With the Division Act of 1800, the U.S. Congress divided the Northwest Territory at a line essentially the present boundary of Indiana and Ohio. The Indiana Territory stood west of the line. The name Northwest Territory was retained for the land . . . — — Map (db m14627) HM
Built 1806-7. Home of Thomas Worthington, United States Senator and Governor of Ohio.
Presented to the State of Ohio by Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Fetterolf as a memorial to her parents. Restored and administered by The Ohio State Archaeological and . . . — — Map (db m245009) HM
When Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Jesus lived, the Hopewell culture built and used Mound City Group. We do not know what the Hopewell called this sacred place, but early archeologists named it for the great number of mounds found here. In 1846 . . . — — Map (db m21023) HM
[Marker Front]:
To provide direction and stability to the economy, Congress created the nation's largest lending agency in 1816, the Second Bank of the United States. Branch banks were established around the country, two of them in . . . — — Map (db m14630) HM
Side A: Birthplace of Lucy Ware Webb Hayes
First Lady Lucy Ware Webb Hayes was born in this four-room Federal Vernacular house in 1831. Well educated for her time, she attended local schools, took classes in the preparatory department of Ohio . . . — — Map (db m14655) HM
[Marker Front]:
Born in Chillicothe in 1872, Burton Stevenson's life was devoted to the written word as a prolific author and anthologist, and as a librarian. Following stints as a journalist while a student at Princeton University and then . . . — — Map (db m14683) HM
Situated on land owned by Thomas Worthington, Camp Bull was a stockade constructed in this vicinity to confine British prisoners of war during the War of 1812. When Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry defeated the British fleet on Lake Erie on September . . . — — Map (db m269180) HM
Side A:
The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917. Largely through the efforts of Chillicothe attorney John Poland, the War Department selected Chillicothe as the site of an army training camp for inductees from Ohio, West . . . — — Map (db m14640) HM
The thousands of men who during 1917-1918 became soldiers here under the training of Maj. General Edwin F. Glenn of the 83rd Division and in other units. . . The thousands of men who under the guidance of A. Bentley & Sons of Toledo, Ohio, in two . . . — — Map (db m14641) HM
Maj. Wh. Poland, Treas. Park Comm., Chillicothe, O.
Dear sir: the cannon sent you for Yogtangee Park was captured from the British under Lord Dunmore at the Battle of Great Bridge, Va. Dec. 9 1775; The Americans being under command of John . . . — — Map (db m213173) HM WM
In June 1917, the War Department took possession of the Mound City Group mounds. With President Woodrow Wilson's commitment to fight Germany in World War I, the nation needed places to train its troops. As 2,000 buildings were feverishly built, . . . — — Map (db m304849) HM
In Memory of Catherine Gougar
Pioneer wife and mother. Born in New Jersey 1732. Captured by Indians 1744, in Berks Co. PA and for five years held a captive at and near this place. Sold to French Canadian traders she served in Canada . . . — — Map (db m59434) HM
Archaeology is the science of decoding what ancient people
left behind, The pattern of holes found in the ground here
represents the decoding of one of the most distinctive
traditions of the Ohio Hopewell, the construction and use
of . . . — — Map (db m166829) HM
The state of Ohio was made possible by the treaty of Paris, 1783, which made the great
lakes the northern boundary of the new United States. In 1787 congress established the
Northwest Territory, dedicated to freedom and public education, with . . . — — Map (db m221650) HM
The oldest commercial enterprise in Ohio, the Chillicothe Gazette began publication on April 25, 1800, as Freeman's Journal and Chillicothe Advertiser. That October it became the Scioto Gazette, and Chillicothe has had a Gazette ever since. It is . . . — — Map (db m14652) HM
You're standing at the gateway of one of
the Junction Group's large, sacred circles.
