After more than a decade of at-times acrimonious back and forth, Ohio’s state historical society has reached a deal with a country club that operates a golf course on land it owns that contains ancient Native American earthworks that were built as sacred sites some 2,000 years ago.
Under the agreement, the society, known as the Ohio History Connection, will acquire the club’s long-term lease on the property and open the site for full public access, the society announced on Thursday.
The financial terms were not disclosed, but the settlement allows both parties — which were initially millions of dollars apart in their negotiations — to avoid a jury trial to determine the fair market value of the lease.