<< Image Pages >> Fort Hill - Hillfort in United States in Great Lakes Midwest
Submitted by bat400 on Thursday, 05 January 2017 Page Views: 9819
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Fort Hill Alternative Name: Fort Hill State MemorialCountry: United States Region: Great Lakes Midwest Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Hillsboro Nearest Village: Cynthiana
Latitude: 39.114000N Longitude: 83.407W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
Andigooner would like to visit
bat400 visited on 1st Jan 2000 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 4 Access: 3
Originally at the extreme end of a narrow ridge, the hilltop was cutoff (at the end of the last ice age) when Brush Creek at the base of one side undercut softer layers of stone, dividing the ridge. Just below the crest is an earthwork wall creating a sheer "tower" effect on the hilltop. The earthwork was thinly faced with small limestone slabs. The fort wall is pierced by more than two dozen openings without sign of stockade fencing or other barriers, although some argue that the site did serve as a defensive "fort."
The circumference of the hilltop is about a mile and a half long with about 40 acres enclosed. A narrow, irregular oval, the enclosure is a about a half mile long. There is a sloping ditch inside the enclosure and three depressions within the enclosure where water collects in wet weather.
To reach Fort Hill you climb a steep switchback trail up the side of the hill and through a major gateway of the enclosure. There is another very rough trail that winds down the opposite end of the hill. It's easy to drive to Fort Hill, but the hike up is a bit of a slog - although anyone even relatively fit could do it, given a little time. (In wet weather it would be exhausting once the trail gets good and soaked.) As the whole area is overgrown with trees and scrub in warm weather, and because the earthwork is at and below the very top of the hill, the immensity of the site is not immediately obvious. A second growth forest surrounds and hems in the natural hill, masking the fact that it is one of the highest points in the area.
A National Register of Historic Paces site since 1970. The NRHP Listing:
Historic Significance: Information Potential
Area of Significance: Prehistoric
Cultural Affiliation: Hopewell
Period of Significance: 499-0 BC, 499-0 AD, 1000-500 AD
Owner: State
Historic Function: Religion
Historic Sub-function: Ceremonial Site
Current Function: Landscape
Current Sub-function: Park
Owned by the State of Ohio, the site and the surrounding nature preserve is now managed by the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. There is a parking area, restrooms, and tables for picnicking down on the flat. There is also a small museum and nature center that explains the geologic forces that produced the hill and what is known about the site. The high ridges, creek and heavy wood cover provides shelter for many native plants as well as an abundance of wild birds, deer and small animals. It's a great spot with an isolated atmosphere.
Arc of Appalachia Preserve System Fort Hill website.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.
Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site
Nearby sites
Click here to view sites on an interactive map of the areaKey: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed
Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)
To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.
Turn off the page maps and other distractions
Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
10.1km S 190° Serpent Mound, Ohio* Artificial Mound
10.1km SSW 192° Serpent Mound Stone Standing Stone (Menhir)
21.2km NE 49° Seip Mound* Artificial Mound
21.2km NE 49° Seip Earthwork Enclosure* Misc. Earthwork
27.1km NE 54° Baum Earthworks* Artificial Mound
29.4km NE 53° Spruce Hill* Vitrified Fort
34.3km ESE 101° Piketon Mounds* Artificial Mound
35.1km NW 308° Ratcliffe Mound Artificial Mound
35.2km W 272° Fort Salem Misc. Earthwork
37.5km NNE 30° Frankfort Works Mound* Ancient Village or Settlement
38.3km NE 44° Hopewell Mound Group* Artificial Mound
39.9km NE 54° Steel Earthworks* Misc. Earthwork
40.7km ENE 56° Junction Earthworks* Misc. Earthwork
43.3km NE 54° Story Mound (Chillicothe)* Artificial Mound
43.6km NE 52° Adena Mound* Artificial Mound
45.2km NE 50° Hopewell Culture National Historic Site* Misc. Earthwork
46.2km ENE 65° High Bank Works* Misc. Earthwork
47.7km NE 50° Hopeton Earthworks* Artificial Mound
48.4km ENE 70° Liberty Earthworks* Artificial Mound
48.8km SE 135° Tremper* Barrow Cemetery
48.9km NE 49° Cedar Banks Works* Ancient Village or Settlement
55.5km SE 138° Portsmouth Earthworks* Misc. Earthwork
59.6km NW 310° Hillside Haven Mound* Artificial Mound
63.1km NW 320° Keiter Mound* Artificial Mound
65.0km NE 38° Luthor List Mound* Artificial Mound
View more nearby sites and additional images