Stockbridge Harbor WI416
Around A.D. 1100, there was a large Native American village on the north side of Stockbridge Harbor. The pottery recovered from archaeological excavations at this site indicates that the villagers came from two formerly distinct cultural groups. Perhaps for protection from outsiders, people of the Effigy Mound tradition joined a group of Late Woodland agriculturalists. They surrounded their village with a palisade. By A.D. 1200, both Late Woodland societies were gone from the shores of Lake Winnebago, leaving this region under control of the Oneota people, considered the ancestors of the Ho-chunk (Winnebago). In 1833, the Stockbridge tribe from New York State was relocated to the east shore of Lake Winnebago. Euro-American settlement began shortly thereafter, and Stockbridge Harbor was developed for shipping. The harbor came to play an important role in the local economy, with merchant and passenger vessels carrying lumber, grain, goods and people across the lake.

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Lake Koshkongong Effigy Mounds WI322

Between AD 650 and 1200, groups of Native Americans throughout the southern half of Wisconsin and portions of adjacent states built earthen mounds of various shapes and sizes, including mounds shaped like animals, today called effigy mounds. The 11 mounds preserved here in the Jefferson County Indian Mounds and Trail Park were part of a larger group of 72 mounds and include symmetrical and animal shapes, resembling birds, turtles or lizards, and perhaps spiritual figures. A remnant of an ancient trail is also visible in the park.

The people who built effigy mounds hunted and collected food, often returning to the same locations seasonally. They lived in semi-permanent villages, used the bow and arrow, and made and used pottery. Mounds likely served ceremonial, spiritual and practical purposes, perhaps marking territories and designating special gathering places. Mounds often, but not always, contain burials. The Lake Koshkonong area once had 23 effigy mound groups, composed of about 500 individual mounds.

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Panther Intaglio WI99
Discovered in 1850 by Increase A Lapham, this is the only known intaglio effigy mound in the World. It was excavated for ceremonial purposes by American Indians of the Effigy Mound culture about 1000 AD. A part of the tail has been Covered. Of ten other recorded intaglios, all now destroyed, eight were similar in representing the panther; and two represented bears.

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Kingsley Bend Indian Mounds WI177
The mounds of this group are a fairly representative sample of those built by the people of the Effigy Mound Culture between A.D. 700-1000. It has been through excavation of other burial mounds quite similar to these that archeologists have learned most of what they know about the people who built them. These people lived by hunting, fishing and gathering wild vegetable foods. They practiced little if any agriculture.

There was usually only a single burial in mounds such as these, but in some mounds upwards of a dozen burials have been found. Artifacts such as flint tools and clay pots were seldom included with the burials. Archeologists have not yet accurately determined the significance of the various animal and geometric shapes in which the mounds were built.

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Elk Ridge Landing - 100
An important colonial port for shipment of tobacco. Here in 1765 Zachariah Hood, Maryland’s “Stamp Act” Agent, was hanged in effigy. Lafayette’s troops camped here April 17-19, 1781 on the way to engage Cornwallis in Virginia. George Washington Passed here many times. Location: Location: Corner of Old Washington Road and Washington Blvd. (Route 1) in Elkridge. Howard County

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'Bow and Arrow' WI258
The rock outline you see on the distant bluff is an archaeological curiosity. Jacob V. Brower, a Minnesota archaeologist, observed this formation in 1902 and interpreted it as a bow and arrow. In 1903 he wrote, "Some of the stones representing the bowstring are displaced. The intention seems to have been to represent a bow and arrow drawn to shoot toward Lake Pepin." Modern archaeologists think the boulders may form a bird effigy, but no one has reached a definite conclusion. Although it is an old, well-known landmark, perhaps even ancient, its origin and age are unknown and it is not part of the Indian lore in this region. Boulder alignments made by Indians exist in other states, but this is the only one known in Wisconsin. Was it made by Indians? Is it a bow and arrow or a bird? It remains a mystery.

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Sheboygan Indian Mound Park WI163
Within these fifteen acres of ancient woodland and winding stream lie 18 rare Indian burial mounds, dated about 500-750 A.D. Their prehistoric builders, ancestors of the Wisconsin Woodland Indians, are called the Effigy Mound People because of their mysterious custom of burying their dead beneath mounds shaped like animals, reptiles, and birds. The 5 deer and 2 panthers here are unsurpassed. They also constructed intaglio, conical, and linear mounds, one of which, Mound 19, displays an exposed burial with artifacts. All that is known of Effigy Mound Culture comes from archaeological study of such mounds. Many mound groups were found by early white settlers in southern Wisconsin, but few survive intact. These mounds were saved from destruction by the Sheboygan Area Garden Clubs through public subscription, and given to the City of Sheboygan as an archaeological park. They were restored and opened to the public on June 25, 1966, dedicated to "THOSE OLDEST PEOPLE OF WISCONSIN WHOSE LOVE FOR THEIR HOMELAND KEPT IT GREEN AND BEAUTIFUL LAND RICH IN NATURE'S BOUNTY. MAY WE LEARN TO PRESERVE IT HALF AS WELL."

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Lizard Mound State Park WI17
This park, named for its most outstanding mound, contains thirty-one fine examples of effigy mounds. Effigy mounds are low earthworks usually built in the shapes of birds or animals. Though used for burial purposes, a mound seldom contains more than one or two remains. From the excavations of the mounds and campsites, archaeologists have gained some knowledge of the life of this prehistoric group of Wisconsin Indians. It is known that they lived in small scattered bands. They depended largely on hunting and fishing for food, though some gardening was practiced. Most of their tools and weapons were made of stone, some of wood and bone and, in rare instances, copper. Pottery vessels were used for cooking. Except for a few examples in adjoining states, effigy mounds are found only in Wisconsin.

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