Field Notes Ohio

Ohio's parks, forests and wildlife areas with camping, the ancient mounds beside them, and the Buckeye Trail that links them. Stories, trails, wildlife, and where to eat and fuel up nearby. Book campsites on ReserveOhio.
Try:
The Buckeye TrailA 1,444-mile blue-blazed loop around Ohio, with all 26 sections.
›
Mounds & Earthworks43 ancient sites, including the Great Serpent Mound and the Newark Earthworks.
›
Historic Sites39 places, from Fort Steuben and Zoar to Camp Chase and the Rankin House, from the frontier to the Civil War.
›
Road Trips33 drives, from the Lincoln Highway to the Morgan Heritage Trail.
›
Lake Erie Beaches20 public beaches from Conneaut to Toledo and the islands, with a map.
›
Oddities & Roadside Attractions19 giants, ghosts and folk-art stops, plus a Mothman just over the line.
›
Caves & Caverns12 show caverns, recess caves and rock shelters, with a map.
›
Waterfalls34 falls from the Cuyahoga Valley to the Hocking Hills, with trail notes and a map.
›

Explore Ohio

One map for every park, mound, historic site, beach, cave, waterfall and oddity in the app.

Lake ErieWest Virginia27 places277 places77 places73 places35 places519 places1913 places1319 places1916 places168 places810 places1010 places109 places98 places820 places204 places43 places3Barkcamp State Park4 places47 places77 places76 places69 places917 places173 places3Harrison Lake State Park2 places2Forked Run State Park3 places32 places26 places610 places103 places32 places2

Tap a symbol for a preview, or search for a place. Open the key to show or hide categories.

117 parks in 7 regions

Old Maid's Orchard Mound

Lithopolis · Fairfield County · Central Ohio
An Adena mound in a Metro Park orchard
National Register of Historic PlacesIn Chestnut Ridge Metro Park

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.
Primary official source
Official page
Location confidence
Approximate — boundary or exact point not confirmed
Approximate location
Check current conditions
Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets
Tickets or admission info

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.

An 8-foot burial mound tucked into an old orchard, with a name nobody has explained.

Size
About 8 feet high, with a diameter of about 75 feet
Setting
In an area of small fruit trees and underbrush, just west of Northern Amanda Road, in Chestnut Ridge Metro Park
Condition
Little changed; cultivation damaged the north side and rodents have dug holes in it
Why Adena
Archaeologists attribute it to the Adena because of its location and shape
Listed
National Register of Historic Places, 1974; one of five Fairfield County mound sites on the Register

The story

Old Maid's Orchard Mound is one of several burial mounds east of Lithopolis, and it lies within Chestnut Ridge Metro Park. It stands about eight feet high with a diameter of around 75 feet, in an area of small fruit trees and underbrush, and it has changed little with time. Cultivation of the ground around the orchard damaged its north side and rodents have burrowed into it, but its integrity is largely intact. Archaeologists have concluded that the Adena built it, based on its location and shape.

Adena mounds usually cover burials, postholes from house foundations or other made features, which makes this one a valuable archaeological site, and it was placed on the National Register in 1974. It is one of five Fairfield County mound sites on the Register, along with the Theodore B. Schaer Mound, the Tarlton Cross Mound, the Coon Hunters Mound and the Fortner Mounds.

Related sites

The Old Maid and Her Orchard

Everyone who reads the name asks the same question: who was the old maid, and whose orchard was it? Nobody in the sources says. The mound sits among small fruit trees and brush, and its name has outlasted whatever story lay behind it.

What the name leaves behind is a small, quiet mound with the orchard growing around it, on a trail in a busy Metro Park.

Behind the legend

The name is a puzzle. The documented facts are the mound's size, its condition and its listing, and the note that it is one of five Fairfield County sites on the National Register. The orchard is the mound's setting today, and the sources do not explain the 'old maid.'

Metro Parks lists it in its Native American Heritage Month material as an Adena mound just west of Northern Amanda Road.

If you go

Ask the Metro Parks staff at Chestnut Ridge for directions to the mound, and pair the visit with the park's other trails.

Visiting

Status
In a Metro Park
Managed by
Metro Parks (central Ohio)
Hours
Located within Chestnut Ridge Metro Park; check Metro Parks for trails and hours.
Admission
Free (check Metro Parks)
Please note
Stay off the mound.
Official information →

Parks nearby

Buckeye Lake State Park
About 17 miles · Ohio's oldest state park, with a floating bog.
Open

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