Near Larchwood in Lyon County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Blood Run National Historic Landmark

January 11, 2026

1. Blood Run National Historic Landmark Marker

Inscription. Blood Run is a sacred site and the ancestral home of the Omaha, Ponca, Ioway & Oto tribes, where they cohabitated from AD 1500-1750. The Oneota traditions were celebrated, and it was an important trade center and city. More than 6,000 people who were growers, artisans and hunters occupied the village. Catlinite was quarried at Pipestone, MN and crafted here to create sacred pipes, tablets and other cultural items. The central location was convenient for other traveling tribes. After 1750, the village was unoccupied becoming the "Silent City". The late 1800s saw westward expansion with the railroad passing through the site, followed shortly after by early homesteaders. Dr. F. W. Pettigrew, from Sioux Falls, an early non-native explorer of the area, created detailed maps and records that still offer invaluable information. The natural beauty of this cultural landscape adds to its historic significance. The tribes who lived here are connected to this land. Please treat it with respect and reverence.

Erected 2022 by the Friends of Blood Run and the State Historical Society of Iowa with support from the William G. Pomeroy

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Foundation. (Marker Number 57.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Exploration • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Iowa - State Historical Society of Iowa, and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1500.

Location. 43° 28.005′ N, 96° 33.983′ W. Marker is near Larchwood, Iowa, in Lyon County. It is on Apple Avenue 0.2 miles south of 125th Street (County Highway K10), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1109 125th St, Larchwood IA 51241, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Western Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

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

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles

Blood Run National Historic Landmark Marker, from the east image. Click for full size.

January 11, 2026

2. Blood Run National Historic Landmark Marker, from the east

Sign:
Blood Run National Historic Landmark
Removal or disturbance of any cultural resource is prohibited
Area managed by Iowa DNR

of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Berdahl-Rölvaag House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Community of Granite (approx. half a mile away); A Landscape Shaped by Glaciers (approx. 1.2 miles away in South Dakota); Looking Into the Past (approx. 1.2 miles away in South Dakota); A Trading Center (approx. 1.3 miles away in South Dakota); Bow Hunting (approx. 1.4 miles away in South Dakota); New Arrivals (approx. 1½ miles away in South Dakota); Sacred Images (approx. 1.6 miles away in South Dakota). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Larchwood.

Also see . . .
1. Blood Run National Historic Landmark | State Historical Society of Iowa.

Imagine this site as it once was—a large village and ceremonial site of the ancestors of the Omaha, Ponca, Iowa and Oto-Missouria tribes, participants in the Oneota traditions. These people were attracted to the site by the Big Sioux River, abundant game, fertile soil and access to pipestone. The land was inhabited from 900 A.D. to 1720 A.D. and was a major trading site from about 1500 to 1700.

(Submitted on January 31, 2026.)

2. Native American cultural site forgotten in Iowa, preserved in South Dakota.

Blood Run National Historic Landmark, North Entrance image. Click for full size.

January 11, 2026

3. Blood Run National Historic Landmark, North Entrance

October 18, 2024 article from the Iowa Capital Dispatch (Submitted on January 31, 2026.)

Pitted Boulder at Blood Run image. Click for full size.

January 11, 2026

4. Pitted Boulder at Blood Run

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2026. This page has been viewed 62 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 31, 2026. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.