Whitewater Effigy Mounds Preserve (also known as The Indian Mounds Park or as the Maples Mounds Group) is a park operated by the city of
Whitewater, Wisconsin. The 21.5-acre park is located on the west side of the city. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Description
Whitewater Effigy Mounds Preserve is located on the west side of
Whitewater, Wisconsin near Indian Mounds Parkway and Wildwood Road. It is a prehistoric,
Native American ceremonial and burial site that dates to between 200 and 1000 A.D. The park contains a collection of animal and geometric mounds. Located on the eastern bank of an old river bed, and among the park's thick native oak trees, the effigy mounds once included a community area with 30 circular huts, inhabited by the
mound builders. The 12 (possibly 13)
effigy mounds at the site are what survive of this village today. The site continues to be used for Native American ceremonial
pow-wows. Entrance into the Effigy Mounds Park is free and open to the public daily.
History
The Potawatomi people, after being displaced from their native lands further east, most likely in the mid-17th century during the
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...
, settled in the area now known as Indian Mounds Park and near the Whitewater River, now Whitewater Creek. The area was given this name because of the white clay and sands that collect at the bottom of the river.
When the construction of a
U.S. Route 12 in Wisconsin
U.S. Highway 12 (US 12 or Highway 12) in the U.S. state of Wisconsin runs east–west across the western to southeast portions of the state. It enters from Minnesota running concurrently with Interstate 94 (I-94) at Hudson, para ...
bypass threatened the mounds, a group of local residents convinced the
Wisconsin Department of Transportation to preserve the mounds.
[Wisconsin Archaeological Society.]
Ancient Whitewater Mounds See Rebirth", January 15, 2013.
/ref>
The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Restoration
After regular maintenance, efforts in the park have removed non-native species and other underbrush to return the park to its original state, that of an oak savanna.
Recent plans for the west side of Whitewater by the Whitewater Community Development Authority]show a possible expansion of the park that would include an area north of the park and south of West Main Street. It would include woodlands, wetlands, and space for a playground, playfield and trail. This expansion plan also includes degraded mound remnants southwest of the current park, which would provide a buffer to the existing mounds in the park.
See also
* Mound
* Mound builder (people)
*Earthwork (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface.
T ...
* List of burial mounds in the United States
References
External links
Whitewater Indian Mounds Park
Whitewater Community Development Authority, West Neighborhood Plan
{{coord, 42, 49, 57, N, 88, 45, 54, W, type:landmark_region:US-WI, display=title
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
Mounds in Wisconsin
Native American history of Wisconsin
Protected areas of Jefferson County, Wisconsin
National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Wisconsin