Ocmulgee Mounds (Bibb County, Georgia)

The Native American Mississippian culture and the nations of people that pre-dated it ranged far and wide east of the great river. Growing up near St. Louis, I'm very familiar with Cahokia, which is though to have been a regional capital, but there are a number of other smaller sites scattered around the eastern United States. One of these is Ocmulgee.

Traveling the ninety or so miles from home to visit the site, I arrived at the visitors center of what has been made into a National Historic Monument just a little after 10:00. After chatting briefly with the park ranger, I head out to explore the site. As with may earthen mound sites, much has been lost to development, but the park service, since purchasing the land, has made an admirable attempt to preserve what remains and educate the public on the generations of communities that inhabited this place in eons past.

Leaving the visitors center, I first encounter the diminutive Cornfield Mound and Earthlodge, which is restored ceremonial center that is hollowed out and allows visitors to walk inside. Continuing up the trail, I next encounter Great Temple and Lesser Temple Mounds, which were obviously central to the community. The larger of the two towers some sixty of seventy feet above the surrounding landscape and with the addition of a set of wooden stairs, I take the time to climb to the top to survey my surroundings. 

Heading back down to the base, I continue on to the Southeast Mound before following the Bartram Trail back to the visitors center. Along the way though, I pass beside a swift moving creek and under one of the few brick railroad bridges every constructed. Luckily, a I hear a train in the distance and decide to wait it out for a decent shot. It's unfortunate that modern progress has destroyed so much of this remarkable site, but I'm thankful that what remains will be protected.