Charles Mound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles Mound is a gentle, 1,235-foot-high hill in northern Jo Daviess County, near the small town of Scales Mound and 11 miles northeast of Galena. It is the highest point in Illinois that is not man-made; the Sears Tower and other skyscrapers in Chicago rise to a greater elevation above sea level. Its geographic location is 42.5042° N 90.2401° W. The top of the hill is slightly less than one-half mile from the Wisconsin border. It is within the Driftless Area, a region of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, centering on Dubuque, Iowa, that was not covered or ground down by the last continental glaciers.

Charles Mound is located on rolling farmland. The owners of the land, the Wuebbels, only permit the general public to access the property during specific times of the year. Reportedly because of theft problems, this timeframe was cut back severely in 2005 to include only four weekends (the first weekend of the month in June, July, August, and September).

The Weubbels are in regular contact with several highpointing organizations. Charles Mound was the site of the 2003 Highpointers Convention.

The previous owner of Charles Mound, Gladys Stiefel, passed away on March 12, 2002, at the age of 96.

U.S. State Highest Points [ v • d • e ]