THE LARGE MAJORITY of Ohio's 600+
geometric earthworks are circles. Many were built by the
earlier (pre-Hopewell) Adena culture as long as 2,500 . . . — — Map (db m251246) HM
In testimonial and public recognition of the renovation and restoration of the Probate and the Juvenile Divisions of the Common Pleas Court, the Ross County Bar Association memorializes and commends the Board of County Commissioners of Ross County, . . . — — Map (db m14661) HM
Governor Mike DeWine dedicated this site to honor
the lives that were lost, the sacrifices, and the bravery of so many
Ohioans to care for others during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
May this memorial grove be a place of peace, solace, . . . — — Map (db m247626) HM
John F. Kennedy was our
35th president, 1961 to
1963. He was assassinated
during a televised motorcade
in Dallas, Texas. This
shocked to Americans who
were watching the event.
This tree is planted at his
gravesite at Arlington
National . . . — — Map (db m253230) HM
Three interior-ditched crescents complete
the perimeter of the Jurcion complex. JUNCTION'S THREE CRESCENTS suggest
that whatever was being enclosed here also had an important
relationship with the large, open area in the center of
the . . . — — Map (db m252562) HM
(Marker 1, Native Americans)
During the course of Chillicothes history many diverse groups have come to inhabit the area with the earliest being the Native American as early as the late 1600's. During the American Revolution, the Shawnees . . . — — Map (db m14644) HM
Mound 1, covered with trees in the woods before you, is much the way Squier and Davis found Mound City's earthworks in 1846. By 1,500 years ago the high ceremony of the Hopewell culture had declined. They stopped building large ceremonial centers . . . — — Map (db m304848) HM
This classic Gothic Revival home built in the early 1850s, was one of Ohio's early wineries with terraced hillside vineyards overlooking the city of Chillicothe. From 1919 until his death in 1966, it served as the home and working studio of noted . . . — — Map (db m14656) HM
COVID-19 Pandemic Memorial Grove
Dedicated in 2021, the COVID-19 Pandemic Memorial Grove honors the lives that were lost, the sacrifices made, and the bravery of so many Ohioans who cared for others during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Trees . . . — — Map (db m281580) HM
City Engineer 1964-1971
President of the Rotary Club 1975-1976
Member of the Medical Center Construction Board
Member of Community Improvement Corporation
Advisor to Chillicothe-Ross Library Board
Chairman of Chillicothe Streetscape . . . — — Map (db m14664) HM
In front of you was once the edge of a great ceremonial centos Built by
the Hopewell people about the time Christianity blossomed, this site
also represents a blossoming religion and culture. Not unlike the great
cathedrals, mosques, and temples . . . — — Map (db m248262) HM
Although small and rather ordinary, this mound (Mound 8) contained a remarkable find. Nearly 200 pipes-mostly broken-were discovered here. Skillfully carved from stone, the pipes faithfully detailed human heads and indigenous animals. The pipe . . . — — Map (db m20994) HM
A large number of spear-heads. .. beautifully chipped .
had been placed here; but, out of a bushel or two of
fragments, four specimens only were recovered entire.
Squier and Davis, 1846
Erected 1917 by Richard Enderlin
Co. B. 73 Regt. O.V.V.I.
