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Reily Cemetery Mound
Date Added: 31st Oct 2023
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Reily Cemetery Mound submitted by bat400 on 9th Oct 2006. There seems to be no record on an excavation of this mound. With the Reily village cemetery created around it, it has been protected, at what is believed to have been its original size and height.
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Log Text: Visited late Oct 2023. Site is located as described, still in good condition.
Hodgen's Cemetery Mound
Date Added: 25th Nov 2023
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Would like to visit
Hodgen's Cemetery Mound submitted by AKFisher on 20th Oct 2023. Hodgen's Cemetery Mound in Tiltonsville, Ohio. It is an Adena burial mound generally dated to 500 BC-AD 500. In the mid-1800s locals started using the mound as a cemetery, which saved the mound from excavations. Photo courtesy Dr Greg Little, author of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Indian Mounds & Earthworks (2016).
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New Castle Complex
Date Added: 4th Dec 2023
Site Type: Henge
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 3
New Castle Complex submitted by AKFisher on 28th Aug 2023. 1937 survey of the New Castle Earthworks and mounds at New Castle, Indiana. There were 9 circular or C-shaped earthworks that had outer earthen walls with inner moats. There were 4 mounds and an odd ovoid earthwork enclosure with an inner moat with three large mounds inside the enclosure. Photo courtesy Dr Greg Little, author of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Indian Mounds & Earthworks (2016).
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Log Text: Parking is in a lot on Route 103 south of the Little Blue River just across from the old paved hospital access road, now abandoned and gated, but open to hiking. The grounds comprising the complex are now owned by the Wilbur Wright Fish and Wildlife Area. The old paved hospital road leads to the section containing sites 1-4 and there is a side trail presumably leading south and east to what's left of the remaining sites which I did not try to explore.
In general, anything off of the hospital access road was extremely overgrown in October 2023. I was unable to find sites 2-4, and may only have found a part of the mound at site 1. The only time to find anything here may be in winter when the leaves are off the trees as there are no obvious trails and bushwhacking is required.
Cutler Mound Group
Date Added: 27th Jul 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Cutler Mound Group submitted by AKFisher on 14th Oct 2023. Ceremony at the Cutler Mound where the Waukesha, Wisconsin Women's Club placed a bronze marker at the mound in 1906. The city had 55 mounds and the county had 411 mounds. Photo courtesy Dr Greg Little, author of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Indian Mounds & Earthworks (2016).
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Log Text: Public parking is available in a lot next to the Waukesha Public Library near the corner of Maple and West Park Ave. The 3 mounds are maybe a 200 yd easy walk north over a manicured lawn area and obvious.
The site is as described, with a 7-8 foot high conical mound flanked by two smaller ones. Orange cones and "Keep Off" signs are in place to discourage people from walking on the mounds. Not aesthetic but needed in my opinion. The mounds are also covered with higher vegetation than the surrounding mowed lawn to prevent further erosion.
Wyalusing Mounds
Date Added: 28th Jul 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Wyalusing Mounds submitted by AKFisher on 9th Sep 2023. The Wisconsin River delta into the Mississippi River taken at Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin flows from the near right to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River flows from the right to the left. Iowa is visible in the distance on the other side of the Mississippi River, & Prairie du Chien is just out of view to the right. Photo credit: Wiki (Cindy-Flickr).
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Log Text: There are 4-5 relatively accessible effigy mound groups according to the Wisconsin Mounds site. I was able to view several of them. As with most effigy mound sites, viewing conditions range from mowed and in good condition to either completely overgrown or eroded to the point of near invisibility. Even the best effigy mounds are difficult to photograph. I've provided some still shots or videos. Aerial LiDAR views frankly show these mounds better than any on the ground method so I hope to add those.
I was unable to access the Indoor Group Camp and Homestead Camp mound groups. They appear to require bushwhacks and both access points into the forest were occupied by campers.
Devil's Lake Mounds
Date Added: 29th Jul 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Devil''s Lake Mounds submitted by AKFisher on 3rd Sep 2023. Lynx Mound at Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin. Photo credit: Wiki (Chris Light).
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Log Text: Wisconsin's largest state park is very popular, particularly in summer. There were plenty of visitors when I was there. Interesting geology, which I really didn't have time to explore.
As for the effigy mounds, most are well preserved with one or two exceptions and all were built during the Late Woodland period. There are four groups of them remaining, three on the North side of the lake and one single large bird effigy mound on the South end. All easy walk-in access and close to parking. See the official park map and the Wisconsin Mounds web site for locations.
Man Mound Park
Date Added: 30th Jul 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4
Man Mound Park submitted by Flickr on 26th May 2014. At Man Mound Park environmental geology students encountered another manifestation of the earlier Image copyright: stnorbert, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.
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Log Text: The mound is almost impossible to photograph or video as it is very low profile and eroded. There are warning signs to stay off as they are trying to establish prairie grass growth on the mound and mow around it. Once it grows out a bit, the mound will become more obvious.
