C O N S E R V A N C Y
Field Notes MIDWEST—The High Bank earthwork, a massive Hopewell circle and octagon complex, has been acquired by the National Park Service as part of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. Congress directed High Bank and two other Hopewell culture sites be added to the park in 1992. One of the largest and best-preserved of the massive Hopewellian sites in the Chillicothe area, High Bank has often been linked to ancient astronomical alignments. N’omi Greber of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has been conducting research on the site for the past decade trying to determine its use and make-up. The Conservancy purchased the northern half of the earthwork in 1992. Having preserved this portion of the 1,900-year-old earthwork for the last decade, the Conservancy sold it to the National Park Service. The proceeds from the sale will be used to purchase other endangered sites. The southern portion of the earthwork, encompassing most of the octagon structure, was nearly lost. Its owner was Alva McGraw, a local farmer and longtime supporter of archaeology in the Chillicothe area. McGraw often spoke of his plans to permanently preserve the
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KELLY BRITT
Hopewell Earthwork Transferred to National Park Service
The Albuquerque Archaeological Society visits San José de Las Huertas. The Conservancy acquired this preserve by obtaining three tracts of land between 1986 and 2000.
site by bequeathing his portion of the earthwork to either the Conservancy or the National Park Service. Unfortunately, when he died last winter at the age of 94, he had not revised his will in over 40 years. The entire McGraw estate, including his portion of the High Bank earthwork, passed to a cohort of 37 distant relatives. They chose to have all McGraw’s holdings sold at public auction. Miraculously, the attorney for the McGraw estate was able to arrange for the National Park Service to purchase McGraw’s portion of the High Bank site prior to
the public auction, averting a potential catastrophe.
Research Continues at San José de Las Huertas SOUTHWEST—A clearer picture of the Spanish Colonial settlement of San José de Las Huertas near Albuquerque, New Mexico, is coming into focus as researchers Nan Rothschild and Heather Atherton with Columbia University continue their mapping and archival research of the 24-acre Conservancy preserve. This winter • 2001-02
