Emerald Mound Site

Emerald Mound is a rectangular earthen platform in Adams County topped with two smaller mounds on its summit. The structure rises significantly from the surrounding landscape and covers considerable ground, forming a distinctive landform visible from the parkway.

The Plaquemine culture built this ceremonial center between 1250 and 1600, creating the second largest platform mound structure in North America. The site represents a major architectural achievement of that era.

This site served the Natchez people as a center for religious ceremonies and community gatherings before they relocated elsewhere. Visitors can sense the spiritual importance this location held in the daily and ceremonial life of the people who built it.

The site sits along the Natchez Trace Parkway and offers constructed pathways that lead to the mound platforms. The walkways are maintained and accessible to most visitors, making it easy to explore the structure at your own pace.

The builders stabilized and enlarged a natural hill to create this mound instead of building it entirely from scratch. This approach reveals how people worked with the landscape rather than against it to achieve their goals.