The Dingfelder Circle, an earthen enclosure in Corry, Pennsylvania, that’s about two-feet high and roughly 200 feet in diameter, has been on the Conservancy’s radar for a very long time and is now finally preserved. The earthwork sits on a family farm that’s under cultivation, and a corner of the site is bordered by a busy intersection. The concern was that if the landowner sold it, the site could be destroyed by development. Billboards now stand on the land adjacent to the circle.
Twenty years ago, when the Conservancy first learned of the site, the land was owned by Gary Dingfelder. Gary wanted to preserve the site, but in order to keep the farm intact and in the family, he sold the land to his grandson, Tom Dingfelder. Luckily, Tom, who was also passionate about preserving the site, took good care of it over the years.
The earthwork probably dates to the Late Prehistoric period, but very little research has been done to confirm when it was constructed and why native people built it here.
Summary. Read full text in American Archaeology, Winter 2015-16 | Vol. 19 No. 3
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Dingfelder Circle in the News
Early Indian earthwork near Corry to be preserved, June 4, 2016
