The media is invited to the presentation of Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office Award to Paul LaRue and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park for their collaboration in developing the lesson plan Camp Sherman and the Mound City Earthworks: A Unique Story of Preservation. Preservation Officer Burt Logan will present a Public Education and Awareness Award on October 7 at 10 a.m. at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, 16062 OH-104, Chillicothe.
Each year, the state history organization highlights outstanding historic preservation achievements in communities across Ohio through the presentation of these awards. This organization is one of five winners in 2020.
Camp Sherman and the Mound City Earthworks: A Unique Story of Preservation is a lesson plan developed to be used with curriculum in the state of Ohio.
The plan outlines the historic interaction between the Mound City earthworks and Camp Sherman, an army cantonment from World War I. At first glance, this interaction seems fairly simple –the Mound City earthworks had been at this location for centuries. After the outbreak of the war, the land was acquired by the federal government and Camp Sherman was built. The lesson plan prompts students and educators to think about the big picture and whether Camp Sherman was detrimental to the earthworks, or if it actually served to prompt their preservation.
The establishment of Camp Sherman at this location transferred the land into federal ownership. Following the war, as the camp was closing, there was a state-level effort by the Ohio History Connection (then Ohio Historical Society) to work with the army and the federal government to preserve this valuable historic resource.
Ultimately, the Mound City earthworks were declared a National Monument in 1923 by President Warren G. Harding. Today, they are maintained as a part of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park under the National Park Service.
This content is now publicly available online for students here in Ohio, across the country and internationally. See it on Ohio Memory, the digital archive, here: https://bit.ly/2F6mM84.
Other 2020 winners include:
The Millennia Companies, City Architecture, K2M Design and The Albert M. Higley Company for rehabilitation of the 1912 Hotel Statler as The Statler apartments
The Orlean Company, City Architecture, Drake Construction and Renewal Housing Associates, LLC for the rehabilitation of the 1923 Fenway Hall as the Fenway Manor apartments
The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation for acquisition of the Fortified Hill Earthworks, near Hamilton in Butler County, ensuring its preservation
The Barr Family and Jarrod Burks for their work to research and preserve the Snake Den Mounds Complex near East Ringgold in Pickaway County
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Ohio History Connection
The Ohio History Connection, formerly the Ohio Historical Society, is a statewide history organization with the mission to spark discovery of Ohio’s stories. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization chartered in 1885, the Ohio History Connection carries out history services for Ohio and its citizens focused on preserving and sharing the state’s history. This includes housing the State Historic Preservation Office, the official state archives, local history office and managing sites and museums across Ohio. For more information on programs and events, visit ohiohistory.org.
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