Shawnee Nation Chief Benjamin Barnes, right, responds to Johnston Farm & Indian Agency Board President Mike Barhorst’s invitation to visit the Johnston Farm site. The Indian Agency operated by John Johnston served the Shawnee, Wyandotte, Seneca and Delaware tribes prior to the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Courtesy photo | Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst
COLUMBUS — In his capacity as board president of the Johnston Farm & Indian Agency, Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst was an invited guest for the annual meeting of Ohio History Connection (OHC), formerly the Ohio Historical Society. OHC owns 58 historic sites across the state, each operated by a board responsible for the management of their respective site.
OHC’s annual meeting took place this past week in Columbus at the Ohio History Center, said a press release from Barhorst. The current slate of officers, including President Charley Moses, Vice President Ann Bair, Vice President Betty Weibel, Treasurer Melody Young and Secretary Alex Hastie were re-elected.
Those in attendance joined in celebrating the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks being selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Those speaking about the lengthy process included OHC Executive Director and CEO Megan Wood, Wyandotte Nation Chief Billy Friend, Shawnee Nation Chief Benjamin Barnes, and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Director of Interpretation and Education Susan Knisley.
“There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States,” Wyandotte Nation Chief Friend said in the release. ”At one time, there were 45 tribes that made their home in Ohio.”
“One thing I know,” Friend continued, “history is not for us to like or dislike – it is for us to learn from. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are not only inspiring, but they give us the opportunity to tell our story.”
“While our country is young,” Shawnee Nation Chief Benjamin Barnes said in the release, “the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are evidence that people have called this land home for thousands of years.”
“Over the course of my life,” Barhorst said in the release, “I have visited the mounds several times. To say that they are awe-inspiring would be an understatement.”
“Although many local residents do not know it, there is a mound on the Johnston Farm site,” Barhorst noted. “It is one of more than 70 mounds that have been identified in the Buckeye State. Certainly I join in congratulating those who have worked tirelessly over a period of years to see the mounds recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.”
The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are Ohio’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and the 25th World Heritage Listing in the United States. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks include eight locations in Ohio that are managed by the National Park Service and Ohio History Connection. They join other UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon.
