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Lay of the Land
I
n this issue of American Archaeology we celebrate the Conservancy’s 300th acquisition project (see page 44), a major Hopewell complex in southern Ohio. It is fitting that we mark this milestone in the same region where we began. One of our first projects was the nearby Hopewell Mounds, the type-site of the Hopewell culture of moundbuilders and one of the most famous archaeological sites in North America. This massive earthwork and group of mounds had been heavily disturbed by archaeologists and by farming, but the three-milelong perimeter wall was still clearly visible when I drove up in the spring of 1980. Residential development was less than a mile away, but the owners
wanted to see the site preserved, and the Conservancy made a financial commitment it could not afford to buy the land. Some on our Board thought it was foolhardy to commit so much money when we were a young, struggling organization, but preservationists rallied to the cause and it all turned out well. The Ohio Valley was once home to thousands (20,000 by one estimate) of ancient mounds and earthworks when the first Europeans crossed the Appalachians. Today, only a handful remains. Urban development, modern agriculture, and looting have taken their toll. So when we have the opportunity to preserve a tiny fraction of this culture, we act.
DARREN POORE
A Milestone Accomplishment
MARK MICHEL, President
We made a risky decision to save the Hopewell Mounds in 1980, and we are now trying to save Fort Salem, a very well-preserved Hopewell site that stands in the path of sprawling Cincinnati. If we save every one of the mounds and earthworks that remain, it will still only be about one percent of that heritage. We cannot fail to do at least that much.
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