Field NotesOhio
Upper Falls in the Old Man's Cave gorge, Hocking Hills, with visitors on the rocks

An independent field guide · 365 places

The field guide to outdoor Ohio

Parks and forests, ancient mounds, caves, waterfalls and back roads, with the story behind each place and where to eat and fuel up nearby.
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  • 117parks & forests
  • 64ancient mounds
  • 34waterfalls
  • 40historic sites
  • 33road trips

Old Man's Cave, Hocking Hills · Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0

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State parks & forests117 places, with cabins, campsites and trails117 places Waterfalls34 falls, with trail notes34 falls Mounds & earthworks64 ancient sites, from Serpent Mound to Newark64 ancient sites Caves & caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters12 caves Lake Erie beaches20 public beaches, Conneaut to Toledo20 beaches Historic sites40 places, from the frontier to the Civil War40 places Road trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail33 drives Oddities19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops19 roadside stops The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile loop, all 26 sections1,444 miles

New to the guide?

Six places to start

One from every corner of the state, each with its full story inside.

01Old Man's CaveHocking Hills · SoutheastA gorge of waterfalls and recess caves where a hermit is said to have lived, with the park's visitor center. 02Great Serpent MoundAdams County · SouthwestA gigantic earthen snake on a hilltop over Ohio Brush Creek, built by a people whose name is still argued over. 03Brandywine FallsCuyahoga Valley · NortheastThe tallest waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, reached by an easy boardwalk with an accessible upper overlook. 04Marblehead LighthouseMarblehead · Lake ErieThe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, lit since 1821, on nine acres of limestone shoreline. 05Zoar VillageTuscarawas County · EasternA well-preserved communal village founded by German separatists in 1817, on the Ohio & Erie Canal. 06Longaberger Basket BuildingNewark · CentralA seven-story office building shaped like a picnic basket, with handles that are heated in winter.

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Lake ErieWest Virginia36 places368 places813 places135 places523 places2321 places2124 places2416 places1613 places134 places418 places182 places217 places1710 places1014 places142 places27 places76 places613 places133 places34 places414 places143 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places22 places22 places26 places64 places4

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Parks, forests & wildlife areas

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117 parks in 7 regions

Carl Potter Mound

Mechanicsburg · Champaign County · West-Central Ohio
A low burial mound on a ridge in a pasture
National Register of Historic Places
Directions →

A worn-down burial mound in a Champaign County pasture.

Also called
Hodge Mound II
Setting
On a small ridge in a pasture in southeastern Union Township, near Mechanicsburg
Condition
Very low because of past farming
Found
Human remains and a grooved stone axe in the late 1930s, with more burials likely still unexcavated
Viewing
Reported to be visible from State Route 56
Listed
National Register of Historic Places, 1974

The story

The Carl Potter Mound, also known as Hodge Mound II, is a burial mound on a small ridge in a pasture in southeastern Union Township, near Mechanicsburg. Farming has left it very low. Investigations in the late 1930s found human remains and a grooved stone axe inside, which suggests more burials are still there. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as a potential archaeological site because of its use as a burial mound.

Related sites

Visiting information you can trust

Check before driving — this site is seasonal, approximate, privately run, or otherwise uncertain. Confirm hours and access with the official source above.
Content last reviewed
September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Location confidence
Approximate — boundary or exact point not confirmed
Use the listed address for directions; treat the map pin as a general area.

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.

The Axe in the Mound

Not every mound is a giant. This one has been plowed and grazed down until it is barely a swell in a pasture. But when it was probed in the late 1930s, it gave up human remains and a stone axe, grooved so a handle could be tied on.

The people who buried their dead here are still in the ground.

Behind the legend

The finds are documented in the National Register description. Nothing more was excavated. The mound's age and culture are not firmly established in the sources.

If you go

View the mound from State Route 56 and respect the pasture.

Visiting

Status
Roadside view
Managed by
Private pasture
Hours
The mound sits in a pasture east of State Route 56 and can be seen from the road; it is not open to the public.
Please note
Please stay on the road and do not enter the pasture.

Parks nearby

Buck Creek State Park
About 12 miles · A big lake park on Springfield's edge.
Open

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

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