Pharr Indian Mounds along the Natchez Trace Parkway

Pharr Indian Mounds should be spelled “Far” Indian Mounds because they are far away from the parking area on the Natchez Trace Parkway. There are eight mounds in total, though only four are evident (three seen in the photo above and one off to the right near the forest). You will be hard pressed to spot the others.

For those who have never seen an Indian mound, they are nothing but artificial hills built to either hold structures or for burial grounds. However, today you won’t find graves, temples, arrowheads, or any other evidence of what they were once used for. Thus, there is no need to hike around the 90-acre site to see them. In fact, there aren’t even any trails that take you out to them, which leads me to assume that the National Park Service doesn’t want anyway getting any closer than the parking lot.

Pharr Mounds is the largest mound site from a time period known as the Middle Woodland Era. They were built at the time of Jesus’s birth, give or take a few hundred years, which makes them around 2,000 years old. The highest mound is only 18 feet tall, while others are barely recognizable as hills. Erosion most likely played a part in their diminished size. Four mounds were excavated in 1996 by the National Park Service. Human remains were found along with fire pits and clay platforms. Copper items, ceramic bowls, and a greenstone pipe were among the artifacts found during the dig.

The Pharr Indian Mounds stop has a shelter with three information panels and a public restroom with modern plumbing built onto it. Two picnic tables (no grills) are situated nearby under a shade tree.