Grand Mound (Minnesota)


Grand Mound
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark


Show map of Minnesota Show map of the United States
Nearest city	International Falls, Minnesota
Coordinates	48°30′48″N 93°42′23.5″W / 48.51333°N 93.706528°W / 48.51333; -93.706528
Area	15.8 acres (6.4 ha)
NRHP reference No.	11000565^[1]
Added to NRHP	January 20, 1972

Grand Mound is a prehistoric burial site in Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. It is the largest surviving prehistoric structure in the upper Midwest, dating back to 200 BCE.^[2] The site was listed as a National Historic Landmark on June 23, 2011.^[1]

The main burial mound measures 140 feet (43 m) in length and 100 feet (30 m) in width, about 25 feet (7.6 m) high, plus a 200 feet (61 m) tail measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) in width and 3 feet (0.91 m) in height. There are four other smaller earthworks at the site, closer in size to typical burial mounds around the Midwest. Besides the mound, the site contains a number of stratified deposits from villages dating to the Middle Woodland and Late Woodland periods.^[3] The main mound was for many years thought to be typical conical mound, but in the 21st century it was discovered to have a tail, and has been reclassified as an effigy mound, possibly resembling a muskrat.^[4] The mound is part of a larger series of interconnected archaeological sites that include seasonal camp locations and fishing areas.^[5]

The site once had a visitor center operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, opened in 1975. The visitor center was closed in 2003 and the site was closed to the public in 2007, amid concerns that having tourists viewing burial sites was inappropriate. Bill Keyes, the head of the Historical Society's historic sites and museums division, said, "What we heard from tribal elders was that this was like a cemetery, it was a burial ground, and that operating it as a tourist attraction was really not an appropriate way to go."^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register of Historic Places Listings: July 22, 2011".
^ ^a ^b Tom Robertson (February 20, 2007). "Minnesota Historical Society closes Grand Mound". Minnesota Public Radio.
^ "National Historic Landmark nomination: Grand Mound" (PDF). August 27, 2010.
^ "November 2010 Archeology E-Gram" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
^ "July 2011 Archeology E-Gram" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved May 28, 2015.

Protected areas of Minnesota

National

Parks	Voyageurs
Monuments	Grand Portage Pipestone
Rivers	Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Scenic Trails	North Country Trail
Wildlife Refuges	Agassiz Big Stone Crane Meadows Glacial Ridge Hamden Slough Mille Lacs Minnesota Valley Northern Tallgrass Prairie Rice Lake Rydell Sherburne Tamarac Upper Mississippi River
Wetland Management Districts	Big Stone Detroit Lakes Fergus Falls Litchfield Minnesota Valley Morris Windom
Forests	Chippewa Superior
Natural Landmarks	Ancient River Warren Channel Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve Itasca Natural Area Keeley Creek Natural Area Lac la Croix Research Natural Area Lake Agassiz Peatlands Natural Area Pine Point Research Natural Area Upper Red Lake Peatland
Wilderness	Agassiz Boundary Waters Canoe Area Tamarac

State

Parks	Afton Banning Bear Head Lake Beaver Creek Valley Big Stone Lake Blue Mounds Buffalo River Camden Carley Cascade River Charles A. Lindbergh Crow Wing Father Hennepin Flandrau Forestville Mystery Cave Fort Ridgely Fort Snelling Franz Jevne Frontenac George H. Crosby Manitou Glacial Lakes Glendalough Gooseberry Falls Grand Portage Great River Bluffs Hayes Lake Hill-Annex Mine Interstate Itasca Jay Cooke John A. Latsch Judge C. R. Magney Kilen Woods Lac qui Parle Lake Bemidji Lake Bronson Lake Carlos Lake Louise Lake Maria Lake Shetek Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine Maplewood McCarthy Beach Mille Lacs Kathio Minneopa Monson Lake Moose Lake Myre-Big Island Nerstrand-Big Woods Old Mill Rice Lake Saint Croix Sakatah Lake Savanna Portage Scenic Schoolcraft Sibley Split Rock Creek Split Rock Lighthouse Temperance River Tettegouche Upper Sioux Agency Whitewater Wild River William O'Brien Zippel Bay
Recreation Areas	Big Bog Cuyuna Country Garden Island Greenleaf Lake Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle La Salle Lake Minnesota Valley Red River Saint Croix Islands
Waysides	Caribou Falls Devils Track Falls Flood Bay Inspiration Peak Joseph R. Brown Kodonce River Ray Berglund St. Croix Boom Site Sam Brown Memorial
Forests	Badoura Battleground Bear Island Beltrami Island Big Fork Birch Lakes Blackduck Bowstring Buena Vista Burntside Centennial Chengwatana Cloquet Valley Crow Wing D.A.R. Emily Finland Fond du Lac Foot Hills General C. C. Andrews George Washington Golden Anniversary Grand Portage Hill River Huntersville Insula Lake Jeanette Kabetogama Koochiching Lake Isabella Lake of the Woods Land o'Lakes Lost River Lyons Mississippi Headwaters Nemadji Northwest Angle Pat Bayle Paul Bunyan Pillsbury Pine Island Red Lake Remer Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood Rum River Saint Croix Sand Dunes Savanna Smokey Bear Smoky Hills Snake River Solana Sturgeon River Two Inlets Waukenabo Wealthwood Welsh Lake White Earth Whiteface River
Scientific and Natural Areas	List of scientific and natural areas

Local

Parks	County and regional parks Three Rivers Park District

Other

Minnesota Historical Society	Alexander Ramsey House Birch Coulee Battlefield Charles A. Lindbergh House Comstock House Folsom House Forest History Center Forestville Fort Renville Fort Ridgely Fort Snelling Grand Mound Harkin's General Store James J. Hill House Jeffers Petroglyphs Lac qui Parle Mission Lower Sioux Agency Marine Mill Mill City Museum Mille Lacs Indian Museum Minnehaha Depot Minnesota History Center Minnesota State Capitol Morrison Mounds Oliver Kelley Farm Sibley Historic Site Snake River Trading Post Split Rock Lighthouse Stumne Mounds Traverse des Sioux Upper Sioux Agency W. W. Mayo House
Nature centers	List of nature centers
Hiking	List of hiking trails

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

v t e National Historic Landmarks in Minnesota
Homes	Charles A. Lindbergh House and Park F. Scott Fitzgerald House Frank B. Kellogg House James J. Hill House Thorstein Veblen Farmstead O. E. Rolvaag House Oliver H. Kelley Homestead Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home Andrew John Volstead House
Commercial enterprises	Pillsbury A-Mill Washburn "A" Mill Peavey-Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator Plummer Building Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine Mountain Iron Mine Lake Vermilion-Soudan Iron Mine National Farmers' Bank St. Croix Boom Site
Military	Fort Snelling
New Deal	Rabideau CCC Camp St. Croix Recreational Demonstration Area
Prehistoric	Grand Mound Kathio Site
Lighthouse	Split Rock Lighthouse

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

See also

References