The court ruled the Ohio golf course surrounding an old Native American earthwork monument was significant enough to be considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site classification, and thereby the lease must be terminated.
The Octagon Earthwork in Newark, Ohio, is one of eight complexes of clay mounds constructed by the now-extinct Hopewell culture. These 2,000-year-old buildings were probably used as observatories. The largest and best preserved of these complexes is the Octagon Earthwork.
Previously, a militia camp was located on the property. However, in 1910, the Mound Builders Country Club leased the property and built a golf course. Since then, they have kept up the mounds. Some individuals believe that the golf course included in the US National Register of Historic Places in 1964 was not the ideal location for it.
According to the court decision, the organization’s lease is up in 2078. They must vacate the premises to make the region accessible to the general public for it to be listed on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. In 2018, The Ohio History Connection made an $800,000 purchase bid, but they increased it to $1.7 million after the property received that appraisal.
