Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park | |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
Location | Macon, Georgia, USA |
Coordinates | 32°50′12″N 83°36′30″W / 32.83667°N 83.60833°W |
Area | 3,336 acres (13.50 km2)[1] |
Established | December 23, 1936 |
Visitors | 122,722 (in 2011)[2] |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park |
NRHP reference No. | 66000099[3] |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (formerly Ocmulgee National Monument) in
For thousands of years, succeeding cultures of
History
Macon Plateau culture
Ocmulgee (pronounced "oak-mull-ghee") is a memorial to ancient indigenous peoples in Southeastern North America. The name comes from the
The major occupation was ca. 950-1150 CE during the Early Mississippian-culture phase. The people of this sophisticated, stratified culture built the complex, massive earthworks that expressed their religious and political system.[7] Archeologists call this society the Macon Plateau culture, a local expression of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture.[8] During this period, an elite society supported by skillful farmers developed a town. Leaders directed the complex construction of large, earthwork platform mounds, the central structures on the plateau.
Carrying earth by hand in bags, thousands of workers built the 55 ft (17 m).-high Great Temple Mound on a
The people built rectangular wooden buildings to house certain religious ceremonies on the top of the platform mounds. The mounds at Ocmulgee were unusual because they were constructed further from each other than was typical of other Mississippian complexes. Scholars believe this was to provide for public space and residences around the mounds.
Circular
Lamar Period
As the Mississippian culture declined at the ceremonial center, ca. 1350 a new culture coalesced among people who lived in the swamps downstream. The
The people at Lamar had a village associated with the mounds. They protected it by a constructed defensive
Lamar pottery was distinctive, stamped with complex designs like the pottery of the earlier Woodland peoples. It was unlike other pottery of the Macon Plateau culture. Many archaeologists believe the Lamar culture was related to the earlier Woodland inhabitants, who, after being displaced by the newer Mississippian culture migrants, developed a hybrid culture.[13] Late Woodland Period characteristics extended into the Mississippian Period of 800 CE to 1600 CE.[13]
Spanish contact
In 1540 the expedition of
In the aftermath of De Soto's expedition, the Mississippian cultures declined and disappeared. Hierarchical
Muscogee in the colonial era
By the late 18th century, the largest Native American confederacy in present-day
They considered the ancient Mississippian mounds at Ocmulgee to be sacred and made pilgrimages there. According to Muscogee oral tradition, the mounds area was "the place where we first sat down", after their ancestors ended their migration journey from the West.[16]
In 1690,
The traders referred to both the river and the peoples living along it as "Ochese Creek." Later usage shortened the term to Creek, which traders and colonists applied to all
The Muscogee traded pelts of
In 1702, Carolina governor
As Florida was depopulated, the English-allied tribes grew indebted to slave traders in Carolina. They paid other tribes to attack and enslave Native Americans, raids that were a catalyst for the Yamasee War in 1715. In an effort to drive the colonists out, the Ochese Creek joined the rebellion and burned the Ocmulgee trading post. In retaliation, the South Carolina authorities began arming the Cherokee, whose attacks forced the Ochese Creek to abandon the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers, and move west to the Chattahoochee River. The Yamasee took refuge in Spanish Florida.
After the defeat of the Yamasee, former soldier
Because of continuing conflicts with European colonists and other Muscogee groups, many Ochese Creek migrated from Georgia to Spanish Florida in the later 18th century. There they joined with earlier refugees of the Yamasee War, remnants of Mission Indians, and fugitive slaves, to form a new tribe which became known as the Seminole. They spoke mostly Muscogee.
Relations with the United States
The Ocmulgee mounds evoked awe in eighteenth-century travelers. The naturalist William Bartram journeyed through Ocmulgee in 1774 and 1776. He described the "wonderful remains of the power and grandeur of the ancients in this part of America."[19] Bartram was the first to record the Muscogee oral histories of the mounds' origins.