to the memory of his comrades
who helped to preserve the Union
LOYALTY — — Map (db m14645) HM
In July 1824, David Nickens assisted by the Rev. Nathan Cory and Rev. William White brought together a group of people in his home for the purpose of organizing a Baptist Church. The new church selected the name of the First Regular African . . . — — Map (db m202515) HM
Here stood the two-story log house in which sat the first court of Ross Co., 1798. Here met the Legislature of the N. W. Territory, 1800-1801-1802. In the War of 1812, this was the U. S. Arsenal and Barracks. — — Map (db m14770) HM
On Mordecai Hopewell's Ohio farm archeologists excavated Indian mounds in 1891 and found copper ornaments, stone tools, effigy pipes, obsidian spear points, ornamented bear teeth, shark teeth, intricately carved bones, mica cutouts, and much more. . . . — — Map (db m248152) HM
This post, and the post on the opposite side of the road, were unearthed nearby during a road widening project in the summer of 2006. They were part of a set of four concrete posts erected in October 1919 at the northern entrance to Camp Sherman, an . . . — — Map (db m14642) HM
The earliest evidence of the domestication of goosefoot in North America goes back 3,500 years. This nutritious plant was a relative of the now-popular quinoa and packed with protein. The leaves could have been eaten as greens, and the seeds could . . . — — Map (db m200839) HM
On this site, on January 4-7, 1808, the six Masonic lodges then existent in the state met and formed the Grand Lodge of Ohio. General Rufus Putnam of Marietta was elected the first Grand Master. Because of advanced age and failing health, he . . . — — Map (db m14660) HM
History The hills where you stand were inspiration for the design of the Great Seal of then
State of Ohio. The seal, first depicted in 1803, was often reconfigured until the
present image was sanctioned by the Ohio General Assembly in 1967 and . . . — — Map (db m247618) HM
Dwight D. Eisenhower was
the 34th President, 1953
to 1961. His nickname
was "Ike", he was a five star
U.S. General and Supreme
Commander of WWII.
The seed came from his
home in Denison, Texas. — — Map (db m253225) HM
This drinking fountain was erected in memory of Harold "Pat" White Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II and longtime Chillicothe businessperson. For over 30 years Pat was an enthusiastic participant and promoter of physical fitness, . . . — — Map (db m82202) HM
The Chillicothe Gazette, published since 1800, is the oldest newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains and the oldest business establishment in Ohio. The newspaper played an important part in American history, specifically through its part in . . . — — Map (db m14651) HM
The Hopewell Culture's Artistic Florescence.
Between 2,200 and 1,500 years ago the Hopewell Culture
flourished in the eastern half of North America, becoming
one of the most influential cultures to ever to exist on our
continent. . . . — — Map (db m166836) HM
The World's Most Spectacular Concentration of Ancient Earthworks
No where else on earth are there so many of these unique ceremonial complexes so close together. Many scientists suspect that Ross County, Ohio, may have been . . . — — Map (db m304850) HM
This ceremonial center includes an earthwork
enclosing more than 120 acres and 35 mounds. The site
has given its name to the Hopewell Culture, which
flourished from 200 BC to A.D. 500.
Preservation of this site was made possible by . . . — — Map (db m247822) HM
A great ceremonial center we now call Hopewell Mound Group once stood in the open
field west of here. Covering more than 100 acres, it was a place of social and religious
activities. Some 2,000 years ago people likely came here on pilgrimages, . . . — — Map (db m248151) HM
As you look across this field, almost a mile
in distance, there once was an enormous
grometric earthwork complex. It covered
100 football fields in area and reached to
the line of trees you can see in the
distance. Two miles of earthen . . . — — Map (db m248261) HM
Two thousand years ago, people of an
advanced culture gathered here to
conduct revered ceremonies.
Although the Chillicothe area boasts an extraordinary
number of giant earthwork complexes, Hopewell
Mound Group was perhaps the . . . — — Map (db m248707) HM
Joseph Carter Corbin's work in the Reconstruction-era south after
the Civil War created many educational opportunities for African
Americans. Corbin (1833-1911) was a professor, administrator, journalist,
linguist, and musician. Born in . . . — — Map (db m247512) HM
New imaging technology has both confirmed and corrected the old 1800s map. THE JUNCTION EARTHWORKS were first mapped in the 1840's by Ephriam Squire and Edwin Davis and included in their book, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley . . . — — Map (db m252564) HM
Domesticated in the Midwest around 4,000 years ago, marshelder seeds sometimes reached three times the size of their wild ancestors. It is now extinct in its domesticated form (I. annua var. macrocarpa). Marshelder supplied a source of plant . . . — — Map (db m200840) HM
Maygrass seeds are highly nutritious & are some of the most common members of the Eastern Agricultural Complex found at Hopewell and Late Woodland sites. Maygrass was cultivated, but shows no signs of domestication. Its seeds were likely eaten, and . . . — — Map (db m200843) HM
With the building of Camp Sherman, the army leveled this mound-Mound 13-to three feet above ground and built a barrack over it. In 1920 Ohio archeologists led by William Mills excavated the mound and were astonished to uncover the cremated . . . — — Map (db m20996) HM
The Hopewells are the Egyptians of the United States,
packing their earthen "pyramids" with a dazzling array.
