Hopewell Culture and McKinley Memorial

My luck with gorgeous weather ran out and Sunday dawned gray and rainy. However, it was in the 50s so it was a nice warm rain and I couldn’t complain. My last day of this Thanksgiving trip brought me to Hopewell Culture Historic Park in Chillicothe, OH. I got to the mounds about 8am and walked the self-guided interpretive trail of the mounds. This place was so unlike anything I had seen before and it was very interesting to learn about. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related populations connected by a common network of trade routes. Hence why many artifacts were found here that originated in other areas of the United States. The greatest concentration of Hopewell ceremonial sites are in the Scioto River Valley. These cultural centers typically contain a burial mound and a geometric earthwork complex that covers ten to hundreds of acres. No one really has a clear idea of why the mounds were built. Although many do contain burials, some scientists think that these mounds were built as a lunar observatory. There is also another trail circles the outer perimeter of these earthworks. Part of the trail follows the Scioto river. Across the river is another mound group that is not open to the public as it is still being explored.There is also an old lock along the perimeter trail.After I finished walking the trails, I went inside to the visitor center where there is a small museum with more information about the Hopewell People and some artifacts. Here is an artists rendering of what they may have looked like.

After leaving the park I headed towards home. I decided to drive part of the way on U.S. 40 aka the National Road. On last year’s Thanksgiving road trip in PA I learned all about Washington and how he helped create the National Road while fighting at Fort Necessity so I thought it fitting that I drive some of it. However it runs East/West and I needed to head north so I hopped back on the highways. I saw a sign for William McKinley birthplace and memorial which piqued my interest so I hopped back off the highway. William McKinley was the 25^th President of the United States. He was born in Niles, OH and there is a small plaque outside of his birth home. What really caught my eye though was the large memorial in town. I pulled up behind it and when I approached there were two huge gates with a lock on them. Upon closer inspection I saw that it wasn’t really locked and I pushed my way in. There is a museum and presidential library but neither were open so I wandered around the small garden with his memorial in the middle.
It is quite a large monument and very impressive. It was a nice place for a rest before the long drive home.