Glenford Fort is a roughly triangular or heart-shaped stone wall enclosing a 26-acre-hilltop in Perry County, Ohio. The hilltop is a flat field ringed by rock outcrops that the ancient Native Americans built up to form the outer walls of the so-called “fort.” According to Charles Whittlesey, who surveyed the site in 1838, the walls were one to four feet high and about ten feet broad. In many places today, the walls are less than a foot tall.
In the center of the field within the walled enclosure is a solitary stone mound. When Whittlesey surveyed the site it was 15 feet high. In 1987, local amateur archaeologist Jim Dutcher dug into the mound recovering material from which he obtained a radiocarbon date of circa 270 B.C. Therefore, this monumental construction belongs to the late Adena culture.
The site is located on private property and so is not normally accessible to the general public, but on Saturday March 28th, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the Perry County Historical Society will host a walking tour of the site for anyone that would like to experience this remarkable monument of the areas ancient past. Dr. Bradley T. Lepper, a Curator of Archaeology for the Ohio Historical Society, will accompany the group to assist with site interpretation. Anyone wishing to reserve a spot should contact Joanne Hoover (740) 659-2405 or Karen Crandell (740) 246-4416.
