Heath in Licking County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Pathway to Preservation

The Great Circle was Preserved as the Licking County Fairgrounds

— The Ancient Ohio Trail —

Pathway to Preservation Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, June 9, 2022

1. Pathway to Preservation Marker

Inscription.
The Great Circle was preserved as the main attraction of Licking County’s Fairgrounds between 1854 and 1933. In 1861, the site served as Camp John Sherman, the training camp for the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Seventeen years later, the site hosted a “Great Reunion of the Veteran Soldiers and Sailors of Ohio,” which nearly ended in disaster. In 1933, the Licking County Commissioners deeded the Great Circle to the Ohio Historical Society.

A Veteran’s Reunion in 1878 Nearly Ended in Disaster
President Hayes and Generals Garfield and Sherman were on the speaker’s platform, before a crowd of nearly 20,000, when it abruptly collapsed. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, they “only saved themselves by springing forward out of their chairs, which tumbled back into the ruins.”

Erected by Ohio Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Parks & Recreational Areas • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1878.

Location. 40° 2.505′ N, 82° 25.696′ W. Marker is in Heath, Ohio, in Licking County. It is on Hebron Rd (Route 79) near Parkview Drive and Hopewell Drive. This

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marker is situated in the Newark Earthworks Park, very near the front of the park’s Great Circle Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 455 Hebron Rd, Heath OH 43056, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Columbus Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Newark Earthworks (a few steps from this marker); Was this a fort? (a few steps from this marker); Monumental Works of Earth (within shouting distance of this marker); Pathway to Ancestors (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Earthen Architecture (about 400 feet away); Great Circle Earthworks (about 500 feet away); What's Missing? (about 500 feet away); An Eagle at the Center (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Heath.

Photographed by Dale K. Benington, June 9, 2022

2. Pathway to Preservation Marker

View of the marker, with a distant view of the opening to the Great Circle Mound in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 14, 2022, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 227 times since then and 15 times this year. Last updated on September 12, 2022, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 14, 2022, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.