Ewing in Lee County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Indian Mound

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 29, 2011

1. Indian Mound Marker

Inscription. A short distance north is the Ely Mound, the best-preserved Indian mound in Virginia. It dates to the Late Woodland-Mississippian Period (AD 1200–1650), during which more complex societies and practices evolved, including chiefdoms and religious ceremonies. Often, temples, elite residences, and council buildings stood atop substructure or townhouse mounds such as Ely Mound. Lucien Carr, assistant curator of the Peabody Museum in Boston, led an excavation here in 1877. By proving the connection between this mound and present-day Indians. Carr refuted the then-popular “lost race” hypothesis for Mound Builders in eastern North America.

Erected 2000 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number K-3.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Landmarks. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1877.

Location. 36° 39.22′ N, 83°

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24.043′ W. Marker is in Ewing, Virginia, in Lee County. It is on Daniel Boone Trail (Business U.S. 58) just west of Smith Hollow Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ewing VA 24248, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Daniel Boone Trail (here, next to this marker); William H. Starnes: Agricultural Educator (approx. 0.8 miles away); Hiking Up to White Rocks (approx. 1.9 miles away); White Rocks (approx. 2.7 miles away); Martin’s Station (approx. 3 miles away); John Ball (approx. 3.2 miles away); Lee County Code Breakers (approx. 5.1 miles away); Pioneer Graves (approx. 6.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ewing.

More about this marker. This marker replaced an earlier marker with the same name and number which read, “the knoll a short distance to the north is an Indian burial mound. The Cherokees were the principal tribe inhabiting this region.”

1930s marker guidebooks list another marker with the same name and number at this location which read, “the two knolls a short distance to the north are Indian burial mounds.”

Also see . . .

Indian Mound Marker in the Distance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 29, 2011

2. Indian Mound Marker in the Distance

The Daniel Boone Trail monument is in the foreground on the right.

Woodland Indians in Virginia. Page in Charles A. Grymes’ Virginia Places website. “Ely Mound is one of three mounds in Lee County that may have formed a city complex. It was excavated in the 1870s. At that time the mound still had the rotting cedar posts of what may have been a building used by tribal leaders of that area. Ely Mound is about as close to Monticello or Mount Vernon as you can get, for that now-vanished culture.” (Submitted on July 8, 2011.)

Daniel Boone Trail Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 29, 2011

3. Daniel Boone Trail Monument

A number of these identical monuments can be found along the original route of U.S. 58. The plaque reads, “Daniel Boone Trail, from North Carolina to Kentucky. Marked by the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution.”

View of Indian Mound image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 29, 2011

4. View of Indian Mound

This view is from the Daniel Boone Trail monument.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, March 16, 2019

5. Daniel Boone Trail Monument

Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, March 16, 2019

6. Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Sign

Credits. This page was last revised on July 7, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 7, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,280 times since then and 97 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 7, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 8, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 5, 6. submitted on April 25, 2020, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.