Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site

Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site contains eleven platform mounds and eight other earthworks that stretch along the Ohio River across 105 acres (42 hectares). The site features a central courtyard ringed by raised structures, with the tallest mound positioned at the southwest corner.

The settlement arose around 1050 and remained active until roughly 1400, during the height of Mississippian society in the middle river valley. Excavations by the University of Chicago from 1934 to 1944 revealed how the community was organized and how residents went about their daily routines.

The central plaza served as a gathering space where Native Americans conducted ceremonies, celebrated harvests, and maintained social hierarchies through organized activities.

Visitors reach an observation platform on Kincaid Mounds Road, where signs explain each structure and the role it played in the community. Walking paths across the site are unpaved, so sturdy footwear helps when the ground becomes soft after rain.

During excavation work, researchers developed new methods for dating pottery fragments that later became standard at other sites across the region. The digging also helped clarify how maize cultivation and food storage practices evolved in the middle Ohio Valley.