Beckwith's Fort Archeological Site - East Prairie, Missouri - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"Towosahgy State Historic Site, also known as Beckwith's Fort, is a large Mississippian mound site with a Woodland period Baytown culture component located in Mississippi County, Missouri. It is believed to have been inhabited from circa 400-1350 CE. The site is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a state historic site. The name Towosahgy is an Osage word which means "old town", although it is not known if the Osage were the inhabitants of the site.

The earliest portion of Towosahgy State Historic Site is in the southern half where a Late Woodland village once stood. Wilkie dates this component to about 400 to 700 CE. Later the site became a fortified Mississippan site with seven mounds, most surrounding a central plaza. During this time, the site was surrounded by a palisade wall and moat. Like other Mississippian mound centers, Towosahgy also had a borrow pit, where earth was removed to create the mounds. The largest remaining mound is Mound 2, also known as the "temple mound". Excavations on this part of the site were conducted by James Price in 1989. The site was abandoned during the late fourteenth century for unknown reasons, like many other sites in the region.

Ceramics from the site represent typical pottery found in the Missouri Bootheel region. Sherds from the Woodland occupation are typically grog tempered, and the later Mississippian pottery is shell tempered. Type varieties identified include Baytown Plain and Mulberry Creek Cordmarked. Mississippian ceramics were also both plain and decorated. Punctated, incised, fabric impressed, and red, black, and brown painted/slipped sherds, typical decorating methods, are all present. A large collection of ceramic vessels from the site are part of the Beckwith Collection displayed at the Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State University." - Wikipedia

The site is operated as a state historic site with several information signs giving history of site and the culture of those who inhabited it.

Street address: Co Rd 502 East Prairie, Missouri County / Borough / Parish: Mississippi Year listed: 1969 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Information Potential Periods of significance: 1499-1000 AD Historic function: Domestic, Religion Current function: Landscape Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.