Visit an Archeological Site during Archeology Month
May is Archeology Month in Wisconsin! This is a good time to become acquainted with archeological sites throughout Sauk County. Three of these sites - the Man Mound, the Yellow Thunder Memorial and the Hulburt Creek Garden Beds - are owned by the Sauk County Historical Society and managed by our Archeological Sites Committee. At all three sites there are changes being made to better preserve and interpret their importance to the history and culture of Sauk County.
Man Mound
The most obvious changes at Man Mound have been allowing the grass on the mound to grow longer than the surrounding park to better delineate the mound, painting the former location of the mound’s legs on Man Mound Road, and marking the location of the mound’s feet. Visitors to the Man Mound Park can now get a better idea of the full extent of this spectacular ancient work of art. The Man Mound is thought to be the only remaining effigy mound in a human form.
Man Mound Park is located on Man Mound Road approximately four miles northeast of the center of Baraboo.
Yellow Thunder Memorial
The current Yellow Thunder Memorial was created in 1960 for a monument to honor the prominent 1800s Ho-Chunk leader Yellow Thunder. This small park was planted with locust and cedar trees, and picnic tables and cooking grills were added, all of which was suitable for a roadside park. In recent years these plantings have become overgrown and there has been greater sensitivity to what is an appropriate memorial for this noted Ho-Chunk leader. Together with the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Sauk County Parks Department, the SCHS has developed, and is implementing, a fitting plan for this memorial. Recently, the overgrown trees have been removed. A mound of earth is being raised around three sides of the monument, leaving the original 1909 and the later 1960 inscriptions visible. Much of the quarter-acre memorial will be planted to native prairie with burr oaks trees. New interpretive panels will explain Yellow Thunder’s history.
The Yellow Thunder Memorial which is located on the west side of County Road A, just north of Shady Land Road, approximately six miles north of Baraboo.
Hulburt Creek Garden Beds
Located at the corner of County Road H and Birchwood Road, about three miles west of the Wisconsin Dells, the Hulburt Creek Garden Beds site includes about three acres of approximately 1,000 year old Native American raised bed gardens. Much work has been done to remove the forest growth from a part of the garden beds to reveal garden raised bed structure. A small area of recreated garden beds has been established. This summer heritage varieties of corn and squash will be planted so that visitors will be able to see how the native peoples grew agricultural crops.
The Sauk County Historical Society’s Archeological Sites Committee is responsible for the management of these three sites. Anyone who would like to be involved with the research, planning, preservation, management and interpretation of these sites is welcome to join the committee, or to help out in any way they are interested. Please contact Rob Nurre, the committee’s chairman, at 608-356-1001 or history@saukcountyhistory.org to learn more about how you can assist with these projects