site.
On December 28, 1980, the United States Congress
authorized the National Park Service to purchase
150 acres of the Hopeton Earthworks. Unfortunately,
funding for the purchase of the site was not
immediately forthcoming, and none of the site
was actually purchased until ten years later.
During that decade, the site and earthworks
were annually subjected to cultivation.
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Aerial photo of earthworks taken in 1938,
prior to modern industrial agriculture
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The
extent of damage to the earthworks
from agricultural cultivation was significant.
In a study of aerial photographs of the
site, John Blank (1985) observed that with
the introduction of the modern agricultural
practices and high-powered tractors in the
late 1950s, the earthworks were being reduced
at a rate of approximately 1.2 inches per
year. At the same time, the earthworks were
being widened at a rate of one foot per
year. Aerial photographs of the site show
that in 1938, many of the features recorded
by Squier and Davis were still fairly visible.
However, by 1966 all of the minor earthwork
features and mounds had disappeared. In
that image, the great circle, rectangle,
and parallel walls can still be seen.
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Aerial photo of earthworks taken in 1966,
after the advent of modern agriculture
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Agriculture
is not the only industry that has
eroded the integrity of the Hopeton Earthworks.
Commercial gravel quarry operations began
along the western edge of the terrace in
1984, under the name of Chief Cornstalk
Sand and Gravel Company. This operation
was greatly expanded in 1990 following the
purchase of the Cornstalk facility and a
major portion of the national historic landmark
by Chillicothe Sand and Gravel.
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Aerial photo showing gravel
quarry operations near Hopeton
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Although
gravel company officials
were sympathetic about the loss
of archeological resources from
quarrying activities, they had
a major investment in this property
and began removing topsoil and
gravel.
In 1992, Public Law 102-294
renamed the park Hopewell Culture
National Historical Park and
authorized the expansion of
the park to include further
lands at Hopeton, plus acquisition
of the Hopewell, High Bank,
and Seip Earthworks. |
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legislation provided the National
Park Service with the authority
to purchase the remaining lands
within the National Historic Landmark
boundaries that had not been impacted
by gravel quarry operations.
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