Fort Hill

Ancient earthworks. Fort Hill is an ancient earthen-walled enclosure atop a large flat-topped ridge, constructed by Native Americans an estimated 2,000 years ago. Most likely it was not a fort, but rather a ceremonial gathering space. Its architects were of the Hopewell culture, representing an extremely artistic and influential era in the eastern United States. People of the Hopewell culture erected as many as 36 large complexes of high-walled enclosures on the floodplains of southern Ohio in shapes of precise circles, squares, and hexagons. Additionally, they built at least a dozen irregular hilltop enclosures, including Fort Hill.

The earthen-stone wall’s circumference is more than one and a half miles, with thirty-six definite man-made openings and possibly three more such openings. The wall itself ranges from 6 to 15 feet in height, averages 30 feet wide at its base, and encloses 35.3 acres. It follows the natural contour of the rim of the hill and is bordered on the inside wall by a substantial ditch. 

The Fort Hill Earthwork can be accessed by following the Fort Trail, which follows the perimeter of the enclosure. It appears as a rounded rim of earth bordering the bluffs of the entire ridge top. The feature may not be immediately noticeable until you realize that what you are seeing cannot possibly be explained by geological processes.

A second extremely well-preserved earthwork exists on the south side of the preserve, composed of a circular walled enclosure with a diameter of approximately 170 feet and a height of 2.5 to 3 feet. Archaeologists have discovered two concentric circles of post holes that once outlined this earthwork, but no supporting posts in the middle of the enclosure. It is theorized that the original structure may have had fenced walls or a circular arbor rather than a roofed building. Artifacts recovered from a nearby archaeological site included flint chips, worked mica sheets, and one piece of obsidian blade, all indicating a Hopewell-era construction. It is conjectured that this area may have been an artisan workshop and/or a short term habitation site, possibly accommodating visitors making the journey to the Fort Hill ceremonial complex.

Old growth forest: Fort Hill shelters one of the largest and oldest contiguous forests in all of Ohio. The park is connected to other preserve lands and to Pike State Forest, creating a large block of contiguous forest of the kind that is critical for deep forest inhabitants such as cerulean and worm-eating warblers, ephemeral spring wildflowers, and many rare plants. It is estimated that the park preserves over 800 vascular species of plants within its boundaries, an outstanding remnant of the temperate deciduous forest that once covered nearly all of the eastern United States. In 2015 Fort Hill was officially inducted into the Old Growth Forest Network.

Fort Hill floral displays: Fort Hill has a truly spectacular spring wildflower display including such showy species as large-flowered trilliums, columbine, celandine poppy, and Sweet William woodland phlox. Hiking the gorge trail in mid-April is an enchanting experience.