Menard-Hodges Site

The Menard-Hodges Site contains two large earthen mounds that rise above the surrounding land, with a central plaza between them marking the heart of this ancient settlement. The higher structures served as platforms for buildings and ceremonies that once dominated the landscape.

People first settled this location around 600 BC and continued living here through different cultural periods until European explorers arrived in the 1700s. This long span of habitation reveals how significant and stable this place was as a human settlement.

The location served as an important Quapaw community center, where people gathered for ceremonies and daily life. Walking through the site today, you can sense how this place connected different groups across the region.

The site can be visited as part of a protected national memorial where you can walk among the mounds and view them from different angles. The open landscape makes it easy to understand the layout and how the ancient people organized this space.

Early fieldwork in the 1880s uncovered hundreds of pottery vessels that helped establish how many different Native American groups had used this place over centuries. These discoveries made the site one of the most important records of continuous cultural life in the region.

Location: Arkansas County

GPS coordinates: 34.00387,-91.25421

Latest update: December 12, 2025 14:23