Wickiup Hill is a Native American archeological region near Toddville, in

Linn County, Iowa Linn County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 230,299, making it the second-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Cedar Rapids. Linn County is named in honor of Senator Lewis F. ...

. The area has the Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center which was built where a Meskwaki village once stood. Wickiup Hill has been excavated by archeologists.

History

Wickiup Hill has been occupied by people for around 8,000 years and has archeological evidence of Native American villages as well as of their burial grounds. Its burial grounds are under protection by Iowa law and are not documented for others to find. The mounds were stolen from repeatedly and no one knows what remains of their contents. The Oneota,

Ioway The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and ...

, and Meskwaki people used to live in the area. Starting in 1994, multiple surveys and excavations were completed by archeologists to record its historical sites. People helped contribute to the effort by volunteering through field schools, teacher workshops, and camps for student archeologists. More than 20 historical sites were discovered within river terraces, sand dunes, bluffs, and ridge-tops. The excavations include 5,000-year-old campgrounds, clusters of mounds, and late 19th-century pioneer cabins. Items that were discovered include a blue glass bead, metal, buttons, ceramics, two 1865 Indian Head cents, and one 1868 Indian Head cent. Other discoveries were intact charred wooden boards that might have come from a cabin and an oval basin that had slabs of

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

and other rocks. The basin and rocks may have come from a sweat lodge that was used by Native Americans. A nomination for Wickiup Hill to be placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP) was started in 2020. It was established as a

Multiple Property Submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of Historic districts in the United States, districts, sites, buildings, struc ...

called the Archaeology of the Wickiup Hill Locality in Linn County, Iowa. The area was divided into six separate areas that were individually listed on the NRHP on January 20, 2022. The six areas are: Wickiup Hill Late Woodland Village Site, Wickiup Hill Middle to Late Archaic Camp Site, Wickiup Hill Mound Group No. 1, Wickiup Hill Mound Group No. 2, Wickiup Hill Mound Group No. 3, and Wickiup Hill Mound Group No. 4. The listings mean the area could be eligible to receive more state and federal grants.

Nature center

The Wickiup Hill Outdoor Learning Center is a nature center on Cedar River's left bank in Linn County and it is controlled by the Linn County Conservation Department. The nature center has exhibits, tours, and events. It was built on a Meskwaki village site. In 2021, the nature center held two snowshoe hiking events.

References

{{NRHP in Linn County, Iowa Protected areas of Linn County, Iowa Nature centers in Iowa Indigenous culture of the Great Plains National Register of Historic Places in Linn County, Iowa Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Native American history of Iowa