{"nrhp_refnum":"66000614","name":"Newark Earthworks","other_names":["Mound Builders State Memorial","Octagon State Memorial","Wright"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Union, 30th, James, and Waldo Sts., and OH 16","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newark","county":"Licking County","state":"OH","lat":40.05447220650004,"lon":-82.44417471964218,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1964-07-19","areas_of_significance":["Prehistoric"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A prehistoric Hopewell earthwork complex in Newark, Licking County, Ohio, between the South Fork of the Licking River and Raccoon Creek. Three surviving sections remain: Octagon State Memorial, Mound Builders State Memorial and the Wright Earthworks.","why_significant":"The works are some of the best remaining evidence of large-scale geometric construction by the Hopewell Indians, in the focal area of Hopewell culture. Originally covering about 2 square miles, the remnants show the planning and effort behind a huge building program. The earthworks are typical of Hopewell ceremonial, social and religious centers.","narrative":"Three surviving fragments of a once enormous Hopewell earthwork complex lie in Newark, Ohio. In 1848 the complex covered over two square miles, with circles, an octagon and a square joined by long parallel walls, plus many mounds. City growth destroyed much of it, but the Octagon section (120 acres), the Mound Builders section (66 acres) and the small Wright Earthworks remain under state protection. The Octagon enclosure holds 50 acres and joins a 20-acre circle by parallel walls. The Mound Builders circle, about 1,200 feet across, has walls 8 to 14 feet high, an interior ditch and a central eagle-shaped mound. The works date from roughly 300 B.C. to 250 A.D. and show the planning and labor of the Hopewell, whose trade networks and burial traditions are described in the form. Professional excavation has been limited, though the earthworks and artifacts are known to be typically Hopewell. The Octagon section is used as a golf course.","period_of_significance":"approximately 300 B.C. - 250 A.D.","architect_builder":"Hopewell Indians (builders)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Three sections are preserved by the State of Ohio as memorial parks; the Octagon section operates as a golf course. The condition is marked good, and the form notes that modern park buildings are intrusions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.144243-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/66000614_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000614/7168034415-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000614/7168034415-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ericplayzbass","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newark_Earthworks_Wall_and_Moat.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ericplayzbass</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newark_Earthworks_Wall_and_Moat.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986509","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark_Earthworks","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7016678"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/licking-county/newark-earthworks-66000614/"}