Mound 25, in front of you, was originally three separate mounds, first
recorded with maximum dimensions of 13 feet high, 18 feet wide, . . . — — Map (db m248137) HM
The Hopewell people built their mounds with care,
as evidenced here at Mound 7Central Mound-the
largest of the Mound City Group. It was not just a
matter of piling up dirt; layers of clay, sand, and gravel
were sequenced in complex patterns. . . . — — Map (db m166827) HM
In memory of
Nathaniel Massie
Revolutionary War Veteran, Deputy Surveyor of the Northwest Territory, member of Ohio's Constitutional Convention of 1802, speaker of the Ohio Senate, First Major General, Second Division, Ohio . . . — — Map (db m202502) HM
The fruit of the tree is considered to be a "token of good luck". Originally "buckeye" was an insulting term to describe rural Ohions. — — Map (db m296691) HM
This view of Mount Logan is said to have inspired
the design of the coat of arms of the state of Ohio.
Tradition relates that Thomas Worthington, one of Ohio's first two U.S. senators; Edward Tiffin, first governor; and William Creighton, first . . . — — Map (db m234373) HM
This tree is planted in honor of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' 75th Anniversary in 2024. The Division of Forestry, one of the oldest formal forestry programs in the nation, works to protect, sustainably manage, and expand Ohio's forested . . . — — Map (db m280902) HM
This unique geometric shape is unknown
anywhere else in Ancient America. THE WORD "QUATREFOIL" refers to
a symmetrical shape made by combining identical
sections of four circles. The shape appears in the art
and architecture of other . . . — — Map (db m251483) HM
[Marker Front]:
Methodism was known in Chillicothe as early as 1796. During the early years, 1803-1821, both African American and white Methodists worshipped together in a small brick church, located on the north side of Second Street . . . — — Map (db m14665) HM
Juniperus virginiana
1903
Alongside the field of Kitty Hawk, NC
where the Wright
Brothers Orville and
Wilbur from Dayton, OH
flew on December 17th
"A Representative Tree" — — Map (db m253702) HM
This building, erected in 1940, is a replica of Ohio's first capitol. The stone below and the one beneath the opposite bronze plaque were taken from Ohio's first state house, erected in 1800 - the same year in which the Chillicothe Gazette was . . . — — Map (db m14650) HM
The Hopewell constructed earthworks
in combinations of circles, squares,
and octagons, sometimes
incorporating other more unique
shapes, such as the D-shaped
enclosure you see at Hopewell Mound
Group. Design similarities at five sites
within . . . — — Map (db m248153) HM
In honor of the Patriotic Men of Ross County who gave their lives in the war for the preservation of the Union their grateful fellow citizens have erected this monument May 30th, 1875 — — Map (db m14653) HM
The most spectacular concentration
of ancient earthworks in the world. Of
the three dozen major earthwork complexes
built by the Hopewell Culture, a full two thirds
of them fall within the boundaries of modern
Ross County. Five of these . . . — — Map (db m166837) HM
In honor of the boys from Ross County who gave their lives in the service of their country 1917 - 1919 Allen, Albert F. Bitzer, Russell Bollinger, Albert Bower, Donald B. Brown, Edward B. Brown, Elmer G. Brown, Lorain Crouse, . . . — — Map (db m14646) WM
Cultivated some 2,000 years ago, this particular variety of tobacco was the earliest in North America, and may have been more potent than later types. Smoking pipes appear in the archaeological record around the same time as evidence for tobacco a . . . — — Map (db m200833) HM
Nearly 2,000 years ago, this meadow was ringed
by precise, geometric earthworks. THIS IS NO ORDINARY grassy meadow.