The Lower Creek of Georgia initially had good relations with the federal government of the United States, based on the diplomacy of both
But, after the invention of the
Under government pressure in 1805, the Lower Creek ceded their lands east of the Ocmulgee River to the state of Georgia, but they refused to surrender the sacred mounds. They retained a 3×5-mile-square area on the east bank called the Ocmulgee Old Fields Reserve. It included both the mounds on the Macon Plateau and the Lamar mounds.
In 1806 the Jefferson administration ordered Fort Benjamin Hawkins to be built on a hill overlooking the mounds. The fort was of national and state military importance through 1821, used as a US Army command headquarters, and a supply depot for campaigns in the War of 1812 and later. Economically, it was important as a trading post, or United States factory, to regulate the Creek Nation's trade in deerskins. In addition, it served as a headquarters and mustering area for the Georgia state militia. It served as a point of contact among the Creek Nation, the US, and the state of Georgia military and political representatives.[20]
Tensions among the Upper Creek and Lower Creek towns increased with encroachment by European-American settlers in Georgia. Many among the Upper Creek wanted to revive traditional culture and religion, and a young group of men, the Red Sticks, formed around their prophets. The US and Georgia forces used the fort as a base during the
Led by Chief
In 1819, the Lower Creek gathered for the last time at Ocmulgee Old Fields. In 1821, Chief McIntosh agreed to the
The Creek National Council struggled to end such land cessions by making them a
William McIntosh and a Muscogee delegation from the National Council went to Washington to protest the treaty to President John Quincy Adams. The US government and the Creek negotiated a new treaty, called the Treaty of New York (1826), but the Georgia state government proceeded with evicting Creek from lands under the 1825 treaty. It also passed laws dissolving tribal government and regulating residency on American Indian lands.
In 1828,
Following
National Historical Park
Designations
While the mounds had been studied by some travelers, professional excavation under the evolving techniques of
As an historic unit of the Park Service, the national monument was listed on the
The
Facilities
Ocmulgee's visitor center includes an archaeology museum. It displays artifacts and interprets the successive cultures of the prehistoric Native Americans who inhabited this site for thousands of years. In addition, it interprets the historic Muscogee Creek tribe and diverse peoples who settled nearby in the colonial era. The visitor center includes a short orientation film for the site. Its gift shop has a variety of craft goods, and books related to the park. In the early 1990s, the National Park Service renovated its facilities at the park.
The large park encompasses 702 acres (2.84 km2), and has 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) of walking trails. Near the visitor center is a reconstructed ceremonial earthlodge, based on a 1,000-year-old structure excavated by archeologists. Visitors can reach the Great Temple Mound via a half-mile walk or the park road. Other surviving prehistoric features in the park include a burial mound, platform mounds, and earthwork trenches. The historic site of the English colonial trading post at Ocumulgee, when they were allied with the Muscogee, is also part of the park. It was discovered during archeological excavations in the 1930s.
The main section of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is accessible from U.S. Route 80, off Interstate 16 (which passes through the southwest edge of the park). It is open daily except Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The Lamar Mounds and Village Site is an isolated unit of the park, located in the swamps about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Macon. The Lamar Site is open on a limited basis.
