Nettle Lake Mound Group / The Hopewell Indians

The Nettle Lake Mound Group consists of 4 low mounds overlooking a stream that runs into Nettle Lake. The mounds vary in height from 1 to 3 feet and in diameter from 18 to 30 feet. The mounds are composed primarily of reddish-brown sand (secondary mound) covering a layer of darker sand and loam (primary mound). These mounds have been partially excavated in the past by pot hunters in search of relics. Although the records of these excavations are vague and incomplete, pottery fragments, burials, and flint artifacts found in the mounds indicate that they were constructed by the Hopewell Indians.

[Side B]: The prehistoric Hopewell Indians who inhabited Ohio 2000 years ago are famous for their large ceremonial earthworks and burial mounds, and for their artistic abilities. Many of the artifacts they made — especially those manufactured from “exotic” materials such as copper, mica, obsidian, and marine shell — were evidently connected with their social organization and burial rites. They lived in small river valley communities where they hunted, fished, gathered food, and farmed. Periodically, they traveled to large ceremonial centers to participate in religious and political activities. Although the Hopewell lived primarily in southern Ohio and in Illinois, their influence spread over much of the eastern United States.