Hocking Hills
The Appalachian Mountains begin just east of the border, but Southeastern Ohio is decidedly in the foothills. This is easily the state’s most scenic area from a geographic standpoint and largely unknown to people outside the state. Some short hikes will be necessary to really explore the features of the region, but it will be well worth the effort.
Here is a short list of things to see:
Hocking Hills
The Allegheny Plateau extends from the Appalachian Mountains west, nearly as far as Columbus. The Hocking Hills are part of this larger region. It is a heavily forested area of canyons, caves, rock shelters and waterfalls. The hills extend south and west, but the most dramatic features are located primarily in Hocking County.
Chillicothe
Chillicothe was the first capital of Ohio and a city filled with historic sites, both pre and post-colonial. Two of its most prominent sites are listed below.
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
The Hopewell people are best known for the earthen mounds they constructed between 200 BCE and 500 CE. Many of these were built in geometric patterns or other shapes. A concentration of these mounds can be found in Ohio's Scioto River Valley and particularly in and around "Mound City" near Chillicothe.
Congress first designated the Mound City cluster as a National Monument in 1923. This has since been expanded to include more than a dozen sites, which are protected as a National Historical Park. The park has also been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Construction of the mounds required thousands of hours of labor. Soil was carried manually to the sites in woven baskets. While many appear to be ornamental, a very large number were built over the remains of charnel houses following human cremations. Artifacts, including copper figures, ceremonial pipes and mica, were buried in each of the sites.
Adena Mansion & Gardens Historic Site
Originally built for Thomas Worthington, who served as Ohio's sixth governor, the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The mansion takes its name from a mound on the property that was attributed to the early Adena culture. The property is managed by the Adena Mansion and Gardens Society.
