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…
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