Took a short detour about 3 miles west of the Natchez Trace Parkway for a stop at the Owl Creek Mounds Archaeological Site in the Tombigbee National Forest. The site is of importance to the Chickasaw Nation and the story of Mississippian period in the Southeastern United States and is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
At the entrance there is a historical sign commemorating William Colbert’s Last Homesite. Colbert – not the comedian – was a notable Chickasaw warrior who fought in the American Revolution and was appointed a major general by George Washington. Years later, Colbert and his wife Ishtanaha moved two miles east of Owl Creek Mounds before his passing in 1824.
The autumn leaves are mostly fallen, and the short “trail” is quite clearly mowed around the base of the mounds. There are several interpretive signs along the loop. The higher mound at the far end is Mound I and the lower longer mound in the foreground is designated Mound II.
This sign titled “A Ceremonial Site and Its Surrounding Area” was covered in dirt and lichens and difficult to make out. In short, the site was built by farming people belonging to the Mississippian culture around A.D. 1000 to 1500. This site was ceremonial and people likely lived in the surrounding area in small farmsteads. A small inset map drawing details how only two of the mounds are on public land; the other three mounds are on adjoining private property.
The next sign details archaeological excavations at Owl Creek in the 1930s, funded by the Federal Employment Relief Administration (FERA) from the “New Deal” in U.S. post-Great Depression era. The crews dug trenches in the mounds and observed a complicated layering system but few artifacts.
The archaeology excavations revealed several pieces of evidence helping to date the mounds to 800-900 years ago. Pottery tempered with crushed mussel shell and wall trenches from the structures indicate Mississippian culture of that era. More complex methods of radioactive carbon dating place specific times at A.D. 1133 to 1219.
Later, in 1991 and 1992, archaeology field schools from Mississippi State University visited the site collecting pottery pieces and other artifacts, as well as further information about the mounds. They also concluded no village existed and the location was most likely used for ceremonial gatherings. A small inset details how many Mississippian mounds were platforms for temples or chief’s houses; excavation at Mound I did find evidence of a building that was rebuilt several times.
Apparently there was some speculation that Owl Creek might have been the Chickasaw village of Chicasa. Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto is said to have occupied Chicasa i 1541 before the Chickasaw Indians burned and attacked their own city to drive the Spaniards out. Because of the archaeological work this was debunked as no permanent village was found at Owl Creek.
Here’s a look at Mound II from the low ground at the base of Mound I. Parking area is off towards the photo’s right side, and the loop trail goes around through the woods on the left on an old partially paved (but degraded) asphalt or stone base.
A short wooden timber staircase built in modern times leads to the top of Mound I for a great overview of the site.
Views atop Mound I gives a much clearer idea of how large Mound II really is. In some cultures the mounds are made in specific shapes, I’m not sure about this one but it’s something like a large kidney bean. One of the informational signs states an account from 1805 said all the mounds were originally flat-topped like Mound I but are now changed from their prehistoric state by things like plowing and planting from as late as the 1960s. Mound V is also partially cut away from widening of the road.
Overall a great small site with significant history for the Chickasaw and an interesting look into mound culture. Hopping back on the Natchez Trace now to continue exploration of Mississippi.
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