Windsor in Ashtabula County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Prehistoric Earthworks
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The Prehistoric Erie
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 19, 2021
1. Prehistoric Earthworks Marker
Prehistoric Earthworks
Indians built a fortification across this neck of land sometime before 1650. A low wall is all that remains today of a stockade where earth had been piled at the base of posts. The stockade and the naturally steep embankments of the ridge provided a safe location for an Indian village.
The Prehistoric Erie
Indians occupied stockaded villages on high bluffs in northeastern Ohio after about 1200 A. D. Their houses were built of saplings and bark or thatch. Corn, squash, beans and other crops were cultivated with sticks and mussel-shell hoes. Food was prepared and stored in pottery jars. The Erie hunted with bows and arrows and fished with bone hooks and nets. Music was performed on flutes, drums and rattles. The culture was destroyed by the Iroquois in 1653.
Erected 1965 by The Ohio Historical Society and The Ashtabula County Historical Society. (Marker Number 1-4.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1650.
Location. 41° 31.654′ N, 80°
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Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore and in the Western Reserve. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. 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 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Christ Church Episcopal (approx. 0.6 miles away); Congregationalist Church (approx. 4.6 miles away); Fairview Cemetery (approx. 4.6 miles away); Century Outhouse (approx. 4.6 miles away); Mesopotamia Village District (approx. 4.8 miles away); Nigerian Dwarf Goat (approx. 4.8 miles away); Mesopotamia World War I & II Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.8 miles away); First Amish Settlers to Mesopotamia, Ohio (approx. 4.8 miles away).
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 19, 2021
2. The Prehistoric Erie Marker
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 19, 2021
3. Prehistoric Earthworks Marker
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 19, 2021
4. The Prehistoric Erie Marker
Photographed by Craig Doda, April 12, 2025
5. Prehistoric Earthworks / The Prehistoric Erie Marker
A tree recently fell across the mound.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 19, 2021, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 1,422 times since then and 86 times this year. Last updated on June 2, 2023, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 19, 2021, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 5. submitted on April 15, 2025, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
