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It wasn’t intentional but for our time in the St. Louis area we ended up in Collinsville, Illinois on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. Talk about a happy accident—our RV park was located less than a mile from the largest prehistoric settlement in North America: Cahokia. Since I had studied the ancient city in college, I was delighted and didn’t waste any time in exploring the site. Lance isn’t quite as enthusiastic about archeology, so I headed over to the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site by myself.

I spent an entire morning wandering through the museum and exploring the grounds. The exhibits answered many of my questions, including my main one, “Why here?” The answer is—like they say in real estate—location, location, location. Rivers were the highways of the time and Cahokia was near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers. These rivers and others in the network provided access to the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, and the East Coast. Then there is the fact that the soil—the fertile American Bottom, a rich floodplain—was well-suited for the amount of agriculture needed to sustain a large population. Clearly, the placement of St. Louis was not random, the location has been popular with humans for thousands of years.

The first evidence of human habitation are artifacts that date all the way back to the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. The artifacts were few and far between leaving scientists to presume that the earliest people merely traveled through the area. For several thousand years the archaeological record shows only small encampments scattered along the rivers, but the sporadic pattern changed markedly around 1,400 years ago. During the Late Woodland period more permanent habitations began to appear and by the start of the Early Mississippian, around 1000 CE, the settlements had grown in size.

During the roughly two-hundred-year span of the Early Mississippian the population gradually increased, as did the role of agriculture, and earthen mounds emerged as a common feature. Cahokia was founded during this time as an urban center with a strong centralized authority. By 1250 CE Cahokia had morphed into a massive city covering over 4,000 acres (roughly six square miles). At the heart of it all was a palisaded compound dominated by the largest prehistoric man-made structure north of Mexico. At 100 feet tall, with a base that covered fourteen acres, Monk’s Mound was the largest in North America. More correctly I should say it is the largest as it is still standing.

It was an impressive undertaking, especially when you consider that it was all built by hand. Until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s the indigenous cultures of North America did not have the assistance of beasts of burden or the wheel. It is estimated that over 22 million cubic feet of earth was moved to build Monk’s Mound. Dirt and clay was carried to the site by the basketful; careful excavations have even identified individual basket loads. Researchers estimate that it took between fourteen and fifteen million basket loads over several hundred years to build the great mound. That is mindboggling! Just as I have trouble envisioning the culture that built the great pyramids of Egypt, I struggle to imagine this ancient society.

Unfortunately the people of Cahokia did not leave behind a written record. Most of what is known about their culture has been pieced together from artifacts, the journals of Spanish explorers who recorded stories told to them by the tribes they encountered, and native groups believed to be the descendants. Though Cahokia and most of the other Mississippian sites had been abandoned by the time the Spanish arrived, some of the native peoples living in the Southeast still retained many of the shared cultural practices. It is from these sources that a picture of life at Cahokia has emerged.

At its peak Cahokia had anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. To put that in perspective, it was larger than London at the time and was the largest city in the United States until roughly 1800 when Philadelphia finally exceeded 40,000. Of course any population of that size needed structure and Cahokia was no different: it had a highly organized, centralized, and stratified society. There were chiefs, artisans, workmen, warriors, farmers, and traders among many other roles. It was an advanced culture with a far reach—their trade goods have been found at archaelogical sites across eastern North America. It was also a sophisticated society: Cahokians produced high quality works of art and there was even time for games.

The best known game from Cahokia is chunkey. Several Native American tribes in the Southeast were playing versions of the game at the time of European contact (and some still do). While the rules of the game differed from group to group the basic concept was that two athletes would chase after a hand-carved, donut-shaped stone and then throw their specially made chunkey sticks. When the chunkey stone came to a stop, the owner of the closest stick was declared the winner. It might sound easy but the name of the game was once translated as “running hard labor.” The whole community was involved, cheering and betting on their favorite player. The stakes in the game could be quite high, some losing players were known to commit suicide and winners have been depicted holding the loser’s detached head.

All in all it appears that it was a rich and full life led by the residents of Cahokia, which makes one wonder why they ever left. In the early 1300s, not long after the city had reached its peak, the residents of Cahokia began to leave. Cahokia entered a decline that eventually led to abandonment of the once vibrant and populous city. As with the ancient population centers of the Southwest that declined around the same time no one is entirely sure why the site was deserted. One thing is certain, the people did not just disappear, instead they dispersed across the landscape in smaller groups. With some credence various Sioux tribes consider themselves to be descendants of the builders of Cahokia.

By the time Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet arrived in 1673 the original inhabitants of Cahokia had been gone for several centuries. Living nearby was the Cahokia clan of the Illiniwek so the explorers applied their name to the area. The Illiniwek were the first of many people to take up residence at the long abandoned city. The first non-indigenous people to live in the area were French fur traders who established a small outpost along the east bank of the Mississippi River. Apparently, the site was quite overgrown which led people to assume the mounds were natural hills. They had no idea that the area was once the location of an ancient city.

It wasn’t until the late 1700s that the mounds were recognized as man-made and described as belonging to an ancient culture, but still the area’s importance was overlooked. In 1809 French Trappist monks moved into the area and settled atop one of the smaller mounds. To avoid seasonal floods they established a farm on the lower terrace of Monk’s Mound (which was later named after them). Though a wealth of archaeological information had been unearthed around the mounds the area was still farmed, leveled for a railroad, a small airport, and even a sixty home subdivision. Finally in 1925, after extensive efforts by archaeologists and organizations a small portion of the ancient city was protected by the state of Illinois. Nearby mounds continued to suffer damage until 1982 when Cahokia was chosen as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, at which time the park began to acquire more land.

