Could several Ohio landmarks be ranked alongside Stonehenge in England, the Acropolis in Athens and the Grand Canyon? Ohio citizens now have the opportunity to write letters of support to the National Park Service to include the four nominations of archaeological and historic properties in the state on the World Heritage List, an honor given to natural and cultural sites with significance to all people of the world.

The list, which is maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), currently consists of 851 sites in 141 countries. The National Park Service has prepared a tentative list of 19 U.S. cultural and natural areas, including three of the nominations for Ohio sites. The fourth Ohio nomination was recommended for future consideration.

The three Ohio nominations currently on the tentative list, the most for any state, represent 12 historic and prehistoric sites, including four that are managed by the Ohio Historical Society:

THE HOPEWELL CEREMONIAL EARTHWORKS, a multi-site nomination consisting of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park’s five ancient earthworks in Ross County, including the Ohio Historical Society’s Seip Mound, as well as the Society’s Newark Earthworks in Licking County and Fort Ancient in Warren County.
SERPENT MOUND in Adams County, a state memorial administered by the Ohio Historical Society
DAYTON AVIATION SITES, another multi-site nomination comprising Huffman Prairie Flying Field at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Wright Cycle Company, the nearby Wright and Wright Printing office, the Wright Flier III at Carillon Historical Park, and the Wright family home, Hawthorne Hill, in Dayton.

Ohio’s fourth nomination, the Underground Railroad Sites of the Rankin and Parker houses in Ripley, was not included on the tentative list. The Ohio Historical Society and the Underground Freedom Center in Cincinnati believe these sites are an important early aspect of the civil rights movement deserving reconsideration by the National Park Service and urge their inclusion on the final list.

Once finalized in January 2008, this list will serve as the source of nominations as the United States submits two sites every year for consideration by the World Heritage Commission during a 10-year period starting in 2009. At present, only 20 sites in the United States are listed and none are from Ohio. Being named a World Heritage Site highlights the importance of the site and increases awareness of the sites, which drives tourism and economic development.

Individuals wishing to send letters of support for the four Ohio nominations for inclusion on the final list of U.S. nominations to the World Heritage List should send their comments on or before Nov. 30, 2007, to: Jonathan Putnam, Office of International Affairs, NPS, 1201 Eye Street, NW, (0050), Washington, DC 20005; or by e-mail at jonathan_putnam@nps.gov; or by phone at 202/354-1809 or fax at 202/371-1446. All comments will become a matter of public record.

More information about the World Heritage List and the nominated Ohio sites as well as a sample letter of support can be found at www.ohiohistory.org.

This sounds like a great opportunity for Ohio! Can you tell us how Ohio got involved? And how the sites were selected?