Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park in Scott Arkansas

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This National Historic Landmark preserves and interprets Arkansas's tallest Native American mounds. These mounds and an earthen embankment are the remains of a large ceremonial and governmental complex inhabited from A.D. 600 to 1050. This archeological site is managed by the Arkansas State Parks and the Arkansas Archeological Survey. Facilities include a visitor center with exhibits, A/V theater and archeological research laboratory. Park interpreters lead site tours along both the 3/4-mile, barrier-free trail and the 1.6-mile turf trail. 185.3 Acre Park located in Lonoke County. Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park near Scott (Pulaski County) is one of Arkansas’s most significant pre-European archaeological sites. Toltec, site of the state’s tallest Indian mounds, is also a National Historic Landmark. In 1812, Louis Bringier, a French explorer from New Orleans, Louisiana, traveled to present-day Arkansas and became the first European to discover the Toltec mounds. His description of the site’s “tolerably regular” alignment of mounds and the height of the two tallest mounds in contrast to the surrounding alluvial flatlands, the first such description, was reported in newspapers in 1821. William Peay Officer and his wife, Mary Eliza, purchased the area in 1849. There they maintained a residence, which they called Lake Mound Plantation and used for escaping Little Rock (Pulaski County). In the 1870s, having been widowed and subsequently remarried to Gilbert Knapp, Mary Eliza contacted the Smithsonian Institution in reference to any interest the institution might have in the site. In response, the Smithsonian sent Edward Palmer to investigate the mounds. Palmer identified the site with the Toltec Indians of Central America, though this conclusion was later proven in error. Research undertaken by the Arkansas Archeological Survey since 1975 has linked the mounds to people of the Plum Bayou culture, who had used the site mainly for ceremonial and religious purposes from about AD 700 to 1050. The site was unprotected between the 1849 and 1975. It was privately owned and heavily farmed. Toltec was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and the state began trying to acquire the property. The Department of Parks and Tourism completed the purchase with state and federal funds in 1975. The site was made a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park opened to the public in 1980. On April 19, 1986, 4.78 acres of archaeologically significant land was added to the park. This area was acquired with the assistance of The Nature Conservancy through a donation from Mr. and Mrs. George Alexander of Scott. Today, the state Department of Parks and Tourism and the Arkansas Archeological Survey cooperatively manage the park. Since the inception of this partnership, the park’s goals have been preservation and research through archaeological studies and subsequent interpretation of findings. A long-range plan for research and development of the site’s prehistory and archaeology is ongoing. Park trails pass through the 110-acre mound complex, and a boardwalk allows guests to watch wildlife amid towering cypress trees on the edge of Mound Pond. Visitor access on the site is by self-guided tours. Tours leave the visitor center and follow the Knapp Trail, a three-quarter-mile, barrier-free trail, or the 1.6–mile Plum Bayou Trail. Points of interest are the various earthworks and boardwalk that extend onto Mound Pond. The visitor center contains interpretive exhibits, an audio/visual room, a vending and gift sales area, and restrooms. The Toltec research station of the Arkansas Archeological Survey and its laboratory are housed in the visitor center. School and other groups may request guided tours and programs, which may include talks on archaeology, Native American, and environmental studies. A fully enclosed educational pavilion is available for school programs, regularly scheduled special events, and crafting workshops held throughout the year.
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Directions to Park From Little Rock, take Exit # 7 off I-440 and go nine miles southeast on U.S. 165.			Contact Information 490 Toltec Mounds Road, Scott, AR 72142 E-mail: ToltecMounds@Arkansas.com Information: 1-501-961-9442



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