Warren K. Moorehead Papers, 1904-1929, 1986 | Denison University Archives

Warren King Moorehead was born on March 10, 1866, in Italy. His parents, Dr. William G. Moorehead and Helen King, were American missionaries stationed in Italy. Moorehead’s mother died when he was a young child; and once his father remarried, he moved with his family to Xenia, Ohio. Even as a child, Moorehead exhibited a fascination with archaeology, although his family did not support this interest. He attended Denison University, and it was during this time that he began to study Fort Ancient—a Native American archaeological culture in Ohio. Shortly after his graduation in 1887, Moorehead met Dr. Thomas Wilson of the Smithsonian Institution who encouraged him to study at the University of Pennsylvania; however, he pivoted towards opportunities for publication. Moorehead’s 1890 published work, Wanneta, The Sioux, led to opportunities to lecture as well as further publishing.

Having been on site during the weeks leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29, 1890, Moorehead spent time afterwards attempting to publish his account of events as well as obtain justice for the Lakota people. He returned to Ohio and obtained a position developing a display for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago World’s Fair). It was through this work that Moorehead began working with Frederic Ward Putnam, the originator of an academic field of archaeology in the United States. Putnam and Moorehead’s work resulted in Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and establishment of parameters for the study of Native American Mound Builders of the Ohio River valley; however, his lack of thorough documentation and destruction of sites left many archaeological questions unanswered.

After the 1893 World’s Columban Exposition, Moorehead accepted a position as the first curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical & Archaeological Society (founded in 1885; renamed Ohio Historical Society in 1954; renamed Ohio History Connection in 2014). The Ohio State University President Edward Orton assisted Moorehead in establishing a museum at the University. He served as the museum curator from 1894-1897. Moorehead also worked for the University as a professor of archaeology. He relocated to the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and served as the head of the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology from 1902-1920. During this time, he worked at archaeological sites along the Ohio River, Chaco Canyon, and Mesa Verde. He later worked at the Cahokia site in Illinois, the Von Mach site in Maine, and the Etowah mounds site in Georgia.

Moorehead died in 1939.