Dickson Mounds Museum - Lewiston, IL - New World Ancient Evidence on Waymarking.com

Near Lewistown, on the edge of the bluff and with a good view of the Illinois River valley, is the Dickson Mounds Museum, a nationally known on-site archaeological museum.

The museum is located directly south of Lewistown, just off county road 9 (there are signs). Though we ended up going this way, we still ended up going way out of our way to get there due to a closed bridge (2017).

The museum is a concrete structure that has several extensions. Outside the entrance, there is a map that shows the important sites at this location. Inside the museum is a mixture of artifacts, historical and cultural signs and media. In a large room is a space where visual and audio presentations tell Native American stories.

The location has evidence from at least two periods: about 100 AD and about 1200 AD. The museum itself entombs the burial mound containing remains from 1200 AD. At one time they were open, but in 1990, the remains were covered and are not visible to the public. A short distance from the park are three sites, covered by cement buildings, that are of outlines, pole holes, and other evidence for three ceremonial buildings - the rectangular building, the cross building, and the circular building. Each has a an interpretive sign.

The mounds were found by a farmer Don Dickson on his property. Unlike other farmers who usually tossed or continued to plow areas, destroying the evidence forever, Dickson instead carefully explored and documented the site. Later, he started a private museum until the 1960s, when the state took over the site.

I personally was there in the early 70s when the burial mound was open.

The best part is that the museum is free.

Sources:

Daily Herald (20 years later, Dickson Mounds Keeps Adapting New):
(visit link)

Illinois State Museum (Places of the Past):
(visit link)

Illinois Times (The Ancient Story Told by Dickson Mounds):
(visit link)

Type: Burial Mounds How did you find this "Ancient Evidence": Deliberately Searching Terrain Rating: Trailhead: Not Listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/14/2018 YoSam. visited it