Effigy Mounds National Monument

This national monument is located in the northeastern corner of Iowa on the western bank of the Mississippi River. The park covers portions of land in both Clayton and Allamakee Counties with the headquarters located 5 miles north of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and McGregor, Iowa. The park is geographically divided into two areas, the first is the Headquarters Section which includes the North and South units. The second area, Sny Magill rests on Johnsons slough of the Mississippi River approximately 11 miles south of the Headquarters unit. The 100 mounds in the Sny Magill unit represent the largest concentration of mounds in one compact group. The majority of the remaining mounds lie on the ridge tops of the North and South units.

Effigy Mounds National Monument is located in a non-glaciated zone scarred by the cutting action of rushing streams on their journey to the mighty Mississippi. The North and South units are mainly upland areas with steep bluffs and open fields. These areas rest 900 feet or more above sea level and make up the highest areas of the monument. The steep slopes, flood plains and waterways make up the latter half of the North and South units. The lowest portion of the monument is at the mouth of the Yellow River, at an elevation of approximately 600 feet above sea level.

The National Monument encompasses some 196 mounds, 26 are visible in the shape of bear and bird effigies. The remaining mounds are conical and linear shaped, or a combination of the two. The mounds have been dated from 2,500 years B.P. to 400 years B.P. The conical shaped mounds are the earliest, thought to be constructed by the Red Ocher peoples in the Early Woodland Period. The next division is noted in the pottery and the use of many different materials obtained from distant sources. The remains from this period are called Hopewellian and date from about 2,000 years B.P. to 1,400 years B.P. This coincides with the linear and compound mounds which first appear about 2,000 years ago. The Effigy mound builders overlapped with the Hopewellian peoples and lasted until quite recently. The Effigy mounds started showing up about 1,500 years ago and lasted to roughly 600 years ago. The distinction between these people and their predecessors is in the use of copper tools and that they buried their dead with very little lasting material.

1881- Alfred J. Hill and Theodore Lewis surveyed and mapped the NE Iowa mounds.

1885-1940- Ellison Orr conducted surveys of the NE Iowa mounds.

1890-1891- The Bureau of American Ethnology research team studied these mounds.

1946- The National Park Service (NPS) and the state of Iowa agreed on the name of Effigy Mounds National Monument.

1949-On Oct. 25, President Harry Truman proclaimed Effigy Mounds National Monument .

1952- NPS archaeologist Paul Beaubien conducted tests and excavated some mounds at Sny Magill.

1956- The NPS completed an ethnobotanical study to identify and photograph wild plants on monument grounds.

1957- Wayne Scholtes conducted a pollen analysis of the soil samples taken from the monument.

1960- The visitor center and trail-ways were completed.

1980- The first aerial photographs were taken of the Sny Magill mounds.

1986- Aerial Service Inc. provided photgrammetric data and topographic maps of Sny Magill.

1987-Chruch's Surveying and Mapping prepared a map of the Sny Magill unit.

1987- Arthur Bettis III conducted a geomorphological study of Sny Magill.

1987-1988- NPS archaeologists conducted field investigation at Sny Magill.

1988- Dale Henning tested areas between mounds, some newly identified features at Sny Magill, and some rock shelters.

Approximately 10% of the mounds have been excavated. Current emphasis is on preservation and non-destructive mound study

EffigyMounds | National Park Service | Archaeology

O' Bright, Jill York. The Perpetual March: An Administrative History of Effigy Mounds National Monument. Omaha, Nebraska. Midwest Regional Office, United States. Department of Interior. National Parks Service.

General Management Plan: Effigy Mounds National Monument. Denver Service Center,

Image Credit: www.nps.gov/efmo/what.html