Dickson Mounds
Dickson Mounds is a Native American settlement site and burial mound complex near Lewistown, Illinois. It is located in Fulton County on a low bluff overlooking the Illinois River. It is a large burial complex containing at least two cemeteries, ten superimposed burial mounds, and a platform mound. The Dickson Mounds site was founded by 800 CE and was in use until after 1250 CE. The site is named in honor of chiropractor Don Dickson, who began excavating it in 1927 and opened a private museum that formerly operated on the site. Its exhibition of the 237 uncovered skeletons uncovered and displayed by Dickson was closed in 1992 by then-Gov. Jim Edgar.
Museum at the site | |
Location in Illinois today | |
| Location | Lewistown, Illinois, Fulton County, Illinois, USA |
|---|---|
| Region | Fulton County, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 40°21′2.16″N 90°6′57.24″W |
| History | |
| Founded | 800 CE |
| Abandoned | 1250 CE |
| Cultures | Middle Mississippian culture |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1937 |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | burial mounds, platform mound |
| Architectural details | Number of monuments: |
Dickson Mounds | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000457 |
| Added to NRHP | May 5, 1972 |
| Responsible body: State of Illinois | |
Don Dickson was a chiropractor and discovered the burial mounds on his family farm. Instead of removing the bones, he only removed the dirt. He covered his excavation with a tent. He later replaced his tent with a building and set up a private museum.
The Dickson Mounds Museum is a museum erected on the site in 1972 by the U.S. state of Illinois; it describes the life cycles and culture of Native Americans living in the Illinois River valley over a period of 12,000 years since the last ice age. The museum is part of the Illinois State Museum system.