Golf course built on ‘America’s Stonehenge’ must surrender lease

A golf club in Ohio that was built on land that’s been compared to Stonehenge and Machu Picchu must surrender its lease, a court has ruled.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the Moundbuilders Country Club, which opened in 1910, must accept a payment from the state’s historical society which bought the land in 1933 – even though the golf club signed a lease with it until 2078.

The Ohio History Connection wants to expel the club and create a public park in an attempt to gain recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The 18-hole venue is built atop Octagon Earthworks, which are considered an astronomical and geometric marvel.

The golf club has said that it would be willing to surrender the lease if it was offered the right amount, but the two parties remained millions of dollars apart in their negotiations, and the value of the lease will now be determined in a jury trial in a lower court. The state’s representatives have proposed ’eminent domain’ compensation of $1.7 million. The country club wants $12 million.

“The historical, archaeological and astronomical significance of the Octagon Earthworks is arguably equivalent to Stonehenge or Machu Picchu,” Justice Michael P. Donnelly wrote in the 6-1 decision, which upheld two rulings by lower courts.

Octagon Earthworks. Image by ‘Carptrash’

The mounds in Newark are part of a network of eight archaeological sites in Ohio, known as the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, that were built by Native Americans about 2,000 years ago. They were created one basketful of earth at a time, using pointed sticks and clamshell hoes.

The Ohio History Connection sued the country club in 2018 in an attempt to acquire the lease, and in March announced it had submitted the earthworks site and two others for World Heritage recognition. Federal officials had told the historical society that securing such recognition, which brings international acclaim and legal protection, would be impossible without full public access to the site.

“The court’s decision recognises the incredible accomplishments of American Indian ancestors in Ohio, how relevant these amazing earthworks remain today and how essential their preservation is for the future,” Megan Wood, the executive director and chief executive of the Ohio History Connection, said in a statement.

David Kratoville, the president of the Moundbuilders Country Club’s board of trustees, wrote in an email that the group was disappointed but might file a request with the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider its decision.

He said the historical society had “never offered Moundbuilders adequate compensation to relocate their business to another property in Licking County,” citing the costs of relocating and building a replacement golf course.

The club had argued that the History Connection did not make a good-faith offer to acquire the lease after the property was initially appraised, as is required for an eminent domain seizure, and that ending the lease was not necessary to establish public use.