Indian Mounds Park (Whitewater, Wisconsin)
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Other sites in the U.S. of similar history may be found at Indian Mounds Park
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[edit] History of the Effigy Mounds Park in Whitewater
Whitewater's name is derived from “Wau-be-gan-naw-po-cat” meaning “white water.” Whitewater, WI inherits this name from the Potawatomi Native Americans. The Potawatomi, after being displaced from their native lands further east, most likely some time in the mid-17th century during the Beaver Wars, settled in the area now known as the Indian Mounds Park (among other locations) and near the Whitewater River presently known as Whitewater Creek. The area was given this name due to the white clay and sands that collect at the bottom of this river. Although Whitewater was first claimed by European settlers in 1836 as Alvin Foster did what was needed at that time to make a legal claim on a piece of land by carving his name in a nearby tree, one year later in 1837, a man by the name of Samuel Prince built the first log cabin structure near what is today the site of Whitewater's Effigy Mounds Park.
[edit] The Effigy Mounds Park
The Effigy Mounds Park (also known as The Indian Mounds Park or as the Maples Mounds Group) is located on the west side of Whitewater, Wisconsin off of Indian Mounds Parkway and Wildwood Road. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It is a prehistoric, Native American ceremonial and burial site that dates between 200 and 1000AD, and in its relatively small space of 1.5 acres has one of the most diverse and unique collections of animal and geometric mounds in the United States. Located on the eastern bank of an old river bed, and among the park's thick native oak trees the Effigy Mounds once included a village community area with 30 circular huts, inhabited by the mound builders. The 12 effigy mounds (and possible 13th effigy mound) in the site are what survive this village today. Weather permitting, the site continues to be used for Native American ceremonial pow-wows. Entrance into the Effigy Mounds Park is free and open to the public daily.
[edit] Recent Efforts
As of 2006, recent efforts in the park have now provided a glimpse of the past, removing the non-native species and other underbrush to return the park back into its original state, that of an oak savanna.
According to recent plans for the west side of Whitewater by the Whitewater Community Development Authority there is a possible expansion of the park projected for some time in the future that would include an area north of the park and also south of West Main Street. This expansion plan includes degraded mound remnants southwest of the current park. In addition, this new area to the southwest would provide a buffer to the existing mounds in the park. The new area planned on the north side of the park would expand to include attractive woodlands, wetlands as well as space for a playground, playfield and trail.
