Near Oakville in Lawrence County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Copena Burial Mound

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 8, 2009

1. Copena Burial Mound Marker

Inscription. Copena Indians built this mound with baskets of dirt some 2000 years ago. The Copena name was derived from their use of copper and galena (lead ore) found in their burials along with gorgets and celts. The mounds were a burial site with the dead encased in a plaster of clay covered with layers of soil. The many burial mounds within a few miles are evidence of an extensive cultural center. The perennial springs and fertile lands encircled by West Flint Creek contributed to a large population. The Copena society flourished here for hundreds of years and they raised a variety of domesticated crops. Some 17 miles north of here the Tennessee River provided an inexhaustible food supply of fresh water mussels. In the mid 1800's settlers were buried on the mounds under false stone crypts. In 1924, Smithsonian archaeologists noted three other burial mounds in the areas that were being leveled by farmers.

Erected by Lawrence County Historical Commission Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Indigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 2000.

Location. 34° 26.735′ N, 87° 10.724′ W. Marker is near Oakville, Alabama, in Lawrence

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County. It is on County Route 187. Located inside Oakville Park near Copean Indian mound in a clump of trees, same side of road as mound. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Danville AL 35619, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

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: Historic Indians (a few steps from this marker); Town of Oakville (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Doublehead (about 500 feet away); Cherokee Council House Museum (about 600 feet away); Cherokee Indian Removal (approx. ¼ mile away); Creek Indian Removal (approx. ¼ mile away); Oakville Indian Mound (approx. ¼ mile away); Streight's Raid (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Oakville.

Also see . . . Prehistoric Indians of the Southeast: Archaeology of Alabama and the Middle ... By John A. Walthall. Prehistoric Indians of the Southeast (Submitted on March 12, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA.)

Copena Burial Mound Site image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, August 8, 2009

2. Copena Burial Mound Site

Copena Burial Mound and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, August 27, 2021

3. Copena Burial Mound and Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 4, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 3,562 times since then and 55 times this year. Last updated on June 12, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 4, 2010, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 3. submitted on August 27, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.