Flint Ridge Ancient Quarries & Nature Preserve

Flint Ridge is one of the finest remaining examples in Licking County of a mature beech-maple-oak hardwood forest community. It is unclear how old the forest truly is, but historical aerials dating back to the 1940s indicate an intact forest community. Many of the trees in the preserve are over 100 years old. Flint Ridge is approximately 533 acres in size. For more than 14,000 years, American Indian cultures quarried the flint and made it into a variety of weapons, tools, and other objects. Over a thousand prehistoric quarry pits are scattered along the ridge. It is believed by many archaeologists that the Hopewell culture traded the highly prized flint for materials from other parts of North America. Today, the forest supports a diverse array of plant and animals species, many of which are considered sensitive and uncommon or rare for the region.