Scioto County, Ohio - Chapter 10: Miscellaneous Subjects, 1903 (part 2 of 2)

No earth works like those in the Ohio Valley are found in any other part of the known world. The mounds which stood on the site of the Children's Home with the parallel mounds to the southeast and southwest and to the northwest may be designated as follows: The works, designated for convenience as the Citadel, are located - partly on the ground of the Children's Home and partly on the grounds west and north. The Citadel is surrounded by an earthen wall, three feet high with four openings or gateways, northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. This circle is six hundred feet in diameter and incloses four horseshoe mounds. The two larger are parallel to each other and the two smaller located on either side of the gateway, to the southeast. The eastern large horseshoe mound in the Children's Home grounds is well preserved. The western large horseshoe mound has been plowed down. The two larger horseshoe mounds are one hundred and fifty feet across the heel of the shoe and from heel to toe about one hundred and sixty feet and twelve feet high. The two smaller are ten feet across the heel, twelve feet from heel to toe and three feet high with the toe placed close to the inside of the surrounding wall on either side of the southeast opening. It is supposed that the horse shoe mounds were foundations of buildings of some sort, forming a tent or tabernacle opening to the south. The smaller mounds were probably sentry boxes to prevent improper persons from entering. To the southeast were parallel wall mounds, extending to the Temple mound across the Ohio river, in Kentucky. The Temple mound in Kentucky was at the end of the parallel mounds on walls extending from the Citadel. It was 'twenty feet high, surrounded by segments of three circles with an inner ditch, continuous except at the main entrance on the west side. Three entrance ways goin at right angles to the inner ditch which keep all intruders out except from the west side. The level within the ditch and around the mound is one hundred and fifty feet inside. This mound was sur- ' yeyed and platted by Captain Francis Cleveland and was then in a good state of preservation. The mound and surroundings are nearly destroyed. The mound itself is but six feet high and the segments are nearly destroyed, barely traceable. There was a graded way around the mound by easy ascent to the top. The mound is not round, but truncated, longest east and west. There is a mound west of the Temple mound, in a good state of preservation. The ditch about it is fifteen feet wide, from the bottom to the top of the outside wall, which surrounds it, and which is three feet high. The mound is six feet high and approached from a gateway to the south. West of this mound is a six-sided figure nearly destroyed. There is a mound west of the sixsided figure which is in the forest and is well preserved. The parallels from the Citade) to the Temple mound have no breach except the Ohio River. The Children's Home stands on an elevation of twelve feet, the work of the Mound Builders, which has one fourth of an acre level on top. One arm extends from this elevation to the east, in a circle, and extends to the Kendall mound which has neither ditch nor embankments. North of the Citadel mound is a circle consisting of a ditch and embankments, the ditch on the inside, and embankment three feet high with an opening to the north. The circle is three feet in diameter. Southwest of the Citadel is a graded way from the second to the third terrace. Parallels extend from the Citadel to the high bank of the Scioto River. The north wall commences six hundred yards west of the Citade) in a circular ending which terminates in a small mound.

