Six miles north of Somerset lies one of Ohio’s best preserved hilltop enclosures. Although still on private land, it can be visited (inquire locally with the Historical Society of Perry County pchs@perrycountyohiohistory.org or at the Cooperider Farm (4265 Twp Rd 19NW, email lizcoop1@juno.com). The steep, quarter-mile climb through beautiful, old-growth forest is rewarded with views of an intact, mile-long, all-stone embankment wall surrounding the level hilltop, with a stone ceremonial mound in the center. Glenford Fort is one of the best examples of a walled hilltop enclosure in the region. In the words of Norman Muller:

Glenford Fort owes its remarkable state of preservation to having been in the hands of one family for close to two hundred years. The wall is probably much the same as it looked when Caleb Atwater first laid eyes on it in 1818.

The stone enclosure walls of the Hopewell era Glenford Fort stand atop a plateau in old-growth forests. (Photo by Tom Johnson)

Flint Ridge, Coshocton

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