Along the Ohio Trail: A Short History of Ohio Lands

AlongTheOhioTrail

 

 

Frontier kid, Simon, guides students through Ohio history.

Audience: 3rd and 4th grade students

A great resource made available by the Ohio State Auditor’s office. Pages can be printed individually and/or viewed via projector from the internet.  This is a free resource, educators are welcome to make copies to share with students

The booklet is available via PDF format at: https://ohioauditor.gov/publications/AlongTheOhioTrail.pdf

Table of Contents:

Ohio Geography

Prehistoric Ohio

Native Americans

Explorers and Traders

Ohio Land Claims 1770-1785

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Settling the Ohio Lands 1787-1800

Ohio Statehood 1800-1812

Ohio and the Nation 1800-1900

Ohio’s Lands Today

Origin of Ohio County Names

 

The Adena and Hopewell Cultures

 

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Over two hundred years ago, many people from Kentucky, Virginia, and other states in our new United States came to what is now Ross County to settle.  When they arrived, they found thick woods full of bear, deer, turkeys, and other wild animals. Eager to settle, they quickly cleared the land to make room for their homes, and fields for planting. The uncovering of the land led to their discovery  of  unusual  earthworks  which became known as Indian mounds.

These “indian mounds” were left for us by the Adena and later the Hopewell cultures.  Today, many of us pass by the ancient earthworks without a second thought.  Worthington elementary has the Story Mound almost in its back yard.  These earthworks not only have provided a look into our ancient past, but today attract hundreds of visitors to Ross County yearly.

We are so fortunate to have the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park (http://www.nps.gov/hocu/index.htm) nearby as a resource.  The park programs presented by park rangers are available during field trips to the park and also in your classroom. A curriculum guide has been developed for grades 3-8.  The free guide can be picked up at the park or downloaded from the internet at: http://www.nps.gov/hocu/forteachers/classrooms/curriculummaterials.htm

The teaching units below have been developed in conjunction with the expert staff at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. Each unit is in PDF format.  They include a teacher guide, text with illustrations and worksheet activities.  The unit can be printed or used as an overhead.

Please click on the read titles to pull up the PDF.

3rd grade

Discovering the Hopewell Culture – Gr. 3 10:14 copyHopewell booklet 6:18-xbayey

4th grade

Exploring Adena & Hopewell(1:2:16) Teacher Guide History Depot

Exploring Adena & Hopewell(1:2:16) Student Booklet History Depot