The Ancient Cities and Earthen Mounds of O'Fallon

The Ancient Cities and Earthen Mounds of O'Fallon. City of O'Fallon, Missouri, founded in 1856. , Trade brought great wealth to this region. Several large communities with markets, including one off Highway 79 near the present-day O'Fallon sewage treatment plant, could be found across the greater O'Fallon area. Just as they do now, local leaders encouraged merchants and artisans to live in their cities and to use their markets, which would attract new residents and increase the local economy. Successful leaders gained prestige and their communities grew rapidly., Many ancient mounds once existed across Missouri, but most have been destroyed. The City of O'Fallon is protecting the only remaining mounds so that generations of visitors will be able to admire these 2,000-year-old wonders from the past., [Captions:] , Many times the dead were laid in chamel houses and their skeletal remains were rubbed with red pigment. Eventually the chamel house would be covered with earth and become a mound., Cardinal Direction: East , For natives, the east was the direction of the Sun, the color red, sacred fire, blood, and life and success.