Newark

History

Cultures of indigenous peoples lived along the river valleys for thousands of years before European contact. From more than two thousand years ago, 100 AD to 500 AD, people of the Hopewell culture transformed the area of Newark and Heath. They built many earthen mounds and enclosures, creating the single largest earthwork complex in the Ohio River Valley. The Newark Earthworks, designated a National Historic Landmark, have been preserved to document and interpret the area's significant ancient history. The earthworks cover several square miles and about 206 acres. This is operated as a state park by the Ohio History Connection. The Observatory Mound, Observatory Circle, and the interconnected Octagon earthworks span nearly in length. The Octagon alone is large enough to contain four Roman Coliseums. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt would fit precisely within Observatory Circle. The even larger -diameter Newark Great Circle, located in Heath, is the largest circular earthwork in the Americas. The -high walls surround a -deep moat. At the entrance, the walls and moat are of greater and more impressive dimensions. Contemporary archaeogeodesy and archaeoastronomy researchers have demonstrated that the Hopewell and other prehistoric cultures had advanced scientific understandings which they used to create their earthworks for astronomical observations, markings and celebrations. Researchers analyzed the placements, alignments, dimensions, and site-to-site interrelationships of the Hopewell earthworks to understand what had been done. Today, the Ohio Historical Society preserves the Great Circle Earthworks in a public park near downtown Newark, called Mound Builders Park (or the Newark Earthworks) located at 99 Cooper Ave, Newark, Ohio. The area of the Octagon…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Newark is located at (40.063014, −82.416779).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,944
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,750
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  10,095
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  9,397
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,215
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,988
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  8,852
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  8,558

Largest nearby schools

• Newark High School
  High · Newark · 1,424 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• Licking Valley Elementary School
  Elementary · Newark · 969 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Granville High School
  High · Granville · 816 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• Granville Elementary School
  Elementary · Granville · 746 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Career and Technology Educational Centers
  High · Newark · 660 students · 8.9:1 ratio
• Granville Intermediate School
  Middle · Granville · 589 students · 19.6:1 ratio
• Licking Valley High School
  High · Newark · 540 students · 18:1 ratio
• Licking Valley Middle School
  Middle · Newark · 523 students · 20.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2025-05-09
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2025-04-29
  1 km SE of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-24
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-22
  3 km ESE of Buffalo, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2018-01-26
  7 km NNW of Vincent, Ohio
• M 3.4 — 2017-06-03
  1 km WNW of Batesville, Ohio