Say 'Indian Mound' and most St. Louisans probably think of Monks Mound in Cahokia. For generations of St. Louisans what the called the "Big Mound" was in the city itself.
"If you go just north of downtown on Broadway you'll come to an intersection of Mound street and Broadway and right near that intersection there is a small triangle with a big boulder still sitting there and at one time there was a plaque on the boulder that said this was the site of the big mound." Robert Archibald - Missouri History Museum
It was not the only mound in St. Louis. There were dozens dating back to the 1300s. Giving St. Louis the nickname, "Mound City". At 34 feet tall this was the "Big" mound on campus. And in the early 1800's St. Louisans saw it an attraction.
"There was a restaurant and entertainment complex on top of the big mound at one time." Robert Archibald
But St. Louis was a growing city and by the middle of the 19th century the 'Big Mound' was a big roadblock in the way of urban expansion.
"There certainly was some controversy around it. There were people who felt that it shouldn't be demolished and the dirt hauled away and used for fill or whatever else but in the end what was called at the time and what we would still call progress prevailed and the big mound was destroyed." Robert Archibald
Today, the only remaining mound in St. Louis is Sugar Loaf Mound at 4420 Ohio street. Though it is really only half a loaf. The other half was used for fill when interstate 55 was built. Last year the house on top of Sugar Loaf Mound went up for sale for the reduced price of $350,000. You get both the house and a "hill" of a story.
"If you go just north of downtown on Broadway you'll come to an intersection of Mound street and Broadway and right near that intersection there is a small triangle with a big boulder still sitting there and at one time there was a plaque on the boulder that said this was the site of the big mound." Robert Archibald - Missouri History Museum
It was not the only mound in St. Louis. There were dozens dating back to the 1300s. Giving St. Louis the nickname, "Mound City". At 34 feet tall this was the "Big" mound on campus. And in the early 1800's St. Louisans saw it an attraction.
"There was a restaurant and entertainment complex on top of the big mound at one time." Robert Archibald
But St. Louis was a growing city and by the middle of the 19th century the 'Big Mound' was a big roadblock in the way of urban expansion.
"There certainly was some controversy around it. There were people who felt that it shouldn't be demolished and the dirt hauled away and used for fill or whatever else but in the end what was called at the time and what we would still call progress prevailed and the big mound was destroyed." Robert Archibald
Today, the only remaining mound in St. Louis is Sugar Loaf Mound at 4420 Ohio street. Though it is really only half a loaf. The other half was used for fill when interstate 55 was built. Last year the house on top of Sugar Loaf Mound went up for sale for the reduced price of $350,000. You get both the house and a "hill" of a story.
