Ohio country club on historic site loses 4-year land battle, will now become public park
NEWARK, Ohio − Supporters and opponents of the Ohio History Connection taking over the Moundbuilders Country Club property envision quite different scenarios of what a World Heritage site public park would look like in place of the golf course.
One side sees an increase in curious visitors, as the public finally gets access to a historic site that will more closely resemble what it might have looked like thousands of years ago.
The other side sees little activity and a deterioration of the property, akin to what they see as an unkempt Great Circle in Newark and Heath.
“People have tried to diminish it by saying it’s just piles of dirt,” said Brad Lepper, senior archeologist for the Ohio History Connection. “That’s so naïve, in the same way the Parthenon is just a pile of stone.”
This issue has been argued for decades in Newark and Licking County and far beyond, as the OHC fought for more access to the site and then pursued property acquisition.
Newark resident Cathy Ford summed up the concerns many have expressed in a 2019 letter to the editor in The Advocate.
“The Ohio History Connection doesn’t care about our town, they just want to have some fancy designation feather in their cap,” Ford wrote. “If you’ve gone by Moundbuilders Park on Rt. 79, you know that few people visit there because the grounds are poorly kept, trashy, and crime-ridden. MCC has been impeccable caretakers of the Octagon Mounds since 1910 for the public to enjoy.”
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday against Moundbuilders Country Club in its appeal of lower court rulings allowing the Ohio History Connection to reclaim the Newark golf course property by eminent domain.
The 6-1 ruling upheld decisions in Ohio’s Fifth District Court of Appeals and Licking County Common Pleas Court. The Ohio History Connection filed a civil lawsuit in 2018 against Moundbuilders Country Club, intending to buy back the lease on the property, which has been operated as a golf course since 1910.
On Jan. 29, 2020, the Ohio Fifth District Court of Appeals rejected a Moundbuilders appeal, affirming a May 10, 2019, decision of Licking County Common Pleas Court Judge David Branstool that OHC has the authority to acquire the lease by eminent domain.
The Newark golf course is located at the Octagon Earthworks site, which is part of Newark Earthworks, the largest set of geometric earthen enclosures in the world, along with Wright Earthworks in Newark and the Great Circle in Newark and Heath.
The Newark Earthworks is part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The National Parks Service announced earlier this year the nomination will be considered in the summer.
Jen Aultman, the Ohio History Connection director of historical sites and museums, envisions increased public access, guided tours, more interpretive signs so visitors know what they’re seeing, and many schoolchildren learning about the site.
“That’s a big focus,” Aultman said of school trips. “That’s been happening for decades. Kids to come and learn about American Indian culture and the connection with astronomy and geometry.”
Critics of the OHC point to trees left on the ground for several months at the Great Circle after a severe storm a few years ago. They question OHC’s funding to care for its 59 properties.
“We only bring heavy equipment onto that archeological site during certain periods, so downed trees may site there for a while, and that’s related to preservation,” Aultman said. “We’re always looking for dry times to remove them. That is always something to consider.
“The state partially funds us. It’s a large site system. We have the funds to do what we need to do.”
Lepper said if the OHC controls the property, it will no longer look like a golf course, but that doesn’t mean it’s not being maintained.
“These sites are not supposed to look like a golf course,” Lepper said. “They’re supposed to look like a park. A grassland, almost a prairie. They were prairies before the Earthworks were built. It was a managed environment by American Indian people.”
Lepper said things like tee boxes and anything that is an imposition of the landscape” will likely be removed, and trees lost will not be replaced.
He said the plans for the property will not be determined just by the OHC.
“I imagine we’ll try to involve the community and American Indian tribes,” Lepper said.
During the 2019 Newark mayoral race, Mayor Jeff Hall explained his administration’s view.
“It’s one of those tough cases I’ve just stayed neutral on,” Hall said. “Not all decisions are easy and clean. There’s pluses and minuses on both sides of this.
“The golf course has done a great job of maintaining it for many years. I get it for Moundbuilders Country Club. It’s tough for them. Their membership is down. They’re having some financial issues. We’ll deal with whatever the results are, at the end.”
Newark Service Director Dave Rhodes this week said, “The role for the city hasn’t been completely laid out yet. One thing that is concerning is the care of the property. The land has been very well preserved by the country club since 1910. There’s a little concern about how it will be kept.
“Change is always hard and the golf course is what Newark has known for years. They’ve paid a lot of taxes and had a lot of community events. A viable business in the community. The club has done an awfully nice job of caring for those grounds. The decision is a long way from being over. There’s still a long ways to go.”
The country club has asked the Ohio Supreme for a reconsideration of its decision. It’s not clear if that reconsideration will happen this year with the current seven justices or next year when the court changes based on the recent general election.
The new chief justice will be Sharon Kennedy, who cast the lone dissenting vote in Wednesday’s decision. Leaving the court will be Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Republican who voted against the country club’s appeal.
