Shiloh in Hardin County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Borrow Pits

— Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark —

Photographed by David Austin, April 13, 2025

1. Borrow Pits Marker

Inscription. The depressions or wet-weather ponds in front of you are holes where residents dug up clay to build their wattle-and-dab houses. Here and in the nearby ravines they also "borrowed" soil to construct the large mounds you will see farther along the trail. They loosened the soil with pointed sticks or hoes, scooped up the dirt, and built the mounds basketful by basketful - a laborious process.

Erected by National Park Service, US Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 35° 8.51′ N, 88° 19.497′ W. Marker is in Shiloh, Tennessee, in Hardin County. It can be reached from Riverside Drive. Down a 1.3 Mile Nature Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Shiloh TN 38376, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

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,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Signs of Dwellings (a few steps from this marker); Kentucky Regiments at Battle of Shiloh (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Shiloh Indian Mounds (about 400 feet away); A Temporary Wall (about 400 feet away); Camp of 17th Kentucky Infantry

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(about 600 feet away); Chickasaw Homeland (about 600 feet away); Leaving Home (about 600 feet away); Sifting the Evidence (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shiloh.

Photographed by David Austin, April 13, 2025

2. Borrow Pits Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on April 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 15, 2025, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 162 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 15, 2025, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.