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  Cliffs Near the Mound

  We are now looking out over the cliffs near the mound. These cliffs are lined with thorn trees, possibly for protection.

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  Williamson Mound

  Here is what is commonly called the Williamson Mound, the only large mound in the county, although at one time there were between 70 - 80 mounds in Greene County. The memorial stone reads in part: "In grateful remembrance this public state park has been created through the generosity of public spirited citizens of Greene County, who donated the land. The prehistoric Indian Mound, known as the Williamson Mound, thus will be preserved for ever, and stand not only as a memorial and monument to the donors, but to those first Ohioans who sleep within." It has been said when this mound was excavated the Indian skeleton was removed to the State Museum at Columbus. It seems the interred Indian was of some importance for the mound is built, in part, of various kinds of soils not found in this locale. Thus it appears this spot was a mecca for pilgrimages for the pre-historic Indians.

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  Mound City Group National Monument Exhibit

  This exhibit is found in the Mound City Group National Monument near Chillicothe. In preparation for the mound building, the land was cleared by burning and then possibly covered with hard clay. A few inches of sand or gravel were also spread out to serve as a floor. Posts were then sunk in a circle and twigs of branches woven in among them along with a thatched roof. These were then daubed with mud and clay. Inside were low table-like affairs upon which the dead were placed. Sometimes the less important members were cremated in elevated basins and the remains moved to a burying table. After placing their dead on these, they built cabin-like structures of logs over them and covered these in turn by small mounds of earth. Eventually, when filled with these small mounds, the structure was covered over with earth.

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  Types of Burials

  Here we see two other types of burials. These skeletons are found in the Fort Ancient museum. The one to the left was possibly covered wtih only bark and then a little earth thrown on top. The one of the right received a stone lined grave with slabs of stone over him. These two types of graves were found in the Anderson Village Site located on the east bank of the Little Miami River. These were the true Fort Ancient culture people, although Fort Ancient itself was built by the Hopewell culture.

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  Stone Markers

  This stone marks the site of Old Chillicothe, the principal town of the Shawnees. This tribe excelled all others in restlessness and in hatred for the white man. The Shawnee was proud to a fault and considered himself superior to all other tribes of the Indians. He boasted of the tradition that the Creator, Himself, was an Indian, and He made the Shawnees, who sprang from His brain, before He created the other human races which came from the rest of His body.

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  Old Chillicothe Site Marker

  The Shawnees were instrumental in forming a confederacy against the white men. Some of the tribes were the Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Miami, Chippewa, Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, and Kickapoo. The second confederacy was formed during the Revolution, while the third was formed by the able and venerated chief, Tecumseh, during the War of 1812, in which he was Brigadier General in the British Army.

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  Tecumseh's Parents

  This marks the site of the home of Tecumseh's parents, Sexton Point, Old Town. From this point Simon Kenton ran the gauntlet to the Council House in 1778.

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  Daniel Boone

  In memory of Colonel Daniel Boone and 27 salt makers taken prisoners at Blue Lick, Kentucky, by the Shawnees, February 7, 1778, and brought to Old Chillicothe. Ten were taken over the Bullskin Trail to Detroit and held for ransom. Detroit Street in Xenia was part of this Bullskin Trail which went from Cincinnati to Detroit. After being adopted into the tribe as the son of Black Fish, Boone and a man named Darnell planned to excape at night. Boone got away easily and headed back to Boonesborough. Darnell, however, lost his way and was chased by Indians in the morning.

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  Darnell's Escape (With Daniel Boone)

  Somewhere along the Little Miami River he had to cross Clifton Gorge. The exact spot is not known, but all of it looks quite dangerous. Some say he swung across on a grape-vine. The Indians quit chasing him feeling him to be super-human.

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  In Memoriam of Kentucky Soldiers Killed - Old Chillicothe

  In memoriam: ten Kentucky soldiers were killed on this site, Old Chillicothe, May 29, 1779, in the first battle with the Shawnees in the Miami valleys. The force of 261 men was defeated and pursued 30 miles. One Indian was killed. Oldtown, the chief town of the nomadic Shawnees, was the place of rendezvous for war parties from Piqua, Maumee, Sandusky, Mad River and other towns to carry murder and desolation to settlers. Here they returned with their prisoners, plunder, and scalps before separating for their different villages. The dwellings were constructed with poles and roofed with bark. There was a stockade enclosing several acres of ground, including the village and Council House.

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  Monument to Simon Kenton Trail

  This monument marks the location of the historic Simon Kenton Trail which extended from the Winchester Trail, now state route 72, due west to Old Chillicothe. This was the campsite of General Benjamin Logan's army of Kentucky pioneers in 1786. Here, on what is now Wolford Road, they camped for one night on their march to attack the Shawnee Indians at Old Chillicothe. A few rods west of this monument flows Caesar's Creek which gained its name from an incident at this campsite. Caesar, a colored servant of one of Logan's staff officers, escaped during the night, crossed the creek and warned off the Indians.

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  First Settler's Cabin in Greene County

  This house, part of which was built in the early 1800s, the rest being build in 1890, stands on the site of the first settler's cabin in Greene County, built April 7, 1796. John Wilson and his sons, Amos, Daniel, and George, along with Jacob Mills, settled on this site which is located on Middle Run Road south of Bellbrook. This John Wilson was later one of the framers of Ohio's first constitution, November 29, 1802. Let's step inside the kitchen for a few minutes.