Near Tunica in Tunica County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

Johnson Cemetery Mound

— Mississippi Mound Trail —

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 10, 2018

1. Johnson Cemetery Mound Marker (front)

Inscription.
The Johnson Cemetery site currently consists of a single mound and associated village, but may originally have had a second mound. The existing mound is 12 feet high in height and was most likely pyramidal in shape, though its dimensions have suffered from erosion. Archaeologists have determined that the mound was built in stages by Native Americans during the Mississippi Period, ca. AD 1200-1600. Johnson Cemetery, a 20th-century African American cemetery, is located on the mound's summit.

Erected 2016 by MDAH, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Office of State Aid Road Construction, Federal Highway Administration & private landowners.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Anthropology & Archaeology • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. In addition, it is included in the Mississippi Mound Trail series list.

Location. 34° 44.461′ N, 90° 22.002′ W. Marker is near Tunica, Mississippi, in Tunica County. It is on Old U.S. 61 half a mile south of Hollywood Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tunica MS 38676, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in the Mississippi Delta,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

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4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hollywood Mounds (approx. 2.2 miles away); Tunica Full Service (approx. 3.6 miles away); Leo Lesser Building (approx. 3.7 miles away); In Memory of Lieut. John R. Stapleton (approx. 3.7 miles away); 1317 Main Street (approx. 3.7 miles away); Hotel Marie (approx. 3.7 miles away); 1888 Courthouse (approx. 3.7 miles away); Lane's Barber Shop (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tunica.

Also see . . . Mississippi Mound Trail. Mississippi Historical Society website entry (Submitted on October 18, 2023, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Rear of marker showing the layout of the mound. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 10, 2018

2. Rear of marker showing the layout of the mound.

Lower Plaque
This archaeological site is
on private property. Please
view the site from the
pull-off area.
NO
TRESPASSING

Johnson Cemetery Mound can be seen across the road. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 10, 2018

3. Johnson Cemetery Mound can be seen across the road.

The Johnson Cemetery graves can be seen on top of the mound. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, April 10, 2018

4. The Johnson Cemetery graves can be seen on top of the mound.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 15, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 11, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 839 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 11, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.