Octagon Earthworks

Octagon Earthworks. . A Wonder of the World, These walls were once the center of an ancient civilization. The Octagon Earthworks, like a modern cathedral or county fairgrounds, were a focal point for the social and religious activities of the Hopewell people about 2000 years ago. , . Octagon Earthworks are a major part of the Newark Earthworks - the largest set of geometric earthen enclosures ever built., . Octagon Earthworks include a nearly perfect circle 1,050 feet in diameter, and an octagon more than 1,500 feet across., . Octagon Earthworks may have been built as an astronomical observatory. Many of the walls and gateways are aligned to points on the horizon marking the key moonrises and moonsets in a complicated 18.6 year lunar cycle., How Octagon Earthworks Came to be Preserved, The earthworks were preserved and partially restored by the Ohio State Militia (now the National Guard) beginning in 1892. The site served as their permanent encampment, Camp McKinley, until 1908. In 1910, the Newark Board of Trade began leasing the site to Moundbuilders Country Club for use as a golf course. According to a story in the Newark Advocate, "The moving idea in getting up this club and leasing these grounds was to get them in shape, cleaned up and opened for the public benefit ..." The Ohio Historical Society acquired the site in 1933. Moundbuilders Country Club operates the site under a lease from the Ohio Historical Society., For a better understanding of this site visit the museum at the Great Circle Earthworks., Newark Works , Licking County, Timeline of Ohio's prehistoric cultures highlighting the Hopewell culture.