The Hopewell Culture’s Ohio River Valley roots

Indigenous peoples known as the “Hopewell culture” lived between 1 and 500 A.D. and are best known for their massive earthworks and burial mounds in the Ohio River Valley. Hopewell isn’t a tribe or ethnic group, but rather the archaeological culture defined by the artifacts and architecture discovered at similar sites. Some structures were immense, forming a complex landscape.

The name “Hopewell” actually derives from Mordecai Hopewell, a confederate veteran of the Civil War who owned the farm in Ross County where the spectacular discoveries were made. The best-preserved structures today are located in Hopewell Culture National Historic Park.

– Margaret Willard, The 100 Companies