Dominion Land Company Mound
An Early Woodlands Period Structure
In the early 1800s, Prosper Wetmore wrote about his childhood
memories of native mounds in the ravine area of Northwestern
Clinton Township. At that time, he recalled two conical mounds
about 10' high. He reported these mounds as under cultivation.
In 1953 the Dominion Land Company began demolition of the mounds as
part of the overall development of the area. Preservationists stepped
in, asking Columbus City Council to purchase the land to create a
park. Members of the community countered, petitioning for removal
of the mounds. Fortunately, the Dominion Land Company agreed to
allow archaeologists from the Ohio Historical Society to salvage the
site. Over the next four months, ancient items were cataloged.
The overall site represented 2.9 acres. One mound had been all but
destroyed by the Land Company. It was cataloged as containing "black
earth." The other mound was 60" in diameter and 6' high. This mound
contained the burial of a young girl- possibly 6 to 8 years old. An
embankment, 17' in width, surrounded the mounds. It was 400 feet in
diameter and almost a perfect circle. It is believed that the site was
used as a mortuary. More than 48 post molds were located indicating
that a large structure had been built on the
site. That structure
included a hearth.
Dominion Thick was the name given by archaeologist Ann Cramer to the
unique ceramics recovered at the site. The site contained two, full- sized,
barrel- shaped pots with lug handles as well as hundreds of shards and
fragments from other pots. Some of the pieces were decorated with
"Flying Triangles."
Sunwall and Moonwall Murals
In July of 2014, artist Danielle Poling created the Sunwall and
Moonwall murals on the railroad overpass at Cooke Road. These
large scale works of art were designed to pay tribute to the early
Americans. The walls use native symbols and cave paintings tech-
niques to remind current residents and visitors of those who lived
here before us.
The Moonwall was created using blues and greens. The trees depicted
here are barren connecting to the winter or end of life cycle.
The wall features the phases of the moon as well as the outlines
of native mounds located in Ohio. One prominent outline is of the
Dominion Land Company Mound which was located near this site.
Other symbols include the bear, wolf and raven all linked to artifacts
found in the Tremper and Mound City complexes. The hand image
is from Hopewell mound group in Ross County.
The Sunwall features the phases of the sun. Its brighter colors
call to mind spring and summer. Symbols representing harvest
are
present on the wall. The medicine wheel, a more current
symbol used by Native Americans, is centered on this wall. The
large bird was inspired by the copper bird found during the
excavation at Mound City. The trees depicted here are full with
spinning leaves. Corn and Sunflowers represent native food sources.
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