In the tiny village of Pioneer, Louisiana, long before the village ever had a name, some of North America’s first hunter-gatherers were building an empire that we know today as Poverty Point. We’ve featured this UNESCO World Heritage Site before, but have you ever wondered who was the first to discover this ancient civilization? Today, we’re doing a deep dive into the discovery of Poverty Point and how this archaeological find put this tiny town on the map and became one of Louisiana’s top attractions.

Poverty Point was first discovered in the 1830s by Jacob Walter, an American explorer who was searching for lead ore in the area.
Jacob Andras/Google Reviews
Instead of finding lead, he found what he described as an “old Indian town” in his journal.
He rode on horseback around the area to check things out and found several clay balls and figurines which led him to believe that these early inhabitants were eating clay.
Heironmyous Rowe/Wikimedia
This wasn’t the case, but in 1830, I could see how he could arrive at that conclusion. These clay objects would prove to be instrumental in piecing together this part of history, since wooden tools and things like fishing nets and such would have decomposed many, many years ago.
While riding around he also discovered what would be known as Mound A, pictured below, but eventually left the area to get back on task and find what he set out to find, lead ore.
Bart Everson/Wikimedia
Even though he had no idea of the scale of the site that he wandered into, these mounds were very unusual for such a flat terrain.

It wasn’t until 1873 that we saw the first published account of Poverty Point’s existence, and we have Samuel Lockett, an officer in the Confederate Army to thank for that. Surprisingly, the site was unscathed during the Civil War, but also no one took any interest in it until the early 20th century.

Related Stories

The Oldest Building In Louisiana Was Used As A Hospital, A Convent, And A School For Girls

The Oldest Building In Louisiana Was Used As A Hospital, A Convent, And A School For Girls

 It's A Little-Known Fact That Eggs Sardou Was Actually Invented In Louisiana

It's A Little-Known Fact That Eggs Sardou Was Actually Invented In Louisiana

 Few People Know The Real Reason Behind Breaux Bridge Becoming The Crawfish Capital Of The World

Few People Know The Real Reason Behind Breaux Bridge Becoming The Crawfish Capital Of The World
In 1913, archaeologists became interested and began to poke around.
Brian Huber/Google Reviews
Clarence B. Moore investigated the site in 1913, then Gerard Fowke from the Smithsonian Institution investigated it in 1926, Clarence H. Webb in 1935, and Michael Beckman in 1946. Webb came back with James A. Ford to lead three more excavations in 1952, 1953, and 1955 and ended up with their own publication of their digs in 1956.
It wasn’t until the 1950s when they were able to get an aerial photograph to really reveal the massive size and layout of Poverty Point.
USDA Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service/Wikimedia
You can get a lot from boots on the ground, but getting a bird’s eye view was a game-changer. It's over 900 acres!
Since then, many other excavations have been held at the site, and they’re still ongoing.
Poverty Point World Heritage Site/Facebook
The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, a U.S. National Monument in 1988, and was put on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2013.

Poverty Point is open to the public, and there’s a lovely nature trail that’ll take you through the site. There is very little shade on the trail, so you may want to bring a hat and some sunglasses! Learn more about the history of this fascinating piece of the past by visiting Poverty Point’s website.

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Related Articles

Explore Louisiana

Featured Addresses
Poverty Point World Heritage Site, 6859 LA-577, Pioneer, LA 71266, USA