Where 2,000 years of Mississippi history still rises from the ground

Where 2, 000 years of Mississippi history still rises from the ground.

Key points

• The Ingomar Mounds date to roughly 2, 000 to 2, 200 years ago, during the Middle Woodland Period, and are considered the oldest documented man-made site in Union County.
• Just south of New Albany, the Ingomar Mounds rise from the Union County countryside, remnants of a world that existed long before Mississippi had a name.
• A selection is on display at the Union County Heritage Museum in New Albany, making a stop there an especially good addition to a visit.
• The Ingomar Mounds Trail is an approximately 1.7-mile loop through the property, complete with interpretive signs explaining the history and natural surroundings.
• Ingomar was once an impressive complex of 14 documented mounds spread throughout approximately 70 acres.

Where 2, 000 years of Mississippi history still rises from the ground. (Photo from MS Hills National Heritage Area).

Hundreds of Native American mounds once stood throughout Northeast Mississippi. Mound building here stretched throughout roughly 18 centuries, beginning during the Woodland Period and continuing into the Mississippian Period. Mississippi has a way of keeping its stories close.

Some are tucked inside old houses and courthouse squares. Some live in songs, recipes, and stories passed down through families. And some have been sitting quietly beneath the North Mississippi sun for more than 2, 000 years.

Two thousand years ago, long before Hernando de Soto wandered through this part of the country, long before state lines were drawn, cotton fields planted, or highways paved. Before the United States was even an idea, individuals were living, gathering, trading, and building right here. And they left their mark on the land.

In practice, the Ingomar Mounds date to roughly 2, 000 to 2, 200 years ago, during the Middle Woodland Period, and are considered the oldest documented man-made site in Union County. They are additionally part of a much larger story.

Some were rounded burial mounds. Others were broad and flat-topped, places applied for ceremonies, gatherings, and other notable parts of community life.

Ingomar was once an impressive complex of 14 documented mounds spread throughout approximately 70 acres. Try to picture that landscape 2, 000 years ago.

No roads. No power lines. No New Albany a few miles away. Just earth and trees and individuals gathering at a place notable enough that generations invested an extraordinary amount of labor into shaping the land itself. Most of those mounds are gone now.

Some were looted. Others were plowed down as the land was converted to farmland. Development and time took their toll, too. By the late 1800s, much of what had stood for centuries was already disappearing.

For context, the sizeable platform mound at Ingomar still rises approximately 30 feet above the surrounding land, making it one of the largest mounds of its type in the Southeast. Standing near it puts those 30 feet into perspective.

Every bit of that earth had to be moved without a bulldozer, tractor, or dump truck. The mound was built by human hands, with soil carried and placed over time until an enormous structure rose from the Mississippi ground.

But perhaps one of the most fascinating parts of Ingomar's story is what archaeologists discovered beneath that ground.

For context, the individuals who gathered here were connected to a world much larger than Union County. Artifacts recovered from Ingomar included materials originating hundreds of miles away, evidence of extensive trade networks stretching throughout ancient North America.

Individuals were coming and going. Goods were being exchanged. Ideas were traveling. It makes ancient Mississippi feel a little less ancient somehow.

In the mid-1880s, the site caught the attention of Smithsonian archaeologists. This person mapped the mound complex and excavated portions of it. Hundreds of objects were removed and continued to the Smithsonian's permanent collection.

More than a century afterwards, some have returned to Union County on loan.

Notably, a selection is on display at the Union County Heritage Museum in New Albany, making a stop there an especially good addition to a visit. You can see pieces unearthed at Ingomar and then drive out to stand on the land where they were discovered.

Today, the Archaeological Conservancy owns and protects the mound property, preserving what remains for research, education, and future generations. Ingomar was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 2002.

And thankfully, this isn't one of those historic places you can only admire from behind a fence.

For context, the Ingomar Mounds Trail is an approximately 1.7-mile loop through the property, complete with interpretive signs explaining the history and natural surroundings. The preserve is additionally a Monarch butterfly way station and a geocaching site. It is open from dawn until dusk, and the Union County Heritage Museum offers information regarding tours and special events.

Notably, the land is additionally part of the ancestral homeland of the Chickasaw Nation, an notable piece of a story that reaches far beyond what archaeologists have uncovered.

We sometimes talk regarding Mississippi history as though it began a few hundred years ago.

Individuals loved and lost here. They traveled, traded, and gathered here. They buried their dead here. They built something significant enough to require an almost unimaginable amount of work, and more than 2, 000 years afterwards, part of it is still standing.

You can think you know a place. You can drive its highways and backroads for years.

Then one day, you turn off the road outside New Albany, walk a trail through the Union County countryside, and find yourself standing in front of 2, 000 years of history. Sometimes the past isn't particularly far away at all. Sometimes it's right there in the dirt. <!– AddToAny script (best before) –>.

Meredith Biesinger, an educator and syndicated writer, is dedicated to showcasing Mississippians' captivating stories. Her work is a testament to the unique beauty and charm of the Magnolia State, a place that never fails to intrigue and inspire. She and her husband and children are actively engaged in their North Mississippi community and strive to do just that.

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