Field NotesOhio

Alligator Effigy Mound

Granville · Licking County · Central Ohio

Ohio's other effigy mound

National Register of Historic PlacesEffigy mound

A mystery animal on a hill above Granville, one of only two effigy mounds in Ohio.

Shape: A four-legged animal with its head toward the southwest, about 250 feet from head to tail
Height: About 4 to 6 feet, with the head, shoulders and back highest
Age: Dates from a 1999 excavation average AD 1170 to 1270, which points to the Fort Ancient culture
Setting: A hilltop about 150 feet above the Raccoon Creek valley in Granville
Purpose: A ceremonial site, not a burial mound
Listed: National Register of Historic Places, 1971

The story

Alligator Mound is a mound in the shape of an animal, about 250 feet from head to tail, on a hill above the Raccoon Creek valley. Squier and Davis mapped it in 1848 and described it as strange, noting that a graded way ten feet wide led to a small circular platform, or altar, of burned stones on the north side. Because it sits so close to the Newark Earthworks, scholars assumed for a long time that the Hopewell built it. But the Hopewell are not known to have built other effigy mounds, and limited excavations in 1999 recovered charcoal that averages between AD 1170 and 1270, which points to the Fort Ancient culture.

The mound contained no burials. A stone path leading to a circular stone patio showed signs of many fires, and the excavators concluded that it was a ceremonial site. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Related sites

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed: September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Location confidence: Verified entrance or visitor center
Published coordinates

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

Why Is It Called the Alligator?

There were never alligators in ancient Ohio, and everyone who visits asks why the mound has that name. The usual explanation is that early settlers looked at the long body, four legs and tail and saw an alligator, and the name stuck to the hill for good. Squier and Davis, mapping it in 1848, noted that it was known in the neighborhood as the Alligator and admitted they found little to recommend the name.

Other guesses over the years include a panther, an opossum, a squirrel and a lizard.

Behind the legend

The best-known modern theory comes from Brad Lepper, the Ohio History Connection's head archaeologist: that the mound may depict the underwater panther, a horned, scaled being from Native American mythology said to live in deep water, and that 'alligator' may have grown out of a misunderstanding. Others have argued against that and say nobody recorded a conversation with Native people about the mound. The animal is still unidentified.

What is known is the date. The 1999 excavation found charcoal at the base that averages between AD 1170 and 1270.

If you go

Walk up to the hilltop and look down at the shape, then drive to the Newark Earthworks a few miles away for the other half of the story.

Visiting

Status

Public park

Managed by

Local ownership; kept as a small public park

Hours

Open to the public; check with the Granville area before you go.

Admission

Free (verify locally)

Please note

Stay off the mound and treat it as a sacred site.

Parks nearby

Buckeye Lake State Park

About 10 miles · Ohio's oldest state park, a canal-feeder lake with a nature preserve.

Dillon State Park

About 22 miles · A lakeside camping park near Flint Ridge and Blackhand Gorge.

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

Know a place that belongs here, or spotted something out of date? Email hello@fieldnotesohio.com.