You can park nearly at the mound itself so access is not an issue.
Burrows Park Mound
Date Added: 31st Jul 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4
Burrows Park Mound submitted by stonetracker on 30th Jul 2024. As with all effigy mounds, they are hard to photograph. This is the bird's head looking towards the northern wing.
They have finally allowed native grasses to grow on top of the mound, which is good. However, there are still large trees right in the middle of the mound, which isn't so good.
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Log Text: This is in a public park in Madison on the eastern shore of Lake Mendota. A large parking lot provides easy access and the effigy is situated a short walk up the bluff to the east.
Pikes Peak State Park Effigy Mounds
Date Added: 1st Aug 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 3
Pikes Peak State Park Effigy Mounds submitted by stonetracker on 31st Jul 2024. Closeup of the river confluence. The flat ridge to the right is the location of the Sentinel Ridge effigy mounds in Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin.
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Log Text: There are 5-6 clusters of effigy mounds scattered on ridges throughout the park.
Two of them are relatively short hikes from the main south entrance parking lot: Hickory Ridge (via Hickory Ridge Trail) and Deer Ridge (behind the campground or via the southern part of the Bridal Veil Trail). Additionally a bear mound and small conical are visible about 200 yds north of the park concession booth via a paved walkway. These are the only ones I was able to visit on this trip as the others are a longer hike.
Most of the mounds in the park are linear or conical. Unfortunately there is no official printed map showing mound locations. However, you can get a copy of a hand-marked map from the visitor center at Effigy Mounds NM.
Governor Nelson State Park Effigy Mounds
Date Added: 5th Aug 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 2 Access 3
Governor Nelson State Park Effigy Mounds submitted by stonetracker on 2nd Aug 2024. One of the conical mounds right on the Woodland Trail. I was able to locate 3 of them.
Unfortunately none of the mounds is well maintained and large trees have been allowed to grow on some of them. Invasive plants will likely overwhelm the rest without a change in policy. In fairness, the park has a history of vandalism, including stolen signs and broken fencing, which makes preservation challenging.
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Log Text: This Late Woodland site is in a state park on the west shore of Lake Mendota near Madison WI. Parking and trail access at the south entrance near Borchers Beach Rd. There are two sites. The conical mounds are 1000 ft north of parking on the Woodland Trail. The large panther effigy is maybe 100 yds north of the conicals.
At least some of the conicals are visible but being rapidly consumed by invasive plants. The panther mound is completely overgrown in summer and I wasn't able to see much. Maybe in fall or winter? There was another restored panther at Camp Wakanda but I was unable to find it.
Aztalan State Park
Date Added: 9th Aug 2024
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 4
Aztalan State Park submitted by bat400 on 31st Mar 2013. The largest mound at Aztalan is a "stepped" pyramidal structure in the southwest corner of the stockade surround.
This is a partial reconstruction of the site as found in the early 1800's. By the 1920's there had been substantial plowing of the site and significant damage by "pot hunters" and those simply "quarrying" the mounds for fill dirt and the remains of burnt wattle and daub from the original stockade.
Photo by bat400, July 2010.
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Log Text: A very well-maintained hybrid Late Woodland-Mississippian prehistoric site in Aztalan State Park, Aztalan WI. There are two parking lots. One at the south end of the "marker mounds" at the state park entrance provides short and easy trail access to the northwest platform mound. The other larger lot is accessible via a paved road past the main park entrance and is located close to the southwest "temple" mound via a short trail.
The Princess Mound (which I did not visit) is located behind the museum north of the main park entrance.
Picnic Point Effigy Mounds
Date Added: 6th Aug 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 3
Picnic Point Effigy Mounds submitted by stonetracker on 6th Aug 2024. Map showing layout of the five-mound main group
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Log Text: The mounds are on a peninsula in Lake Mendota on conservation land owned by the Univ of Wisc. They are accessible via the Lakeshore Trail. Parking is available at the trailhead for a fee. The first group of 5 mounds is about a 1/4 mile level walk from the lot, next to and just north of the trail. The last conical mound is another 600 ft east along the trail and just to its south.
Unfortunately site maintenance seems to be cyclical at best. I was unable to find or positively identify any of the mounds due to summer overgrowth, suggesting that non growing seasons may present better viewing opportunities. There was also no obvious interpretation signage. However, Andrew Khitsun (the owner of the Wisconsin Mounds site) has posted a few photos with most of the overgrowth and some trees removed from the mounds. They are undated but I assume they are at least post-2000.
Obviously they have been better maintained in the past than currently.
Nitschke Mounds State Park
Date Added: 6th Aug 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 4
Nitschke Mounds State Park submitted by stonetracker on 7th Aug 2024. Mound 9 - Buffalo or Bear. The head and forelegs are in the foreground.
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Log Text: The effigy mounds are in a county park just 200 yds north of the paved road. Ample parking in a dirt lot with a picnic shelter and interpretation kiosk.
