Fort Hill State Park | |
 Entrance sign on SR41 | |
  | |
| Nearest city | Sinking Spring, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°06′47″N83°24′23″W / 39.1131°N 83.4063°W /39.1131; -83.4063 |
| Area | 400 acres (160 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000500[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1970 |
Fort Hill State Memorial is aNative Americanearthwork located inHighland County, Ohio, United States. Built bythe Hopewell culture, it is maintained by the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and theOhio History Connection.[2]
The earthwork, built about 2,000 years ago, is a walled enclosure made of soil on top of a flatsummit. It is 500 feet (150 m) higher than nearby portions ofOhio Brush Creek and 800 feet (240 m) higher than theOhio River.[3] It was made by theHopewell people. It is over 11⁄2 miles in circumference, enclosing 35.3 acres (14.3 ha). Thirty-nine "man-made openings" occur throughout the enclosure: thirty-six that are verified as being made by Indians and three others still unknown as to how they were made. The wall is 6 to 15 feet (1.8 to 4.6 m) high and its total length is 8,619 feet (2,627 m). It is 30 feet (9.1 m) wide at its base in most areas.Archaeologists believe it was not used as afort, but instead as areligious site.[2]
In 1846, it was excavated byEphraim George Squier andEdwin Hamilton Davis. It was featured in their bookAncient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, which was published in 1848.[3]
Fort Hill State Memorial contains excellent outcrops of Silurian, Devonian, and Mississippian sedimentary bedrock and a natural bridge. The site is also an example of glacial stream reversal. It was named aNational Natural Landmark in 1974.[4]
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