Mystery Awaits Beneath The Earth At This Unique Arkansas State Park
By J.B. VanDyke|Published August 22, 2017
×
J.B. VanDyke
Author
J.B. Weisenfels has lived in rural Arkansas for three decades. She is a writer, a mom, and a graduate student. She is also an avid collector of tacky fish whatnots, slightly chipped teapots, and other old things. In her spare time she enjoys driving to the nearest creek to sit a while. If you were to visit her, she'd try to feed you cornbread.
I’m not trying to be melodramatic, but there’s an ancient place in Arkansas that you need to go explore as soon as possible. Toltec Mounds Archaeological State Park is full of ancient history. The tallest prehistoric mounds in the Natural State can be found there, along with impressive trails and some incredibly scenic land. There isn’t anything like this state park, and I’m pretty sure you’ll want to check it out.
The most appealing parts of the park, of course, are the mounds themselves. Where once eighteen mounds stood arranged roughly in the shape of a rectangle, only three remain. It’s not an exaggeration to call the mounds ancient. They were built between 650 and 1050 A.D.
The culture responsible for the mounds is the Plum Bayou people. They were mostly farmers, who hunted game like white-tailed deer and turkey and supplemented their endeavors by fishing. Today the body of water near the mounds is called Mound Pond. You can imagine fishing in the cypresses there.
The place where the mounds stand today wasn’t a Plum Bayou village. It held religious significance to the Plum Bayou people, and some religious officials lived there, but most of the people lived in the surrounding countryside.
Though the original heights of the three remaining mounds are not known, today they stand at forty-nine feet, thirty-nine feet, and thirteen-and-a-half feet high, respectively. It’s not known where the Plum Bayou people went when they abandoned the site around 1050 A.D., but those three remaining mounds are the centerpiece of the 100 acre Toltec Site.
Luckily enough, you can find you trails and interpretive programs to take you through the rich history of the Toltec Mounds. The state park is incredible, scenic and well-maintained, offering you a view of the Natural State like you’ve never seen it before.
If you make reservations, you can even get a guided tour of the park. The fee for a guided walking tour is $4 for adults and $3 for children aged 6-12.
As far as state parks go, Toltec Mounds Archaeological State Park has everything you could want: it's unique, scenic, and endlessly interesting. This is one state park you really need to see with your own two eyes.
