South Park Exhibits

A Whittlesey village was on a bluff across from this Ohio historical marker and graphic panel.

NPS / Arrye Rosser

Quick Facts

Location:

Park at Canal Exploration Center, 7104 Canal Road, Valley View, Ohio 44125 and hike north on the Towpath Trail

Significance:

Whittlesey Tradition people lived in Northeast Ohio during the Middle Woodland period. Nearby South Park Village was a significant site that has been heavily impacted by modern human use.

Designation:

Ohio & Erie Canal District, Ohio and Erie Canalway National Heritage Area, Ohio to Erie Trail, Industrial Heartland Trail Network

Amenities

3 listed

Audio Description, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

The land around you has a long history of human occupation. From 1000 to about 400 years ago, a thriving village bustled with life on the bluff across the Cuyahoga River. It was occupied, abandoned, and re-occupied many times during those six centuries. Archeologists call the culture that lived there the Whittlesey Tradition. Colonel Charles Whittlesey was the first to scientifically describe their sites. Whittlesey lifeways resembled the Fort Ancient culture of the Ohio River Valley. Archeologists identify the Whittlesey Tradition by their unique pottery and points.

These people lived in a walled village, and used the fields around you to cultivate corn, beans, and squash. Those foods were eaten with meat from deer, elk, bear and other game as well as foods from the river. We learn about past people from what they leave behind. What will we leave behind and what will it say about us?

Note that it is illegal to collect artifacts or disturb archeological sites within the national park.