This north wall passes along the elevation containing the Kinney Grave yard and on to the Chillicothe road near the Briggs Homestead, and here terminates in a circle and large flat mound, near the home, and on the north side of the Spring branch. The southwest parallels run back to the mound six hundred yards, west of the Citadel, and then sweep around to the southwest till near Gallia street, where it goes nearly southwest to the Scioto River and to the north of the parallels leading from the Citadel to the Pleasure mound, in Kentucky. On the south side of the Ohio it appears and continues to the old Fort which we call the Pleasure Grounds. On the west side of Madison street is the usual circle and mound. From the east side of Madison street the southern parajie] begins and runs to the place of beginning in Greenlawn Cemetery. In the elbow of these southwest parallels stood the Waller mound, now destroyed, but which stood near the residence of G. H. Heinish. This mound had no ditch or embankment, and a large elm tree grew on the top of it. There were several large and fine springs in the vicinity of this mound. There was one in a well in front of George Davis' residence, one across the street from Irving Drew's residence, and one in front of the George Ball residence, now owned by W. A. Connolley. William Salter had a well near his residence and one existed on the premises of J. B. Green. Back of the Salter property the parallels circled from each other leaving six rods between embankments and places were three rods apart. At the first alley west of Chillicothe street and parallel to it was a square of half an acre with which the walls of the paraljels unite. This square connected with the parallels by gate ways and had an opening at the south side. The parallels ran from there _ crossing Market street near the Catholic Church, through the B. & O. depot grounds and Captain Moore's Machine Works to the Scioto River, when they disappeared. They had an elbow washed away but which reappeared on each side of Madison street and ran to the Ohio River where were two mounds. The only gate way in these parallels from the Citadel to the river was on the north side of the square west of Chillicothe street. There was a burying ground at the end of the northwest parallels and also on John D. Feurt's farm, where many bones have been dug up. The old Fort which we shall designate as Pleasure Grounds consists of an irregular square, having two acute and two obtuse angles and containing seventeen acres. It has two arms or wings of parallel embankments extending from the main square northeast and southwest one half mile, containing about ten acres each. These parallels are four rods apart and three feet high, and have a base of thirty feet. These works were not defensive. At the south corner on the outside wall the embankment is only two feet high on the outside and twenty-five feet in the inside. Wild animals would be driven into the square and killed. The wings would afford was evidently a pleasure or hunting ground, There is an animal mound on the third terrace on R. H. Hayznan's place, circular embankments and a square. It is impossible to determine their uses unless it were a place to store provisions. Mica was discovered when they were excavating for the Ohio Canal. In the corners of the square were discovered evidences of fires. There were mounds and works south to Unionville but they were destroyed before surveyed. There is a high mound south of Hygean. It is 225 feet high and oblong from east to west; the south and west sides are abrupt and the east and north are of easy grade. The top is truncated and level. This was a signal station, for from its top all earth works can be seen from the Scioto Valley. There is a like mound due east across the Scioto. There is an important earth work at Turkey Creek, on the farm of Mitchell Evans. It commences at the river hill north of the Pyles residence and extends diagonally across the Turkey Creek and Ohio Valleys to within a few rods of the bank of the Ohio river.

is symmetrical on both sides, from either end and except midway on the north side where are two indentations, half circular, into the side of the bank. On the west end of the southwestern indentation is a large mound standing on the top of the embankment. This embankment was an apparent protection from floods or animals. The farm buildings of Mr. Evans are on it and were above the flood of 1883, seven feet. Kinney Hill and Bitter Sweet Hill were also supposed to have been signal stations. All of these were artificial constructions. These two hills and Unionville hill contain no rock strata and their outlines indicate artificial construction. The soil is different from the hills on the same level. These three hills are supposed to have been erected for burial purposes or to secure treasures. Dr. Hempstead thought their displays in angles, squares and circles were evidence of scientific knowledge and their work evidence of a variety of acquirements and adopted to the uses intended, but we did not know the use. He thought if a shaft were sunk in Kinney Hill, there would be a remarkable find.

[NOTE - This article was submitted to Gerard Fowke, author of "Archaeological History of Ohio," for suggestions and corrections. The Editor is indebted to him for the following:

"The Temple mound is still about 15 feet high, though much reduced by cultivation. The graded way to the top seems to have gone directly up on the south side of the mound."

"The terms 'Citadel,' 'Pleasure Ground,' and the like are to be considered only convenient terms. Archaeologists are not ready, yet, to assign such pames as indicative of known usages."

"The so-called 'mounds' at Hygean, Kinney's Hill and Bittersweet Hill, are entirely natural formations, though they may have been slightly dressed off at the summits to subserve some purpose of the builders of the mounds and walls in the vicinity. Stratified rock is to be found in all these hills; that is, if they are hills which have been pointed out to me as bearing these names. The largest mound in Ohio, at Miamisburg, measures 68 feet high."