Potential expansion and redesignation as a national park and preserve
In 2022, the NPS conducted a Special Resource Study on the Ocmulgee River Corridor,[26] which could have recommended expansion of the area as a national park and preserve.[27][28] The study area includes parts of Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Robins Air Force Base, and three Georgia state wildlife management areas.[29] The Muscogee Nation may be a partner in conservation management.[30]
In November 2023, the study's findings, which were sent to Congress, concluded that the Corridor proposal was unfeasible at the time due to estimated costs of acquisition, as well as opposition from landowners and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, but also assessed the Corridor as meeting criteria for "national significance and suitability" and recommended a scaled-down plan covering less land and operating as a public-private partnership (such as a National Heritage Area or National Historic Landmark designation) in association with the Muscogee Nation and other stakeholders.[31] Despite the study's findings and recommendations, Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and Representatives Sanford Bishop and Austin Scott, whose districts covered the Ocmulgee River watershed in question, announced their intent to support the intended expansion.[32][33]
Images
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park entrance sign
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Looking upward to the Great Temple Mound from the bluff above the Ocmulgee River
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view from top of Great Temple Mound
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The Great Temple Mound
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map on display at Fort Hawkins
Archaeology Museum
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Pipes, necklaces, and a pottery vessel with a lid the shape of a human head, found at Ocmulgee
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Col. James Moore's raiding party passes the Ocmulgee trading-post
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Earth Lodge Display
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detail of museum
Ocmulgee Earth Lodge
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entrance to earth lodge
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interior of earth lodge
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interior of earth lodge
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Earthlodge fireplace. Nearby were 47 molded seats where the high chiefs or priests sat on the eagle platform
Further reading
- Jennings, Matthew and Gordon Johnston. 2017. Ocmulgee National Monument. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
See also
References
- ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2020" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Southeastern Prehistory:Mississippian and Late Prehistoric Period". National Park Service. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Ocmulgee National Monument", National Park Service, accessed 15 July 2011
- ^ "Ocmulgee". The River Basin Center. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- ^ David J. Holly, "Macon Plateau", in Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia, p. 601
- ^ "Macons Mississippians". Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ "Timeline: Archaeological Periods". New Georgia Encyclopedia.
- ^ ISBN 9780817384227.
- ^ Macon, Mailing Address: 1207 Emery Hwy; Us, GA 31217 Phone:752-8257 x222 Contact. "History & Culture - Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ocmulgee National Monument", National Park Service
- ^ a b Pluckhahn, Thomas (February 19, 2003). "Woodland Period: Overview". New Georgia Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Hernando de Soto", National Park Service
- ^ Charles C. Mann, 1491: New Revelations on the Americas Before Columbus, 2005, pp. 107-110
- ^ "Sacred Sites International Foundation - Ocmulgee Old Fields". Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
- ^ a b "Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects ... Ocmulgee National Monument,", Federal Register Notice, National Park Service
- ^ Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North America, New York: Penguin Books: 2001, p. 233
- ^ "Ocmulgee National Monument", Colonial History, National Park Service
- ^ Daniel T. Elliott, Fort Hawkins: 2005-2007 Field Seasons Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine, The LAMAR Institute, Report 124, 2008, p. 1, accessed 16 July 2011
- ^ "Muscogee" Archived 2010-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, Oklahoma History and Culture
- ^ David Holly, "Macon Plateau", in Guy E. Gibbon, Ed., Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia, New York: Routledge, 1998, p. 601
- ^ "Text - S.47 - John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act". United States Congress. March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Gambill, Rachel. "House demolitions part of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park expansion | Macon-Bibb County, Georgia". Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ Macon, Mailing Address: 1207 Emery Hwy; Us, GA 31217 Phone: 478 752-8257 x222 Contact. "Acquisition More than Doubles the Size of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park - Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "ParkPlanning - Ocmulgee River Corridor SRS". parkplanning.nps.gov. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ Hall, Mary Helene. "Macon's Ocmulgee Mounds expected to become National Park, but roadblocks remain". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ Woods, Mark. "An old park in the middle of Georgia worthy of becoming new national park | Mark Woods". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative". Georgia Conservancy.
- ^ "The Muscogee get their say in national park plan for Georgia". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Associated Press. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "National Park Service completes Special Resource Study for Ocmulgee River Corridor in Central Georgia - Office of Communications (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ^ "BISHOP, OSSOFF, WARNOCK, AND AUSTIN SCOTT ON LATEST OCMULGEE MOUNDS DEVELOPMENT | Congressman Sanford Bishop". bishop.house.gov. November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ^ "National Park Service delivers roadmap for protecting Georgia's Ocmulgee River corridor". AP News. November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
External links
- Official NPS website: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park
- Virtual Tour of Ocmulgee
- Ocmulgee National Monument: 3 Mile Hiking Loop
- "Ocmulgee Mounds", New Georgia Encyclopedia
- Lamar Mounds coordinates: 32°48′45″N 83°35′34″W / 32.81250°N 83.59278°W
- Geographic data related to Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park at OpenStreetMap