The Hartman Mound

Within the hilly uplands of the western Appalachian Plateau, in the valley of the Hocking River, is a relatively level surface encompassing some 4 or 5 square miles. This surface, known as Wolfe’s Plains and the plains, was formed by the deposition if glacial out wash sediments carried away from the glacial front by meltwater during the Illinoian or Wisconsin and glaciation. Such broad expanses of level ground are rare in the unglaciated parts of Ohio. Between 300 B.C. and A.D. 200, The plains were exploited by the Adena Indians, who built here one of their largest concentrations of burial mounds and scared circles. (the greatest cluster of Adena mounds and enclosures is in the Scioto Valley near Chillicothe, Ohio and the 2nd. Largest is near Charleston, West Virginia.) At least a dozen burial mounds and 8 scared circles are known to have existed on Wolfe’s Plains, but as elsewhere, most of these features have been destroyed, and the survivors are disappearing. Those that remain are in various stages of preservation and provide a record of the nature of this important complex as well as instructively the processes that contain to reduce it. Six burial mounds and one scared circle remain wholly or partially intact within the village of The Plains. At least 3 other mounds and 1 scared circle are known in surrounding areas.

The largest and best preserved of the Wolfe’s Plains group is the Hartman Mound, also known as the George Connett Mound. This mound is 40’ high and 140’ in diameter at the base. It has never been excavated. A smaller mound about 6’ high was once located near Hartman mound. It was excavated by Andrews, who in 1875-76 headed the first survey of archeological sites in the Hocking Valley. In it he discovered a log tomb with a skeleton surrounded by 500 rolled copper beads. There was also a copper tubular block-ended pipe in this smaller of the George Connett Mounds, the only such object found in an Adena burial. The surviving Hartman Mound is situated on a small privately owned tract of land within the Adena Park housing development and is bordered on two sides by roads.

A second well-preserved mound is the largest of what was a cluster of three mounds called the Woodruff Connett Mounds. This conical mound is 15’ high and 90’ in diameter at the base. The second largest of the group was 6’ high and 40’ in diameter; it is now discernible as a swell in the ground. The third has been destroyed completely. A park has been proposed to save the 2 remaining mounds from further destruction, but they have not yet been afforded this protection.

Dorr Mound 1, reported by Squier and Davis to have been 15’ high, is presently cultivated as part of a cornfield; while Dorr Mound 2 (10’ high according to Squier and Davis’s survey) is within a fenced chicken yard. Both of these mounds have been excavated, but no reports of findings exist.

The Martin Mound 2 is a small crescent-shaped mound that was excavated and produced a child’s skeleton. This feature is discernible from West First Street. The Martin Mound 1 was 18’ high before most of it was leveled in 1875 to provide an elevated site for a schoolhouse. Excavation caused excitement among the village residents when a piece of deerskin clothing covered with copper beads was discovered. The dress was torn into pieces so everyone could have a sample. A residence whose base is slightly but noticeable higher than adjacent buildings now occupies the site of Martin Mound 1 on the west side of route 682 between west first street and Connett Rd.

The Armitage Mound was originally 7’ high and 100’ in diameter. It is reduced in size today as a result of long agricultural use.

Among the mounds of the Plains that have been destroyed was the large Beard (Baird, or Coon) Mound, whose excavation by Emerson Greenman results in one of the 1st. treatises on Adena culture. This mound was 30’ high and 144’ in diameter at the base. It is the only Adena mound in Ohio known to have contained mica, a material more frequently associated with the Hopewell culture. The mound was subsequently destroyed by road building; its site is occupied, in part, by the Plains volunteer fire department.

Directions: Exit U.S.route 33 at Ohio route 682 (the plains exit), go S on route 682 about .25 miles into the plains to mound street about .1 mile to Hartman Mound, located immediately N of Mound street. Map below shows locations of other mounds.

Public use: season and hours: all of the extant mounds and circles can be viewed from public roads throughout the year.
Restrictions: all of the extant mounds and scared circles are on private property. Permission should be obtained from the landowner before entering any site.

For additional information: contact: Ohio Historical Society, 1985 Velma Ave., Columbus, Oh. 43211, 614-466-1500

Below is a map of these mounds.



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