NEWARK – The stars and the moon may finally be aligned for Ohio History Connection to gain permanent access to the Octagon Earthworks, where a golf course has operated since 1910.
Everybody may get what they want thanks to The Trout Club, which has agreed to sell its north Newark property to Moundbuilders Country Club, which operates the golf course at the Earthworks site.
“We have reached a deal in principle to purchase The Trout Club before the end of the year,” Moundbuilders attorney Joe Fraley said. “This deal allows us to have confidence the club will survive.”
The Ohio History Connection, previously the Ohio Historical Society, has been trying to buy back its lease on the property from Moundbuilders since 2013, five years before it sued for control of the property. The Historical Society extended the lease in 1997 to 2078.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in December 2022 that the Ohio History Connection could take the Country Club by eminent domain. A jury trial will determine how much OHC must pay Moundbuilders for the property, unless the two sides come to an agreement.
“The goal of Moundbuilders was to survive and without survival, there was never a thought we could settle,” Fraley said. “We’re still talking with OHC. My guess is you’ll hear something on that in the next 10 days.”
Trout Club owner Brent Dewey bought the north Newark property in 2014 and made $2.4 million in improvements and renovations to the facility, then had to do much of it again after an extensive fire to the clubhouse in late 2015.
Dewey said Moundbuilders approached the Trout Club more than a year ago, and negotiations have continued ever since.
“We’re doing the best thing for the club, the community and the employees,” Dewey said. “We look it as a win-win for all sides. They got shoved out of their land. Now they have a home secure.”
The state has been seeking increased access to the Moundbuilders site for decades, obtaining permission in 2002 to have four golf-free, open house days per year. Moundbuilders is a private country club at 125 N. 33 rd St., Newark.
The purchase of The Trout Club, a public resort, would give Moundbuilders a place to continue its golf tradition in Newark and allow Ohio History Connection to transform the Octagon Earthworks, which became a World Heritage site in September , into a public park.
Ohio History Connection could gain access to Octagon Earthworks site just in time for lunar alignment in October
A jury trial in Licking County Common Pleas Court to determine the value of the country club’s lease was scheduled for October but was postponed after Moundbuilders appealed a ruling by Judge David Branstool about who could testify.
The jury trial was rescheduled for Feb. 20 , then rescheduled for July 15 but postponed again . No new date has been set.
Ohio History Connection spokesperson Neil Thompson said a status conference with Branstool is scheduled for Aug. 16.
“As I understand it, that’s the next step,” Thompson said.
The timing of the Moundbuilders’ departure may be just in time for the best moonrise viewing at the Octagon Earthworks, where events are tentatively planned for the fall and spring.
The Octagon consists of two combined earthwork enclosures above the floodplain of Raccoon Creek. It includes a 20-acre circle and a 50-acre octagon, connected by a small passageway. It aligns with the lunar cycle, and every 18.6 years, the moon rises directly through the passageway linking the Observatory Circle and the Octagon.
Sarah Hinkelman, site manager of the Newark Earthworks, said there is about a two-year period, potentially, for good viewing of the moonrise. If the OHC buys back the lease, it would have total control of the site for the spring dates.
Nineteen years ago, the 2005 Moonrise Committee tried unsuccessfully to negotiate an agreement with Moundbuilders Country Club for access to the Octagon Earthworks for October and November moonrise viewings and settled for a Nov. 18, 2005, moonrise event at Geller Park in Heath.
It could be much different this time.
Thompson said the next open house days on Oct. 20-21 coincide with moonrise viewing opportunities, which may be limited to Native American tribes whose ancestors were here 2,000 years ago, but no final decisions have been made.
Hinkelman said a public viewing event could also occur in March, when the golf course will likely be gone and OHC can control the entire site.
What would that be like?
"I don't know that I have the words for it," Hinkelman said. "Absolutely amazing to share that with the people, being part of something bigger than ourselves."
Thompson said the moonrise viewing plans are still uncertain: “We’re just not sure,” he said. “We’re waiting for the outcome of the court case."
The Trout Club hopes employees will keep their jobs, already working on 'creative ideas' for public-private merger
Dewey said The Trout Club’s 45 employees were told of the pending agreement on Tuesday, but he said he hopes it won't affect them.
“There’s always concern and anxiety,” Dewey said. “Their status is undecided, but the goal is to create a super team between their people and our people. My wish list is everybody keeps a job.”
The Trout Club, a 158-acre public resort that includes a golf course, dining and entertainment spaces and an outdoor pool, has a value of $3.6 million, according to the Licking County Auditor’s website.
Located at 2250 Horns Hill Road, The Trout Club started as a fish hatchery and golf course in 1960.
The Trout Club is a public course, but Moundbuilders is a private, member-owned country club. So, what will the merged entity be like?
“They’re still working on that,” Dewey said. “They have some creative ideas.”
Fraley said, “At this point in time, what we want to do is offer a variety of packages of memberships.”
Dewey said he will remain around the property even after the change in ownership.
“I still have my construction company, and we’re building condos there,” Dewey said. “I’m going to be a member there. It’s a member-owned course, so I’ll still have my hand in there and a say on how things are done.”
Dewey and Fraley both said they do not know if The Trout Club name will continue.
“There’s lots of questions out there in the community,” Dewey said. “It’d be weird to call it Moundbuilders Trout Club.”
kmallett@newarkadvocate.com
740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Moundbuilders reaches deal to buy Trout Club, allowing state to control Octagon Earthworks
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