John Michael “Barney” Barnhart passed away on June 23rd while representing the Pickaway County Historical Society in the Summer Solstice Festival at Serpent Mound.
Barney was prominent in local archaeology and history, and I asked fellow archaeologist Gary Argabright of Chillicothe, former high school Latin teacher and prominent local archaeologist in his own right, about him.
Argabright said he had known Barney since 1984 or 1985, but it was hard to get the full story of Barney. He said you might know him, but you still didn’t quite know him – after Barney said one thing to you, he often referred obliquely to another that Barney assumed you knew.
Argabright said Barney learned archaeology as a youth from his father Emmett, who had a background in accounting and impressed precise record-keeping on Barney, which is an important component of modern archaeology.
Teenage Barney helped to excavate the Monpellius Earthwork on Scippo Creek in Pickaway County in the 1960s, and had been designated the notekeeper of the dig.
He said the young Barney would have also known all significant local archaeologists.
1 of 1 Barney at the 2017 annual "Archaeology Day" at the Ross County Heritage Center.
Argabright agreed that Barney impacted many lives. He saw prehistoric artifacts as pieces of the past and clues to the past, of intrinsic value to understand prehistory. Barney was very conscious of early history and prehistory – and acquired anything he could from that. He would buy anything artifact from Pickaway County that was being sold.
He lived in his parents home in Circleville, where he once told me that a stone from the first Ohio Statehouse in Chillicothe had been built into a fireplace there, probably by his dad. Argabright said Barney’s sister will be working on the collections of Barney and their father.
1 of 1 John “Barney” Barnhart, Pickaway County Archaeologist and Historian (from Defenbaugh Wise Schoedinger Funeral Home)
Barney was a leader in the Mound City Chapter of the Ohio Archaeological Society. Their meetings usually start at 7pm on second Tuesdays at the headquarters of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park at 16062 State Route 104 just north of Chillicothe. Many members walk farm fields to collect collect artifacts like flint points, but the group also emphasizes scholarship, education, demonstrations, and thoughtful interpretation.
Argabright is currently seeking a speaker or video for the July 9th meeting – and he will be speaking in the August meeting, reprising his presentation on the Liberty Earthworks from Ohio University Chillicothe.
Find the Mound City Chapter of the Ohio Archaeological Society on Facebook. The Pickaway County Historical Society has a website and Facebook page.
Barney was born on December 12, 1943. He was buried Tuesday in Reber Hill Cemetery with full military honors after a Masonic funeral and two calling hours.
Learn more in my previous story. Find the article on the Scioto Post.
Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.
1 of 1 Gary Argabright starts the meeting of the Mound City Chapter of the Ohio Archaeological Society at the headquarters of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in April. Barney is sitting against the wall in the upper right.