The Muskogean people built mounds there during the Mississippian Period, which began around 900 AD, for meeting, living, burial, and agricultural purposes. A bill seeks to upgrade the Ocmulgee Mounds national monument to a national park and preserve.

The Muskogean people built mounds there during the Mississippian Period, which began around 900 AD, for meeting, living, burial, and agricultural purposes. A bill seeks to upgrade the Ocmulgee Mounds national monument to a national park and preserve.

Credit: GPB/File

The Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon is celebrating its 75th Anniversary. The 700 acres has a very long history.

In 1936 then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a proclamation protecting the site. It includes nine, massive earthen mounds built by ancient people more than 1,000 years ago.

Superintendent Jim David with the National Park Service says the homeland of the Muscogee and Creek Indians was the final piece of property the Native Americans in Georgia signed away to the state in 1821.

“There are very few places around the country that have a documented, proven, 17,000 year continuum that we have here. So, I think once they come here and find out what a treasure of a resource we have, I think they are very surprised.”

David says a study is currently underway exploring park expansion and the possibility of the mounds becoming a national park.

Tags: Macon, Ocmulgee National Monument. National Park Service, Indian Mounds