Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Velda Mound
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 15, 2025
1. Velda Mound Marker
Velda Mound is an archaeological site comprised of a small platform mound, a modest plaza, and a village. The site was built and occupied circa 1450- 1565 CE by the Apalachee, whose hierarchical society was marked by a settlement pattern composed of mound centered communities, the largest at Lake Jackson, five miles to the west. Platform mounds like Velda were designed to elevate communal structures that served as residences and council houses. The plaza was an open ground used for holding civic and religious events such as stickball games and the Green Corn ceremony. The people who lived here subsisted by farming nearby fields, hunting, and fishing. Archaeological investigation of the Velda village documented domestic structures with hearths, as well as stone tools and pottery. The Apalachee were the historic descendants of what archaeologists call the Fort Walton indigenous culture, which flourished in central north Florida from 1000 CE to circa 1560 CE. Archaeologists documented the site during construction of Interstate 10 in the early 1970s, and the Florida Department of State has preserved it as a park
this page online
A Florida Heritage Site
Erected 2024 by The Tallahassee Historical Society, The Panhandle Archaeological Society at Tallahassee, and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1287.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1450.
Location. 30° 30.093′ N, 84° 13.336′ W. Marker is in Tallahassee, Florida, in Leon County. It is at the intersection of Baldwin Drive South and Mound Drive, on the right when traveling east on Baldwin Drive South. Marker is in Velda Mound Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2684 Baldwin Dr S, Tallahassee FL 32309, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Florida. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 15, 2025
2. Velda Mound Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named Velda Mound (a few steps from this marker); Hickory Hill Cemetery of Welaunee Plantation (approx. 1½ miles away); Munree (Fleischmann) Cemetery of Welaunee Plantation (approx. 2.6 miles away); Saint Clement's Chapel ~ Church of The Advent (approx. 2.8 miles away); Strike Against the Pentagon (approx. 3.6 miles away); Leon County War on Terror Memorial (approx. 3.6 miles away); The Plantation Cemetery At Betton Hill (approx. 3.6 miles away); Goodwood Mansion (approx. 3.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tallahassee.
Other markers no longer nearby. Northern Boundary of Lafayette Land Grant (was approx. 1.7 miles away but has been confirmed missing); Eastern Boundary of Lafayette Land Grant (was approx. 3.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Also see . . . Velda Mound. (Submitted on April 17, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, April 15, 2025
3. Velda Mound
Credits. This page was last revised on June 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 16, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 596 times since then and 107 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 16, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on April 17, 2025, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
