When I first visited Ross County in 1978, I felt very fortunate to get to see some of the Hopewell sites which are so well known in North American archeology. I was very impressed with the number, size and configuration of the earthworks that had been described by Squier and Davis in 1848. At that time, the National Park Service was involved in what they called a "new area study" of the Hopeton Earthworks. The Hopeton Earthworks was recommended for inclusion in the National Park System as an important manifestation of the Hopewell culture, and because the Hopewell culture remains a fascinating and important part of humanity's past.

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			In 1845, Ephriam George Squier, editor of The Chillicothe Gazette, joined with a local physician, Dr. Edwin H. Davis in a landmark study of the mounds and earthworks in Ohio. Their detailed maps, written descriptions of the mounds and their contents and classifications of the mounds and earthworks represents one of the first scientific archeological studies in North America. The results of their research was titled Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Exploration, and was published in 1848 as the first volume of Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.
	E.G. Squier and E.H. Davis
In the subsequent seventeen years, I have participated in other feasibility studies and meetings that have considered whether other Hopewell sites warrant protection. During that same period, I have had the opportunity to periodically visit some of the sites in Ross County and watch the deterioration of these valued records of humankind's past. The annual impact of agriculture is clearly taking its toll. Independent studies of these sites indicate plowing has lowered earthworks and mounds on the average of an inch per year since the introduction of larger, more powerful tractors in the 1950s. Since my first visit to the Hopeton Earthworks, agriculture has eliminated any visible evidence of the parallel walls, and has lowered most of the remainder of the earthwork to the point it cannot be distinguished by the untrained eye. The impact at the Hopeton Earthworks has been further accelerated by commercial gravel quarrying. This has left a massive scar on the scenic value of this National Historical Landmark, and destroyed an untold amount of archeological information. Other archeological resources in Ross County are also threatened by agriculture, mining, highway construction and urban growth. At the rate these actions are continuing, we have only a few years to set aside these important sites. When were recorded by Squier and Davis, the earthworks and mounds must have been truly impressive. Today, they are as important to understanding the archeology of Eastern North America, as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde are to the Southwest. If we do not take decisive action soon, future generations will never be able to appreciate the wonderful sites that Squier and Davis described in Ross County nearly 150 years ago. We do not have another twenty years to preserve the Hopewell sites of Ross County. This publication was initiated to promote interest in the study and interpretation of Hopewell archeology. We are planning to issue the Newsletter twice a year, spring and fall, and hope to include a lot of short, non-technical notes about the research archeologists are conducting. In addition, we plan to include notes about programs, exhibits, and events that interpret Hopewell archeology. We will also try to include at least one short research report in each issue, and notes on any books, published papers, conference papers, that report research on Hopewell archeology.