After parking my car, I walked into the visitor's center, which is house in the Graves House (c. 1825). I collected a site map from the ranger working there and headed out to explore the site on foot. Deciding to follow the timeline, I first headed toward the Mississippian Mound a few hundred yards east of the later sites. The path is well maintained and marked. Arriving, I find a large clearing, which was home to a small Native American village around 1100 CE. In the trees closer to and sitting above the Coosa River, there is an obvious man-made earthen mound. I've seen many of these over the years, having grown up near the most famous of them at Cahokia and in my travels. This one, however, is by far the most overgrown I have ever seen. While the site of the village has been cleared, large trees and bushes grown from all sides and the top of the small mound. I wonder if it's a lack of funding or concern with damaging the structural integrity that has prevented the park from cleaning it off. Either way, it's rather sad to see.
Returning back towards the main area of the park, I walk around the various incarnations of Fort Toulouse that have been reconstructed. The history is a little confusing here between Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson. Fort Toulouse was built and rebuilt on this site three times between 1717 and 1763, while Fort Jackson was build in 1814 to protect the river during the War of 1812. What's confusing is which ruin/reconstruction is which. The park map doesn't really help much with it's descriptions and labeling. I think this area closer to the mound is Fort Jackson and of it, one of the protective walls lined with sharpened timbers and some living quarters have been rebuilt. It's interesting to think of soldiers living out here on what was then well beyond the frontier.
From there, I had back to the other reconstructed fort, which I again is confusing, but I believe is Fort Toulouse. This structure was built by the French prior to the American Revolution and much more of it has been reconstructed, including a blacksmithing shop, kitchen/church, and soldier's quarters. The entire area is surrounded by a tall wooden wall. Seeing a this mostly historical reconstruction warms my heart. It's great to see our history preserved like this. I just wish they would take as much care with the nearby mound.
After wandering around the park for about forty-five minutes and walking roughly a mile, I get back to my car and head on towards the Gulf. This was a nice stop and a great way to stretch my legs after a few hours in the car.
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