Cahokia Mounds

This place matters because it marks one of the most historically significant sites in North America: its first city.

Long before Columbus and other Europeans began to populate the Americas, Cahokia was the center of an elaborate Mississippian network spanning the Southeast to Florida, and north to Wisconsin, and was located in the fertile Mississippi River bottom land of what is now, Collinsville, Illinois. 

Because of its significance in the prehistory of North America, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Cahokia Mounds shares this designation with only 20 other locations in the United States.  This designation means that UNESCO has determined these sites to be of cultural and historical universal value.  We share this designation with international sites such as the Pyramids of Egypt, Acropolis, Greece, and Machu Picchu, Peru.  The 33,000 sq. ft. Interpretive Center has exhibit islands, which explain various components of Mississippian culture.  It also has a life-size recreation of a village, including structures, residents, and settlement patterns.  These features allow our 300-thousand- plus annual visitors to appreciate what prehistoric Indian life was like as they pass through the village.

This place matters to our community because it is a place that preserves the cultural and historical remains of this 1000 year-old economic, residential, and religious center of Mississippian culture. Cahokia was the center of a large metropolitan complex that included four other major mound centers, a number of single-mound local centers, and numerous small villages, hamlets and farmsteads.  Evidence of Cahokia’s influence has been found as far away as Minnesota, Florida, Oklahoma, and Georgia.  The state property preserves the central portion of the site, but about 1/3 of the original city lies outside of this boundary and is threatened by contemporary activities.  Funds are needed to acquire and preserve these threatened areas.   Our community stands to lose much information about America's first city if 1/3 of the site is destroyed.  Not only does this site preserve and interpret Mississippian culture for our community, the nation, and the world, but it also fosters a sense of preservation and prehistoric appreciation, educates on the science of archaeology, and the achievements of ancient Native Americans. This place matters to all Americans, and is a pivotal point in American History that deserves to be shared.

The information provided on Community Challenge pages is provided "as is," and the National Trust for Historic Preservation does not make any representations, endorsements, or warranties (either expressed or implied) on any comments, reviews, or suggestions posted. Neither does the National Trust assume responsibility or liability for the same.