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

The Center of Town

Center of Town Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by David Austin, April 13, 2025

1. Center of Town Marker

Inscription. You are entering the heart of the town - fairly level plaza stretching from them to the edge of the river bluff. The large mounds you see here served as elevated platforms for civic buildings, temples, and homes of prominent leaders.

Between 1100 and 1300, the town was one of the larged and most impressive communities along the entire river. Several hundred people lived here, and others came here regularly from villages and hamlets up and down the riverway, just as people might drive in Nashville or Memphis today.

Higher Ups
The Mississippian culture, like many others the world, associated leadership and power with high elevations. In ancient Greece, temples and civic buildings were located on the acropolis, the uppermost part of the city. At Teotihuacan, in Mexico, temples were placed on high pyramids. And in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Capital sits on a hill.

Erected by Shiloh Indian Mounds National Landmark.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1100.

Location. 35° 8.537′ N,

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88° 19.374′ W. Marker is near Shiloh, Tennessee, in Hardin County. It can be reached from Riverside Drive east of Hamburg Savannah Rd. 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: 28th Illinois Infantry (within shouting distance of this marker); Signs of Prestige (within shouting distance of this marker); Shiloh Indian Mounds (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Leaving Home (about 500 feet away); Borrow Pits (about 600 feet away); Maternal Clusters (about 600 feet away); Signs of Dwellings (about 700 feet away); Vibrant Community

Photographed by David Austin, April 13, 2025

2. Center of Town Marker

(about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shiloh.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 22, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 15, 2025, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 146 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 15, 2025, by David Austin of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.