5 Notes On Visiting Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site

I visited the Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site in Northwest Georgia one weekend. I had put it off for a while, but I’m glad I was able to go. It was a good visit and worth the trip.

We Couldn’t Have Preserved More?

The Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site, like the Kolomoki State Park, is an accidental preservation thanks to the families awarded the land in the Georgia Land Lottery after the Trail of Tears.

I’m thankful that they didn’t completely destroy the site and that the site we have is preserved; however, given its importance, it’s shocking just how small the site is.

It’s also shocking to see the historic site’s location and zoning around it.

There are industrial sites, there are golf courses, there are sod farms, lots of chain link fencing, and general ugliness about the site, not on the site but in the land around it.

I’m surprised that the county with the site has not done a better job of allowing it to be preserved respectfully in its proper context instead of pursuing the short-term benefits of having industrial and low-value agricultural uses around it.

The Size Does Make It Accessible

The site is smaller but more accessible than the Ocmulgee National Historical Park in Macon. It does preserve Woodland Indian history well. The Woodland Indians were not as big of mound builders as the later Mississippians. Like the Kolomoki Mounds, it makes the site pretty accessible and very easy to walk around.

Location on the Etowah

The site is perfect for river trips and visiting the Etowah River. The Etowah River is a lovely one that, thanks to the Allatoona Dam, is very tame and lovely as it courses through Northwest Georgia. The river is why the site exists, and it’s really cool to see how the mounds and the old site interface with the river.

It also makes a good put-in or take-out site for boats and river exploration.

Museum Is Ok

The museum needs improvement. Although it does a decent job, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources could and should invest. Unfortunately, they’ve also dragged their feet on returning artifacts and renovating the museum.

Hopefully, in coming years, the state will invest in a museum that’s much more thorough and on the level of the museum at Kolomoki or even the museum at the Ocmulgee National Historical Park.

Underrated & Worth a Visit

Even though it’s small and not as great as other sites in Georgia, the actual mounds are worth a visit. So many historic sites in Georgia focus on the last 100 to 200 years. It’s interesting to see a place that goes back hundreds even thousands of years.