Woodland Mounds State Preserve

Woodland Mounds State Preserve is a 185-acre area featuring a group of five conical burial mounds dating from the years a.d. 400 to 1100. It is located 7.5 miles east of Indianola in Warren County. 

About the Land

In 1981, the Warren County Conservation Board purchased the woodland from the Gilbert family, who had owned the property since the late 1800s. In 1983, the property was dedicated as an archaeological preserve and named after the Woodland Indian culture that built the mounds.

Geography

The preserve is located within the Southern Iowa Drift Plain, Iowa’s largest landform region. This region is underlain by glacial deposits that are older than 500,000 years old. The glacial pebbly clays are mantled with deposits of wind-blown silt (loess), generally between 30,000 and 14,000 years old. 

The steep, timbered hills of the area are situated along a long, prominent ridge above a former meander channel of the South River. Remnants of an old quarry that was used by local farmers for rock for house and barn foundations is present in the northern end of the preserve. 

Directions

1. From the intersection of Highway 65/69 and Highway 92 in Indianola, take Highway 92 east for 3.5 miles to S23 (165th Avenue). 
2. Turn south (right) and go 1 mile on this winding road to Kennedy Street. 
3. Turn east (left) and go 1.5 miles to Kirkwood Street. 
4. Turn east (left) and go 1.75 miles to the preserve entrance on the north side of Keokuk Street (sign: Woodland Mounds State Preserve). 
5. A parking lot is located at the end of the 0.25- mile-long entrance lane.

Woodland Indians

A group of five conical burial mounds, dating from a.d. 400 to 1100, is located on a broad ridge in the northern part of the preserve, and is probably from the Late Woodland Indian culture. This culture is widespread throughout the eastern United States and is more common in the eastern portion of Iowa. 

Woodland Indians were generally semisedentary hunters, gatherers, and farmers. Mound building was part of their culture. Earthen mounds were often placed on the highest point of a ridge above a village site or camp. 

The organized mound-building process brought people together from the surrounding area and may have involved a variety of ceremonial activities around the burial of their dead. Burial mounds are protected by law. 

Plants

The preserve is predominantly forested with white oak, red oak, shagbark hickory, and basswood, with ironwood and buckeye occurring in the understory. 

In the spring, many wildflowers can be seen, including:

• Bloodroot
• Virginia bluebells
• Spring beauty
• Wild ginger
• Dutchman’s breeches 
• False rue anemone 

By May, the early spring wildflowers are joined by:

• Blue phlox
• Mayapple
• Solomon’s seal
• White trout-lily
• Jack-in-the-pulpit
• Virginia waterleaf
• False Solomon’s seal

Elm-leaved goldenrod adds a touch of yellow to the landscape in the fall. 

The woodland includes many species of ferns as well, including rattlesnake fern, creeping fragile fern, and spinulose wood fern. 

Visitor Information

A hiking trail through the preserve takes one along the ridge top through Gilbert’s Grove and to the Indian mounds and the northern portion of the preserve. 

As part of the Warren County Conservation Board’s Environmental Education program, many schoolchildren visit the area to learn about the special natural and cultural features offered here. 

Hunting is permitted. 

Other natural areas in the vicinity include Lake Ahquabi State Park and Berry Woods and Rolling Thunder Prairie State Preserves.