American Indians gathered here long ago to build elaborate
earthen enclosures for their ritual ceremonies, feasts, . . . — — Map (db m251208) HM
Some 2,000 years ago the Mound City Group contained the highest density of mounds of any of the Hopewell earthworks, 24 in a 13-acre area. Today 22 can be counted. One of the missing mounds (Mound 15) is present in outline only, marked by the . . . — — Map (db m20839) HM
Ross County's first courthouse was Ohio's first statehouse. The courthouse was erected on the Public Square in 1801. Thomas Worthington, one of the building's superintendents, laid out the foundation. Chillicothe was the last capital of the . . . — — Map (db m173293) HM
Squashes were domesticated in eastern North America around 4500 years ago, with thicker-rinded varieties appearing around 2500 years ago. These would have looked similar to summer squashes and acorn squash varieties today. Both the flesh and oily . . . — — Map (db m200842) HM
The earthwork builders used this rounded square shape at many scales. SQUARES WITH ROUNDED CORNERS show up everywhere in Hopewell art and architecture, most famously at Mound City where the monumental enclosure takes this form. There, the . . . — — Map (db m252563) HM
Side A: The "Statehood Riots”
The first Northwest Territory assembly formally met in Cincinnati in September 1799 to initiate self-government. The legislators were deeply divided politically. The Republicans (antifederalists or . . . — — Map (db m14682) HM
Story Mound is a typical burial mound of the Adena culture, which lived in southern Ohio and neighboring parts of Kentucky
and West Virginia between about 800 BCE and 100 CE.
The Adena culture was named for the mound excavated on the . . . — — Map (db m166835) HM
First appearing in domesticated form in Tennessee some 4200 years ago, the sunflower has been widely used by American Indians throughout history as a source for protein and fat. As a food it was perhaps ground into a flour, added as an ingredient in . . . — — Map (db m200844) HM
Grown from seeds taken to the moon on Apollo XIV by Stuart Roosa, to honor Niel Armstrong from Wapakoneta, OH, the first man on the moon. — — Map (db m296687) HM
This tree is planted in honor of the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources' 75th anniversary. The Division of
Forestry, one of the oldest formal forestry programs in
the nation, works to protect, sustainably manage, and
expand Ohio's forested . . . — — Map (db m247798) HM
Many heroic men and women joined forces with others in a vast network that helped fugitive slaves secure freedom. Three groups of people were most active in the Underground Railroad movement in Ross County. They were the Presbyterians, the Quakers . . . — — Map (db m118737) HM
We, The Sons of the American Legion Squadron 62 of Chillicothe, dedicate ourselves to the preservation of these memories. To honor past, present and future generations of veterans whose sacrifice ensured the freedom of this great nation. — — Map (db m202512) HM
In recognition of the Patriotism of the People of Ross County who oversubscribed their quota War Savings Stamps in 1918 this tablet is gratefully erected by the Ohio War Savings Committee — — Map (db m221633) HM WM
Take to the Trails
Whether it's hiking, mountain biking, or horseback riding, there's a trail for everyone, including a fitness trail. There's more than 20 miles of trails that vary in length and difficulty, so plan accordingly before . . . — — Map (db m281579) HM
From the home of
Harriet Beecher Stowe,
author of "Uncle Tom's
Cabin", of Cincinnati,
Ohio. Brothers George
and Willem Beecher were
ministers of the Second
Presbyterian Church,
Chillicothe, Ohio — — Map (db m253232) HM
Two thousand years ago different
American Indian groups throughout
eastern North America began using a
similar set of beliefs, practices, and
symbolism. Two trademarks of this
culture were the construction of
earthworks and the manufacture . . . — — Map (db m247827) HM
Memorial shelter dedicated September 1984, to the memory of
William Addison "Billy" Ireland
1880-1935 a noted cartoonist for The Columbus Dispatch who initially proposed establishing a State Park for the Great Seal of Ohio on May 26, 1935. . . . — — Map (db m281582) HM
