Among the fields of the Paint Creek valley in southern Ohio, a few kilometres from Chillicothe, lies a patchwork of low grassy ridges that once formed one of the largest earthwork enclosures in North America. The Hopewell Mound Group is the site that gave its name to the whole Hopewell culture, which flourished in the Ohio valley from about 200 BC to AD 500. It was named after Mordecai Cloud Hopewell, on whose farm it stood in the nineteenth century. The enclosure originally surrounded about a hundred hectares, with walls and many mounds, and archaeologists have found rich deposits of ceremonial objects within.
The Hopewell people did not live here in a city; they gathered for ceremonies and burials, and their exchange network spanned the continent. Copper came from the Great Lakes, mica from the southern Appalachians, obsidian from the Yellowstone region, and shells from the Gulf of Mexico, all turned into ornaments, headdresses and effigies of birds and animals. The sheer scale of the earthworks, laid out with astronomical alignments, speaks of a society that organised labour and ritual on a grand scale. UNESCO listed the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in 2023, together with the nearby Octagon and High Bank Works.
What remains today is subtle. The walls are gentle rises in the grass, the old mound outlines are marked by mown patches, and a walk across the site on a cold morning, with mist on the field and the oaks bare, gives a calm, thoughtful feeling. It rewards people who like to imagine the past more than those who want grand monuments.
The ride is a pleasure in itself. The roads around Chillicothe cross rolling farmland and wooded hills at the edge of the Appalachian plateau, with long curves, little traffic and fine views. East of town lies the Hocking Hills region, with sandstone gorges, hemlock woods and waterfalls, and the roads there are some of the best in the state. Autumn colours in October are spectacular, summer is warm and humid, and winter can bring ice.
Chillicothe, with about twenty-two thousand people, was the first capital of Ohio, and it has fuel, cafes and good places to stay. Smaller places near the site, like North Fork Village and Frankfort, offer less, so plan fuel in town. A diner breakfast of eggs, biscuits and gravy is the traditional start of a day in these parts.