Indian Shell Mound Park, Dauphin Island

Indian Mound Park, also known as Shell Mound Park or Indian Shell Mound Park, is a park and bird refuge located on the northern shore of Dauphin Island, a barrier island of Mobile County, Alabama in the United States. In addition to the many birds which visit, a wide variety of botanical species contribute to the natural offerings. The site is historically significant due to the presence of prehistoric Indian shell middens, mounds composed of discarded oyster shells. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1973. It is administered by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The shell middens located at Indian Mound Park date to the Mississippian period (1100 to 1550). The mounds were visited throughout this period by Native Americans of the Pensacola culture, who harvested oysters and fished in Little Dauphin Island Sound, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico. Archaeologist Gregory Waselkov of the University of South Alabama believes that the visitors to the island came from Bottle Creek, the largest Mississippian settlement in the area. Waselkov theorizes that Bottle Creek, located on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, served as the major village while Dauphin Island acted as a migration destination during the winter months. Choose to start, finish, or center your holiday on a trip to Indian Shell Mound Park by using our Dauphin Island trip itinerary maker site.