Posted on 02/14/2003 1:37:49 PM PST by vannrox
Jeffers Indian Mound may date as far back as 400 B.C.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
CANDY BROOKS
ThisWeek Staff Writer
Controversy over the placement of a historical marker has stirred up interest in a local historic site that far precedes the founding of Worthington in 1803.
The Jeffers Mound is located on a bluff overlooking the Olentangy River. Plesenton Drive is the first road north of West Dublin-Granville Road off Olentangy River Road.
Some of the city's most expensive homes are located around the perimeter of Plesenton Drive. In the center is a 30-ft. high, 150-ft. diameter mound.
According to the most popular accounts, the mound was built by Hopewell Indians as a burial place for their most honored people between 100 B.C. and A.D. 400.
Some say it is even older. An archaeological team which uncovered remains of a 25 ft. by 47 ft. house immediately south of the mound in 1978 concluded it was built between 300 and 400 B.C.
The mound formed the south wall of an enclosed burial site. Four walls 3 ft. high and 10 ft. wide made a 630 by 550 foot rectangle. Portions of the north wall still exist on private property on the north side of Plesenton Drive.
The house was on the south side of the mound. The archaeologists, led by Raymond Baby, then curator of the Ohio Historical Society, collected about 900 artifacts and evidence of a house that could have been a dwelling or a temporary residence for burial grounds maintenance, according to a story in The Columbus Dispatch on Sept. 10, 1978.
That was the second dig at the site. The first, according to a story in the old Columbus Morning Journal, was done by William Heath of Worthington in 1866.
Heath ran a tunnel from the east side to the center, and sank a shaft from the top, intersecting the tunnel. He found fragments of antique pottery and remains of two skeletons.
"Mr. Heath was prevented from pushing his explorations further on account of want of time. He is confident that interesting developments await the explorer, and though the terms of his permit require him to fill up the excavation, this will not be done till Wednesday," stated the newspaper article. "If any gentlemen of the city wish to continue excavation, opportunity is offered, if application is made before the earth is replaced."
As far as we know, no one made application.
The land on which the mound stands was purchased in 1923 by Herman Plesenton Jeffers. He owned about 140 acres, much of which was farm land.
His grandson, John W. Jeffers, is now an attorney in Cleveland. He testified before the Board of Zoning Appeals last week, and submitted historical documents about the mound.
He remembers the mound being surrounded by corn fields when he was a boy, and finding old gravestones from the Civil War in the area.
He recently climbed the mound with his grandson, Michael, who lives in Upper Arlington.
"I certainly think this mound is a significant piece of Ohio history and that school children,in particular, can get a better appreciation for the history of Ohio and the people who originally lived here by being able to observe this particular burial mound," he wrote in a recent letter to the Ohio Historical Society.
The Jeffers family began selling their land for residential development in the late 1960s, with the first plat of Plesenton Drive filed with the city on Jan. 10, 1968.
In 1974, Millie Jeffers, wife of Herman P., deeded the mound and the land around it to the Worthington Historical Society.
Among the first to build homes there were John Stover, Paul J. Filing, Jr., Dr. Walter Slatter, Clifton F. Schmitt, Myron A. Mann, and Morton Y. Reeves. The Schmitt family later moved to Arizona and sold their property to Dr. Charles Harding. Herman Jeffers reportedly hand picked those who were sold the first lots.
According to a story from the original Worthington News, which was acquired by ThisWeek Community Newspapers more than a decade ago and was the predecessor to ThisWeek in Worthington, Mr. Jeffers said that "God and the Indians have done much to make this place unique and beautiful."
More here: Jeffers Mound
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe · |
|||
Antiquity Journal & archive Archaeologica Archaeology Archaeology Channel BAR Bronze Age Forum Discover Dogpile Eurekalert LiveScience Mirabilis.ca Nat Geographic PhysOrg Science Daily Science News Texas AM Yahoo Excerpt, or Link only? |
|
||
· Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword · |
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.