Dickson Mounds Museum
Dickson Mounds Museum is a museum in Illinois, at a recorded elevation of 166 m. Haney Hill stands 229 m to the north-northwest, 24 miles off. The nearest named place is Emiquon Preserve, a nature reserve 2.8 miles away. Illinois River Road passes 1.5 miles off. 77 named places lie within 25 miles, 9 of them named summits.
The story
Dickson Mounds is a Native American settlement site and burial mound complex near Lewistown, Illinois. It is located in Fulton County on a low bluff overlooking the Illinois River. It is a large burial complex containing at least two cemeteries, ten superimposed burial mounds, and a platform mound. The Dickson Mounds site was founded by 800 CE and was in use until after 1250 CE. The site is named in honor of chiropractor Don Dickson, who began excavating it in 1927 and opened a private museum that formerly operated on the site. Its exhibition of the 237 uncovered skeletons displayed by Dickson was closed in 1992 by then-Gov. Jim Edgar. Don Dickson was a chiropractor and discovered the burial mounds on his family farm. Instead of removing the bones, he only removed the dirt. He covered his excavation with a tent. He later replaced his tent with a building and set up a private museum. The Dickson Mounds Museum is a museum erected on the site in 1972 by the U.S. state of Illinois; it describes the life cycles and culture of Native Americans living in the Illinois River valley over a period of 12,000 years since the last ice age. The museum is part of the Illinois State Museum system.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5273799, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 166 m
What to expect
- Operated by
- Illinois State Museum
How to reach it
- 1.5 mi off the Illinois River Road, National
- 55.1 mi off the Great River Road, National
Overlooks nearby
- Jake's Point Overlook · 23 mi
77 named places within 25 miles
- Arnett Park: 3.6 mi
- Ross Mansion Park: 3.7 mi
- Ratcliff Park: 4.1 mi
- Rockwell Park: 4.2 mi
- Higgins Field: 4.2 mi
- Emiquon Preserve: 2.8 mi
- Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak: 12.5 mi
- Jack Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery: 12.5 mi
- Walden West Land and Water Reserve: 14.1 mi
- Lakeland Park: 15.8 mi
- Tampico Mounds: 6.7 mi
- Hickory Grove Hill: 20.1 mi
- Kingfisher Hill: 20.4 mi
- Shick Shack Hill: 20.7 mi
- Little Mound: 20.8 mi
- Tuscumbia: 10.7 mi
- Totten Prairie: 11.2 mi
- Civer: 12.0 mi
- Sugarville: 14.5 mi
- Bybee: 17.5 mi
- Vermont Veterans Memorial: 16.9 mi
- Dr. Charles Chandler Memorial: 21.4 mi
- Veterans Memorial: 24.5 mi
- Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery: 13.0 mi
- Farmington Historical Museum: 24.7 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Dickson Mounds Museum. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haney Hill | NNW 332° | 229 m | 24.2 mi |
| Dyers Mound | WNW 299° | 221 m | 21.5 mi |
| Kingfisher Hill | SSE 160° | 183 m | 20.4 mi |
| Tampico Mounds | NE 48° | 175 m | 6.7 mi |
| Shick Shack Hill | SSE 167° | 162 m | 20.7 mi |
| The Mound | ENE 71° | 160 m | 20.9 mi |
| Hickory Grove Hill | ENE 74° | 152 m | 20.1 mi |
| Little Mound | ENE 73° | 148 m | 20.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:05 | 18:37 | 19:13 |
| June solstice | 05:31 | 19:54 | 20:35 |
| September equinox | 06:49 | 18:23 | 18:59 |
| December solstice | 07:21 | 15:55 | 16:38 |
Local time (America/Chicago).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 25 | 30 | 41 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 77 | 74 | 67 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Precip in | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Havana, 4 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOfficial siteOpenStreetMap element way/622498931
Day trips start here
- Petersburg · 27 mi
Take the scenic way to Dickson Mounds Museum.
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