Early Observations
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The Hopeton Earthworks were first described by E.G. Squier and E. H. Davis in their monumental survey of mounds and earthworks in the Mississippi Valley (Squier and Davis 1848). The site is located only four miles north of their hometown of Chillicothe. They described the earthwork as a rectangle with an attached circle. The rectangle was measured at 900 feet by 950 feet, and the diameter of the circle was 1,050 feet.

From map of Earthworks published by Squire and Davis in 1848

The walls of the earthworks were not continuous and included twelve breaks or gateways. Two smaller circles were described on the east side of the earthwork, adjacent to the rectangle. These measured 250 and 200 feet, respectively, in diameter.Parallel walls extended southwest from the northwest corner of the rectangle for 2,400 feet to the edge of the terrace.The walls were 150 feet apart. In 1848, the walls of the rectangle were 12 feet high and 50 feet wide at their base. The walls of the great circle were 5 feet high at that time. No evidence of ditches was observed around any of the earthworks. NEXT >>