Considering that the park is maintained mostly by volunteers, the condition of the site is surprisingly good. About 2/3rds of the mounds are at least somewhat visible and cleared of trees and shrubs. Native long grass has been left on the mounds to discourage walking over them. A short trail system weaves in and out among the mounds and is regularly maintained by mowing. The remaining 1/3 of the mounds still need to be cleared off and the trail system extended to include them. They are mostly in a wooded area at present. Interpretation and signage at each mound is sparse, so I assume this is a work in progress. There is a bit more information at the entrance kiosk.
Effigy mounds by their very nature tend to be low profile and hard to photograph. This is particularly the case at Nitschke where erosion has really taken its toll. So my photos and videos are limited to just a few of the biggest and most visible mounds.
Mendota Mental Health Institute Effigy Mounds
Date Added: 27th Aug 2024
Site Type: Artificial Mound
Country: United States (Great Lakes Midwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jul 2024. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4
Mendota Mental Health Institute Effigy Mounds submitted by stonetracker on 22nd Aug 2024. At the far western edge of the Central Mound group is an unusual panther effigy on a rise of land with a curved, upturned tail.
Difficult to photograph, but the forelegs and hindlegs are on the left and right respectively. Head and tail out of view.
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Log Text: As far as I know, public access to the Mendota Mental Health Institute grounds is allowed without permission, although it is recommended that one stop by the Administration Bldg to check in.
To access the Central Group of mounds, park in the large lot northeast of the intersection of Main Drive & Cinder Drive. It is 200 yd walk from there to the bird effigy mounds (see map) via a paved walkway. The upper panther mound is set apart from the others on Cinder Drive. However, there is no parking at that site and the Cinder Drive lot was under construction as of 2024. But it is a relatively easy walk to the upper panther mound from Main Drive or from the other effigies in this group.
To access the Western Group, continue on Main Drive heading west and take a left onto Memorial Drive. The large conical mounds are about 1000 ft further next to the road on the left at Farwell's Pt. I could only find on-street parking, but there was little or no traffic in that area.
Foxborough Perched Boulder (2)
Date Added: 14th Jan 2023
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Country: United States
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2016. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 3
Foxborough Perched Boulder (2) submitted by stonetracker on 27th Jan 2023. Photo from 01/2023. There appear to be two prop stones for this boulder.
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Log Text: On an unnamed side trail that runs east of Megley trail. Several structures are on this side trail.
Foxborough Perched Boulder (1)
Date Added: 12th Jan 2023
Site Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Country: United States
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2016. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Foxborough Perched Boulder (1) submitted by stonetracker on 12th Jan 2023. Propped boulder on ledge. Site A on archive.org map.
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Log Text: Right next to High Rock Trail but a bit of a walk from High Rk pkg area
Foxborough Prayer Seat (2)
Date Added: 13th Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: United States
Visited: Yes on 1st Feb 2016. My rating: Condition 5 Ambience 4 Access 3
Foxborough Prayer Seat (2) submitted by stonetracker on 12th Jan 2023. Horseshoe-shaped stone structure.
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Log Text: Horseshoe-shaped wall of rocks, conventionally referred to as a "prayer seat." A bit of a bushwhack to find off the trail system.
Foxborough Cairn
Date Added: 24th Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: United States
Visited: Yes on 1st Feb 2016. My rating: Condition 1 Ambience 4 Access 3
Foxborough Cairn submitted by stonetracker on 24th Jan 2023. The original published map showed a modern rock pile or cairn trail marker on a flat ledge. As of 2016, this was dismantled and re-built as a stone fire ring (shown in photo) with evidence of current use. So the original rock pile is gone.
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Log Text: Park at Thurston St lot. This is on a high flat ledge on a side trail east of the Megley Trail.
Foxborough Prayer Seat (6)
Date Added: 19th Jan 2023
Site Type: Cairn
Country: United States
Visited: Yes on 1st Mar 2018. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 2
Foxborough Prayer Seat (6) submitted by stonetracker on 19th Jan 2023. Small horseshoe or u-shaped structure. Possibly a "prayer seat." Smaller than similar structures in the area and somewhat degraded condition.
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Log Text: Site O on published map. This is a fair distance south of High Rock Rd trail and well southeast of Megley, about 50 ft off a side trail. Long walk from any of the parking lots.
Foxborough Standing Stone (4)
Date Added: 19th Jan 2023
Site Type: Marker Stone
Country: United States
Visited: Yes on 1st Mar 2018. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 3
Foxborough Standing Stone (4) submitted by stonetracker on 19th Jan 2023. This is the triangular rock on the left side of the photo. My opinion is that this is natural, either a glacial artifact or a broken off piece of stone due to frost fracture or weathering.
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Log Text: This is 500 ft or so east of Megley Trail near a side trail. Been a while but I recall this being a bushwhack to some extent. Long walk from any of the parking lots.