Dickson Mounds

Dickson Mounds is an archaeological museum situated on a bluff overlooking the Illinois River, displaying artifacts from 12,000 years of human occupation in the region. The collection includes objects and remains from multiple burial mounds that date between roughly 800 and 1250, showing how people lived and when they began cultivating corn, beans, and squash.

The site developed around 800 and was occupied until roughly 1250, with residents depending on the river and its resources. A dentist named Don Dickson began excavating in 1927 and uncovered multiple burial mounds, eventually giving the place its name.

The museum presents how Native American communities evolved from mobile hunters and gatherers into settled farmers over many centuries, becoming deeply connected to the river and surrounding land. Visitors can see how these societies adapted their daily lives and built communities that relied on the seasonal rhythms of the landscape.

The site sits on a ridge with views over the river landscape and is easy to walk around. The museum building itself is well-organized with displays in clear cases, so visitors can see everything at a comfortable pace in an hour or two.

The bones from the burials reveal physical changes in people that came with the shift to grain farming, such as more dental problems and smaller body size. This biological evidence shows how deeply the change in way of life altered the people themselves.

Location: Lewistown

Operator: Illinois State Museum

Opening Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-16:00

Website: https://museum.state.il.us/ismsites/dickson

GPS coordinates: 40.35059,-90.11581

Latest update: December 8, 2025 19:52