About Us

In 1885, a group of leading citizens met to form the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society to preserve the state's past and address concern that the state's past was being lost entirely or sent away to museums and libraries in other states and countries.

Today, that organization is called the Ohio Historical Society (OHS), and its activities reach into every part of the state. Headquartered in Columbus, the Ohio Historical Society is one of the largest state historical organizations in the country. It operates the nation's largest state-supported network of archaeological sites and historic museums, with 60 sites, 300 buildings and 4,800 acres of land.

Sites

The first site in the OHS site system was the Fort Ancient Earthworks, which was acquired in 1891. The Fort Ancient Earthworks, a National Historic Landmark, are a series of earthen embankments that extend for more than 3½ miles around a high bluff along the Little Miami River in southwestern Ohio. Other archaeological sites in the OHS network include the Newark Earthworks, a National Historic Landmark and Ohio's state prehistoric monument, and Serpent Mound, a National Historic Landmark.

Visit the OHS web site for information on our other archaeological sites. Learn more about other archaeological sites in Ohio on Ohio History Central

Collections

The Ohio Historical Society's archaeology holdings consist of more than 4,700 separate collections containing more than one million objects. Striking examples include the Adena Pipe, copper and obsidian artifacts from the Hopewell Mound Group, the Tremper effigy pipes and Adena engraved tablets. Other less visually spectacular items provide important information about the cultures that produced them. All these collections also provide the bases for current and future major archaeological research projects, exhibits and educational programs.