Near Athens in Limestone County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Copena Mound

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 2, 2020

1. Copena Mound Marker

Inscription. This burial mound is one of hundreds constructed during the Middle Woodland period between 100 BC and AD 500 by native people who shared burial practices with other similar cultural groups extending from the Gulf and Atlantic coasts to Canada. Herein northern Alabama, archaeologists have named these people and their mounds 'Copena' blending the words copper from eastern Tennessee and Michigan and galena, a lead ore from Missouri. These minerals are common to mounds built here in the Tennessee Valley and indicate a far flung trading network. The people who built such mounds used great care to design these structures and enshrine their ancestors, even the sand and clay used to build them were transported from long distances.

Erected 2016 by Limestone County Historical Society; Alabama Elk River Development Agency; and Athens/Limestone Tourism Council.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 100 BCE.

Location. 34° 46.68′ N, 87° 13.254′ W. Marker is near Athens, Alabama, in Limestone County. It can be reached from the intersection of Bay Village Drive and Bay Hill Drive. Marker

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is located in the Bay Pointe Condominiums parking lot, in front of the building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6122 Bay Village Dr, Athens AL 35611, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama

and in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. 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 the original Cherokee Nation,

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 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lucy's Branch / Legacy of The Little Elk Community (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fort Hampton (approx. 2.2 miles away); Melton's Bluff (approx. 2.2 miles away); Elk River Shoals (approx. 2.4 miles away); East End High School (approx. 5 miles away); Lauderdale County High School 1912 (approx. 5.2 miles away); First Baptist Church of Rogersville (approx. 5.2 miles away); Lamb’s Ferry Road (approx. 5.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Athens.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 2, 2020

2. Copena Mound Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 20, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 2,116 times since then and 123 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 4, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.