Indian Mounds Park (Saint Paul, Minnesota) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Indian Mounds Regional Park
Two of the park's prehistoric burial mounds
Indian Mounds Regional Park Location in Minnesota Show map of Minnesota Indian Mounds Regional Park Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Ramsey, Minnesota, United States
Area	79 acres (32 ha)
Elevation	876 ft (267 m)
Established	1893
Governing body	Saint Paul Parks and Recreation

Indian Mounds Regional Park is a special public park in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It's famous for its six ancient Native American burial mounds. These mounds sit high above the Mississippi River, offering amazing views.

The oldest mounds were built a very long time ago, about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. They were created by people of the Hopewell tradition. Later, the Dakota people also used these mounds to bury their loved ones.

Sadly, many more mounds were destroyed in the late 1800s as the area developed. These mounds were some of the tallest Native American mounds in Minnesota or Wisconsin. The park is now part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. This means it's a protected area within the National Park System. The mounds are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History of the Mounds

There were once at least 18 mounds in this area. Another 19 smaller mounds were nearby, right above Carver's Cave. These smaller mounds were not very tall, less than 2 feet high.

Experts believe the oldest mounds were built by people from the Hopewell Tradition. But other cultures also added to the mounds over time. No signs of villages have been found right among the mounds. This suggests the people who built them lived somewhere else nearby, probably in a village below the bluff.

The Dakota village of Kaposia was located at the bottom of the bluff before the year 1600. An English explorer named Jonathan Carver visited the site in 1766. He even saw a recent burial of a Dakota leader among the mounds.

Exploring the Mounds

People started digging into the burial mounds in the 1800s. Edward Duffield Neill was one of the first to do this in 1856. Later, the Minnesota Historical Society also sponsored a dig.

In 1879, Theodore H. Lewis did a more detailed study. These early explorations found different ways people were buried. Some mounds were built around log tombs. Others had stone boxes, called cists, made of limestone slabs.

Items buried with people, known as grave goods, varied. Some simple burials only had mussel shells. Others included arrowheads, bear teeth with holes, and copper jewelry. One unique discovery was a child's skull with clay pressed onto it. This looked like an attempt to recreate the child's face, like a death mask. No other such masks have been found from Native American burials of that time.

Later burials, found higher up in some mounds, were in funeral bundles. These were thought to be from more recent cultures.

These early archaeologists found about 20 complete skeletons and parts of many others. Since burials happened over many years, only some people were buried in mounds. We don't know why certain people were chosen for mound burials. We also don't know what happened to the rest of the dead.

The methods used by these 19th-century archaeologists were not as careful as today's. They might have accidentally destroyed important information. Theodore Lewis worked very quickly, sometimes digging into seven mounds in one day. He didn't write down many details about his discoveries. Most of the items he found have since been lost. This makes it hard for today's archaeologists to learn more about the cultures that used the mounds.

In the late 1800s, parts of the bluff were removed to make way for a rail yard. This destroyed several mounds and a part of Carver's Cave. At that time, digging into mounds was a common activity for locals. This led to looting and damage to the mounds.

In 1981, the Minnesota Historical Society conducted a modern archaeological field survey. This helped to map and understand the site better.

Developing the Park

People started wanting to protect the land along the bluff in the 1880s. The city of Saint Paul worked hard to buy the land from private owners. Some owners didn't want to sell, and others sold to people who wanted to make money from land deals.

By 1896, enough land was bought for the city to start creating the park. They began to add plants and visitor areas. However, in a way that would be very different today, 11 mounds were actually flattened. This was done because they blocked the view of the river. Only the six largest mounds were saved.

The park grew to 82 acres by 1900. In 1914, a brick building was constructed. This building is still there today. It was used for a snack stand, restrooms, and outdoor concerts.

In the 1980s, Indian Mounds Regional Park got a big update. Money from the state and federal government helped with this. The old brick building was fixed up, and new things were added for visitors. Some houses and a road were removed to make the park bigger. A local group, the Dayton's Bluff Community Council, raised money to put fences around the mounds. This helps protect them from visitors.

The Airway Beacon

The Indian Mounds Park "Airway" Beacon

Next to the mounds, there is a tall, 110-foot-high airway beacon. It was built in 1929. This beacon was part of a large network across the country. These beacons helped pilots deliver airmail at night. The Indian Mounds Park "Airway" Beacon helped guide planes between Saint Paul and Chicago.

There used to be over 600 of these beacons. But new electronic navigation systems made them less needed. The Indian Mounds Park beacon was fixed up in the mid-1990s. It was painted its original black and chrome-yellow colors. It still works today, flashing its light every 5 seconds. It is one of the few airway beacons left in the United States.

Fun at the Park

Today, Indian Mounds Regional Park is a great place to visit. It has two picnic shelters with electricity that groups can rent. Other things to enjoy in the park include a playground, barbecue grills, and fire rings. There are also restrooms, a drinking fountain, paved trails for walking, a ball field, and tennis courts.