I was so fascinated by all that I had learned that I convinced Lance to visit the site and tour the grounds with me. At the time of our visit the Cahokia State Historic Site consisted of 2,200 acres which included seventy of the eighty mounds that remain (some of which were rebuilt according to specifications found in historic surveys). As we wandered the site we were amazed by the sheer size of Cahokia, and we only saw half of the main city—none of the small villages that once surrounded it. These satellite communities were scattered across the landscape, including several on the far bank of the Mississippi River. St. Louis earned its nickname of Mound City as there were once twenty mounds in the downtown area, remnants of one of Cahokia’s outliers.

The only mound in the park that visitors are allowed to climb is Monk’s Mound. As the tallest eminence in the area, it must have been an impressive sight at the center of the ancient city. It is easy to imagine it commanding the respect of all who encountered it. Lance and I welcomed the chance to gain a different perspective, so up we went. Though it was a hazy day we could see for miles. Living atop the mound the Chief could have easily monitored most aspects of life at Cahokia. Our vantage point at the top of Monk’s Mound enabled us to see across the Mississippi River to another impressive man-made monument, the Gateway Arch.

Also called the Gateway to the West, the impressive structure is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in downtown St. Louis. Among other things the monument honors both President Jefferson, who presided over the April 30, 1803 Louisiana Purchase and the Corps of Discovery expedition that explored part of the new acquisition.

Jefferson stunned the country when he announced the huge purchase of land from France. Not only did it double the size of the U.S. but much of it was uncharted territory. Jefferson had long pushed for exploration of the land to the west and with the purchase Congress finally agreed to fund an expedition. Under the auspices of the War Department the Corps was charged with following the Missouri River in hopes of discovering the Northwest Passage. Along the journey they were to map the region as well as report on the plants, animals, geology, and indigenous peoples they encountered and assess the influence of other countries (notably England, France, Spain, and Russia).

It was a tall order but Jefferson felt his personal secretary Meriwether Lewis, a seasoned outdoorsman who had previous military experience, was up to the challenge. To help Lewis prepare for the trek Jefferson arranged for him to be tutored by experts in the fields of medicine, botany, and geology. In light of the daunting task Captain Lewis requested approval to hire a co-Captain and invited his old commanding officer, William Clark. The expedition was set quickly in motion, in August of 1803 Lewis headed west from Pittsburgh. Clark joined Lewis on the Ohio River in October and by December the Captains and several crew members had reached St. Louis. Just as the Corps was on the verge of the western frontier they met the first of many obstacles.

The Spanish governor in charge of St. Louis refused to allow the expedition access to the Missouri River. The governor denied the Corps because Spain and France had never officially recognized the 1800 French acquisition of the territory which France then sold to the U.S. Stymied, the Corps established a winter camp on the east side of the Mississippi River near the Wood River, across from the mouth of the Missouri. The Captains used their time at Camp Dubois to train their men, explore the area, and gather information from the various traders and native peoples that traveled through.

Though we have visited several sites along the Lewis and Clark Trail over the years, we definitely did not follow it in order. Our first stop along the trail was in Clarkston, Washington in September of 2006 which was just several hundred miles from the westward end of their journey. Then in July of last year we toured Fort Clatsop near the Pacific Ocean where the Corps spent a cold, wet winter before returning home. Now we finally had a chance to learn more about the beginning of the expedition. The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, Illinois protects the land where the Corps built Camp Dubois in December of 1803.

Though no physical evidence of their buildings remained a small camp was recreated based on sketches in Clark’s journal. There was quite a bit of information for us to absorb as we toured the museum. I found the numerous excerpts from the Captains’ journals the most interesting. It seems that precious little escaped their attention. In January of 1804 Clark wrote, “I discovered an Indian Fortification…9 moun(d)s forming a Circle two of them is about 7 foot above the leavel of the plain… I found great quantities of Earthen ware & flints—about 1/2 m. N. is a Grave on an Eminence.” Though the location isn’t entirely clear the mound cluster that Clark mentions is probably one of the outliers of ancient Cahokia.

After months of preparation and training the Corps finally received permission to proceed up the Missouri River. In March 1804 the Spanish governor presided over the Ceremony of Three Flags—the Spanish flag was lowered, and the French flag was raised, then it too was lowered and the American flag was finally flown over St. Louis. The Corps had to wait two more months for the weather to improve before setting out on their historic journey.

In his journal Lewis noted that the mouth of the River Dubois (Wood River) on the eastern side of the Mississippi was the official starting point of the expedition. Though the Gateway Arch commemorating their journey is in Missouri, it is technically across the water from the official starting point. It is a fact that Illinois proudly proclaims.

One of the things we love about traveling is discovering interesting connections. Take this one for instance: remember those French Trappist Monks that the large mound at the center of ancient Cahokia is named after? One of them baptized Sacagawea’s son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau a few years after the expedition’s successful return. As you can tell the St. Louis area has a fascinating history, and I’ve yet to tell you about the later years.

Photos: View our photographs from At the Confluence, the Early Years.

Dates: We stayed in the St. Louis region from 09/13/09 to 09/26/09.