Caddo Mounds State Historic Site

Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
41CE19
Entrance to Caddo Mound State Historic Site (prior to 2019 tornado)
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site is located in Texas
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site is located in the United States
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
Caddo Mounds State Historic Site (the United States)
LocationWeeping Mary, Texas
Coordinates31°35′47″N 95°8′55″W / 31.59639°N 95.14861°W / 31.59639; -95.14861
Area353 acres (143 ha)[a]
History
Founded780 CE
Abandoned1260 CE
CulturesCaddoan Mississippian culture
Site notes
Excavation dates1919, 1933, 1960s–1980s
ArchaeologistsJames Edwin Pearce, E. B. Sayles, H. Perry Newell
ManagementTexas Historical Commission
George C. Davis Site
NRHP reference No.70000742[1] (original)
79003449[1] (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1970
Boundary increaseNovember 15, 1979
Designated TSHS1974
  1. ^ National Register of Historic Places acreage of which 93 acres are state maintained

Caddo Mounds State Historic Site (41CE19) (also known as the George C. Davis Site) is an archaeological site in Weeping Mary, Texas, United States. This Caddoan Mississippian culture site is composed of a village and ceremonial center that features two earthwork platform mounds and one burial mound. Located on a precontact Native American trail later named by the Spanish as El Camino Real de los Tejas, the settlement developed hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans to the region. Archaeologists believe the site was created in approximately 800 CE, with most major construction taking place between 1100 and 1300 CE.

The Caddo Mounds site is located in East Texas, 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Alto on Texas State Highway 21 near its intersection with U.S. Route 69 in the Piney Woods region. Operated by the Texas Historical Commission, the museum at the site was reopened in October 2015. The new museum offers visitors a chance to explore a replica Caddo village, and all exhibits are hands-on. Visitors can walk the 0.7 miles (1.1 km) self-guided interpretive trail to see the Caddo burial, low temple, and ceremonial mounds. An additional trail along the El Camino Real is also available.

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.