The Licking County Historical Society

 Alligator Mound is a gigantic earthen sculpture of some four-footed animal with a long curving tail.  It was built by one of Ohio's prehistoric Indian cultures sometime between 800 and 1200 B.C.  Although it has been referred to as "the Alligator" since it was first reported in the Smithsonian Institution's Contributions to Knowledge, it is more likely that the giant effigy represents an opossum, a panther, or perhaps a salamander.  Like the Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, the Alligator Mound is not a burial mound.  It is made of mounded earth and small chunks of broken and burned rock.  Similar effigy mounds are known from Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois where they were built between 600 and 1200 A.D.

The Alligator Mound is one of the most remarkable remnants of Ohio prehistoric Indian heritage. It is located on a prominent hilltop overlooking the Raccoon Creek valley east of Granville, Ohio where it has reclined, Sphinx-like, for untold centuries.

Location: End of Bryn Du Drive, Granville, Ohio

Contact: The Licking County Historical Society

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