O'Fallon in St. Charles County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

The Ancient Cities and Earthen Mounds of O'Fallon

City of O'Fallon, Missouri, founded in 1856

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 22, 2021

1. The Ancient Cities and Earthen Mounds of O'Fallon Marker

Inscription.
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.

Erected by the City of O'Fallon, Missouri.

Topics. This historical marker

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is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 38° 49.573′ N, 90° 42.558′ W. Marker is in O'Fallon, Missouri, in St. Charles County. It is on Dames Park Drive 0.8 miles south of State Highway P, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 387 Dames Park Dr, O Fallon MO 63366, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Missouri River Corridor

and in Greater St. Louis.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: O'Fallon's 2,000-year-old Civilization

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 22, 2021

2. The Ancient Cities and Earthen Mounds of O'Fallon Marker

(a few steps from this marker); The Ancient Earthen Burial Mounds of O'Fallon (within shouting distance of this marker); O'Fallon During Ancient Times (within shouting distance of this marker); Alien Designs or Native Handiwork? (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Omer J. Dames War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Early O'Fallon (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fort Zumwalt (approx. 1.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in O'Fallon.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 27, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,796 times since then and 131 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 27, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.