Poverty Point National Monument!

What Is Poverty Point National Monument?

Poverty Point National Monument preserves North America’s largest Native American mound complex!

What Makes It Historical?

There’s evidence that native people were living here as early as 4,000 BC, but these mounds date back to around 1400 BC. There are six mounds in total, labeled from A to F, and a semi circular collection of six giant ridges curving toward the east. At 72 feet in height Mound A is the largest, weighing in at an estimated 390,000 tons of dirt that would have taken 15.5 million loads to pile up! No one is entirely sure how the mounds were used (though they weren’t for burial), but the artifacts found on site suggest it was a ceremonial or civil meeting place!

For about 300 years, the residents of Poverty Point traded with other tribes in Georgia, Alabama, Iowa, and even as far as the Appalachian Mountains! Then, around 1100 BC, for reasons unknown, it was abandoned! Flash forward to 1830, when Jacob Walter, a prospector looking for lead deposits, stumbled upon the site and wrote about it. His work was built upon by Samuel Lockett in 1873, but excavations did not begin until the 1950s. Since then, hundreds of spearpoints, figurines, and stone crafts from the Late Archaic period have been uncovered!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Become a member of the Advocates for Poverty Point!
Donate to the Louisiana Parks Foundation!
Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!