Grand Mound named historic landmark

“Grand Mound and Split Rock Lighthouse tell important stories about the great state of Minnesota and the development of the country from ancient to modern times — Grand Mound dates back to 200 BC and Split Rock Lighthouse to 1910,” stated Minnesota Historical Society Director and CEO Stephen Elliott.

Grand Mound is not open to the public but is preserved and maintained by the Minnesota Historical Society. State and federal laws make it an offense to disturb burial mounds, as they are considered a cemetery.

The Grand Mound site, located 17 miles west of International Falls, has been owned by the MHS since 1971. The site was closed by the historical society in 2003 when the state cut by 25 percent the funding it provides to the society.

According to Ed Oerichbauer, director of the Koochiching County Museums, the designation is great for the facility. However, he said, it’s unfortunate state officials continue to determine the state cannot operate it.

“There is an effort now to review the decision to close Grand Mound,” he said Tuesday. “There has been a new effort started by the historic society here and individuals in St. Paul to have a two-year review to see if it would warrant reopening. There will be more to follow.”

History of closure

In 2007, a state report recommended the site remain closed to the public. The report said it would not be appropriate to use the center as an educational center. The report stated, “Our consultations with American Indian elders have convinced us of the appropriateness of that action.” The recommendation didn’t sit well with local leaders. County and city officials criticized the closure referring to the historic significance and value of the site as a draw for visitors to the area.

At that time, Oerichbauer said he didn’t agree with MHS’s findings. The site should be reopened and it should be funded by the state, he said.

According to the report, the annual operating cost of Grand Mound in 2002 was $90,940. The average cost per visitor at Grand Mound was nearly $54 in 2002, according to the report. MHS countered that at the same time the average cost per visitor for other MHS sites was $8.36.

In 2008, a First Nations band renewed an attempt to open to the public the site that features 2,200-year-old burial grounds. Koochiching County and International Falls officials met with Rainy River First Nations officials to discuss the Minnesota Historical Society’s decision to keep closed the Grand Mound History Center.

The MHS recommended the site be closed to the general public because its designation as a burial ground supersedes all other uses and should be held for preservation, said the society’s January 2007 report on the site. Oerichbauer said at that time that the report was “flawed in many ways.”

Rainy River First Nations Chief Jim Leonard at that time said the burial mounds at Grand Mound were built by the Laurel Indians — the same people who also built burial mounds located at the Kay-nah-chi-wah-nung Historical Center across Rainy River in Stratton, Ontario. Kay-nah-chi-wah-nung is operated by the Manitou band and receives funding from the band, province and federal government, as well as funding received through the Manitou Mounds Historical Foundation.

“There is nothing wrong with bringing people in and teaching them,” Leonard said then of a public education component of the mound centers.

Rainy River First Nations supported reopening the Grand Mound site, Leonard said.

Leonard suggested the Grand Mound site, if reopened, be linked to other historical centers in the area. He said he had begun forming relationships with Minnesota tribes and hoped for support from the 13 Minnesota tribes to reopen the Grand Mound site.

National Historic Landmarks are chosen because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. According to the National Park Service, which administers the program on behalf of the Department of the Interior, they are “exceptional places that form a common bond between all Americans.”

According to the society, Grand Mound is the heart of an interconnected archeological landscape of burial mounds, seasonal villages and sturgeon fishing sites going back to 200 BC.

The five earthworks at the site are part of a chain of more than 20 ancient mounds located along the Rainy River from Lake of the Woods, Ontario to International Falls. Grand Mound is the largest surviving prehistoric structure in the Upper Midwest measuring 140 feet long, 100 feet wide and 25 feet high. A low 200-foot linear “tail” of the mound was discovered in the mid 1990s.

Society archaeologist David Mather calls the site a “sacred monument of the peoples who lived and honored their ancestors along the juncture of the Big Fork and Rainy Rivers.”

In addition to its cultural significance, Grand Mound was selected for National Historic Landmark status because of the remarkable archaeology of the ancient village, which was built up in layers through centuries of periodic floods. The site is also significant because of the unique shape and integrity of the Grand Mound itself.

According to Mather, “The large mound with its linear extension is an effigy that may represent an ancient story of the world’s creation. Because of its location in a low lying, seasonally inundated floodplain, the society’s work to protect this historic site from future erosion or other damage is paramount.”

Grand Mound and Split Rock Lighthouse are the 24th and 25th properties in Minnesota to receive the National Historic Landmark designation. Other Society properties with the Landmark status are: Historic Fort Snelling, James J. Hill House, Oliver H. Kelley Farm, Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site and the Washburn A Mill Complex housing Mill City Museum.

The National Historic Landmarks program, established in 1935, is administered by the National Park Service on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior.