September 23, 1998
Roger Drake, Tri-Village News Reporter
The Grandview Heights-Marble Cliff Historical Society learned a little more about prehistoric times in Grandview Heights Tuesday at its annual meeting featuring guest speaker and archaeologist Donald Gehlbach.
Gehlbach is a member of the Ohio Archaeological Society and has published over 100 articles on the subject. He has also written two books: The Archaeology of Franklin County and Ohio Prehistoric Pipes.
Gehlbach's presentation featured slides and discussion of Indian mounds in Franklin County focusing on the Toepfner mound, located at the corner of Riverside Drive and Grandview Avenue and its excavation in 1953.
The Toepfner mound was built by the Adena Indians in prehistoric times. It stood about 30 feet high and 165 feet in diameter. [See photograph]
While the Hopewell Indians are the most well-known mound builders in Ohio, the Adena Indians built many mounds, some of which still exist today, Gehlbach said.
Gehlbach gave a brief history of the Toepfner mound, citing records dating back to 1860.
In 1860 W. A. Anderson owned a farmstead where the mound was and preserved it as part of the landscape. In 1888 Anderson sold the land to W. A. Pope.
"Pope was a preservationist of his time," Gehlbach said. "Pope cleared the underbrush from the mound, put a layer of stone at the base to prevent erosion and put a layer of sod on the mound every year."
In the 1930s Pope died and his widow moved to San Francisco with their daughter. Grandview was beginning to develop, and the land was no longer a farmstead, Gehlbach said. The Pope family decided to sell.
The Ohio Historical Society was interested in purchasing the property, but couldn't afford it, he said.
In 1946 Joseph Toepfner bought the land. He owned a Studebaker dealership on North High Street. Business was booming and he wanted to expand his dealership, Gehlbach said.
He thought the property at the corner of Grandview Avenue and Riverside Drive would provide plenty of visibility, Gehlbach said.
Toepfner's business eventually went sour. He decided not to expand, but still wanted to develop the land. He hired a company to bulldoze the mound.
"But every time Toepfner tried to bulldoze the mound Grandview Heights' citizens would stop him. They called the Ohio Historical Society and the newspapers," Gehlbach said. The struggle went on for seven years.
In 1953, Toepfner needed the property for commercial development and finally gave in. He decided to let the Ohio Historical Society excavate the mound. He gave them only 90 days, which was only enough time for a "salvage excavation," Gehlbach said.
Dr. Ray Baby and his assistant, Bob Goslin, were in charge of the excavation. Because of the time constraint they decided to bulldoze the top 18 feet and focus on the bottom 4 feet, Gehlbach said.
However, the Toepfner mound was different than other Adena mounds. There were burials throughout the mound, not just in the bottom, Gehlbach said.
They found 85 graves buried over a time period of 600 years. They also found many artifacts including spearheads, clothing and a one-of-a-kind pipe, Gehlbach said.
Gehlbach said the Ohio Historical Society has possession of the artifacts, and many are on display.
For more information on the Toepfner mound and Gehlbach's books, contact the Grandview Heights-Marble Cliff Historical Society through the Grandview Heights Public Library.
[See related story and look at still existing mound near Trabue and McKinley]
