Second push to make Cahokia Mounds a national park gains backing of St. Clair County
A second push to designate Southern Illinois’ Cahokia Mounds as a national park has received the backing of St. Clair County.
The County Board unanimously voted to support the Cahokia Mounds-Mississippian Culture Initiative at its monthly meeting last week.
The movement calls on Congress to pass legislation deeming Cahokia Mounds to be a national park in partnership with the state of Illinois while also requesting President Donald Trump to do so through an executive order.
The 2,200-acre area near Collinsville was first protected in 1923 when the state legislature authorized the purchase of the park, which once was an ancient Native American city somewhere between 1050 and 1350.
It was later designated as a state historic site in the 1950s and earned National Historic Landmark designation in the 1960s.
This isn’t the first time supporters of the mounds have mounted the effort, in 2016 an unsuccessful bid to have the park made into a National Monument by HeartLands Conservancy, a Belleville-based non profit, gained support state-wide and at the national level.
It was hoped that then President Barack Obama would declare the mounds a national monument before leaving office, but that designation never came.
HeartLands is at the head of the push for National Park status once again. The conservancy believes the mounds are not only historically important, but could also boost the surrounding area through tourism.
In order to be considered for a National Park unit, a site must meet several criteria: nationally significant natural, cultural or recreational resources; be a suitable and feasible addition to the National Park System; and must be in need of protection and have no other protection from other government agencies.
Heartlands released a feasibility report in 2014 with the help of archaeologists and Native American groups to show the mounds could meet those criteria. The report was “optimistic” on the chances that it would be approved but noted there may not be enough land around the sites to be designated.
St. Louis Public Radio reported recently that U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, and other local congressional representatives have led efforts to create legislation for the park.
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 12:00 PM.