Visit: Cahokia Mounds

Saturday after filling up with some delicious First Watch breakfast (courtesy of a gift card), J and I headed over into eastern Illinois to see Cahokia Mounds and took advantage of some of the warm weather we were having at the time.

He had visited before but since I had never been, he returned with me to explore the site.  I will share some of the photos I took while we were there but know that they do not do the site justice by any means!

A view of the Mississippi from the top of Monk's Mound

The area was inhabited by a tribe of Native peoples who researchers refer to as Mississippian people from approximately 700 CE until 1400 CE in the largest settlement in the Americas north of Mexico.  At its height in 1250 CE, the area had more inhabitants at the time than London and would hold the record for largest American settlement until 1800 CE when it was finally broken by Philadelphia!

Just as European cities at the time began to see the division of labor and professionalization of skills and trades, researchers have found evidence that a similar division of labor occurred in this settlement (think spear makers, potters, and other crafts people).  Yet sometime around 1200, for reasons that are not entirely clear to researchers, the settlement fell into a decline and was completely abandoned by 1400 CE.  Some likely causes for this decline include overcrowding, depletion of natural resources, war, disease, social and political unrest or more likely, a combination of these forces that brought about the end.

The word Cahokia is a bit of a misnomer because it refers to a group of native peoples who inhabited the area in the 17th century, long after the settlement had been abandoned.  In the mid 18th century, local historians suggested it be called Cahokia Mounds to honor the 16th century natives. 

J and I discussed this quite a bit as we were walking around and the popular perception of native peoples is that of nomadic, "uncivilized" people.  Places like Cahokia Mounds demonstrate how far this popular opinion is from the truth. 

The site itself consists of a museum, gift shop and the grounds themselves.  While the natives built over 120 mounds, only one is fully accessible to visitors due to issues with erosion and so forth.  As you look through these photos, keep in mind that each of these mounds were created by human hands and tools.  Pretty amazing right?!

One of the many mounds at the site (now a state park).  You can see how erosion has taken its toll on these earthen mounds over the centuries.

A look as we approach the largest mound, Monk's Mound. The settlement's leader lived and ruled from a wooden structure that was built on the top of this mound. 

Halfway up Monk's Mound.

A view from the top. This gives you a better idea of how big these mounds actually are since we are at least 12-13 miles away from downtown St. Louis. 

Zoomed in view of Downtown St. Louis from the top of the mound

This was a great place to visit and I would encourage everyone in the area to check it out, especially as the weather starts to get warmer (hopefully).  Since I am not a native of Missouri, I really enjoyed learning more about its history!

Many have compared the settlement to Chichen Itza in Mexico.  My question to you is: Have you ever been to Mexico and seen them in person?  What about Cahokia Mounds or other local (St. Louis or not) treasures?  I'd love to hear (and learn) all about them!

Remember When Wednesday: Lincoln Land

In honor of President's Day this week, I thought I'd share with you the remainder of our trip to Springfield in the Spring of 2009 as this week's Remember When Wednesday post.  

Just as a recap (read more about it here) a good friend Gary made available tickets to the celebration of the bicenntenial of Abraham Lincoln's birth in Springfield, IL where we got to hear President Obama speak.  Something I did not mention before is that J and I want to visit all of the Presidential libraries in the United States (can you tell we were political science majors?) which is why number 46 on my 130 list is to visit 3 numbers of Presidential libraries before I turn 30!  Gary knew that we eventually wanted to visit all of the libraries, which was one reason he invited us on the trip with him.

The excitement and once in a lifetime opportunities didn't end with the bicentennial dinner though!  The next day we had lunch with some of the other donors to the Presidential Library and Museum (since my dad's friend Gary was a donor), including Chaz Ebert (Roger Ebert's wife) and a rich businessman from Texas who is good friends with Stedman Graham who was supposed to attend the dinner but at the last minute was unable to.  Throughout the lunch, he kept mentioned Stedman, which was surreal to say the least.  It must be noted that while I am from California, these are the only "celebrities" that I've ever interacted with.  Therefore lunch was interesting but a little nerve wracking since we'd never been around such high society people before!


After lunch, Gary, J and I were treated to a personal tour of Lincoln's tomb, Lincoln's home in Springfield and later the Presidential Library itself by a local historian and member of the Abraham Lincoln Society.


Here are a few pictures we took while at Lincoln's tomb.

Local legend has it that rubbing Lincoln's nose is considered good luck, which explains why the brass on bust is only worn at the nose!

The entrance to Lincoln's tomb in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery.  Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd and three of their four sons are buried here.

 

In 1901, after an attempted grave robbery, several disinterments and the building and restoration of the vault, Lincoln's body was laid to rest a final time through the door above, some twenty seven years after his death in 1865!  

The Lincolns' home in Springfield.  This house and the entire neighborhood has been restored to appear just as it did when the Lincolns lived in Springfield in the 1850s and 1860s.

When we arrived at the Presidential library, we were greeted by the curator of the museum, who gave us a personal, guided tour of the museum.  The museum is wonderful and the way the curators and designers mixed medias with artifacts, wax figurines, music and video to present the lives and history of the Lincolns was truly magical.  It came as no surprise to me when I learned that some of the people at the Epcot Center in Disneyworld were consulted during the design of the library.  If anyone has a chance to visit the library, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

We then were taken on a private tour to the vault of the library, a place few people get to go and a place J and I never would have gotten to go to by ourselves!  But thanks to Gary's generosity, we got to to take an elevator into the bowels of the library where we saw, among other things, one of the three original copies of the Gettysburg Address.  As a history lover, I could not have been more excited and awe struck at the document in front of me!  The curator held the fragile paper in his white gloved hands as we peered over the pages: 


Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.



Happy belated President's Day everyone!