Serpent Mounds Park

Serpent Mounds Park is a former historical and recreational park located in Keene, Ontario, Canada. Serpent Mounds operated as a provincial park, established in 1955 through a lease with the Hiawatha First Nation, a historic Mississaugas people. During this time, in 1982, the mounds were designated a National Historic Site, comprising six sites, including on east Sugar Island.[1]

This article is about the site in Ontario, Canada. For the one in the USA, see Serpent Mound. For the one in the UK, see Skelmorlie.

Serpent Mounds Provincial Park
  • Tumulus Serpent
  • Serpent Mounds complex
  • Serpent Mounds National Historic Site of Canada
Burial mounds like these inspired the name of the park due to their curves resembling movement of a serpent.
LocationKeene, Ontario, Canada
Nearest cityPeterborough, Ontario
Coordinates44°12′33″N 78°09′17″W
Area1.35 km2 (0.52 sq mi)
Opened1955 (1955)
Closed2009 (2009)
Operated by
StatusClosed due to decline in tourism and failing infrastructure
Camp sites152
Websiteserpentmoundspark.com
DesignatedJune 12, 1982 (1982-06-12)
StatuteHistoric Sites and Monuments Act
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Designated1957 (1957)
WDPA ID19782

From 1995 to 2009, the Hiawatha First Nation operated the park privately, offering camping facilities, beach access on Rice Lake, a cultural centre, and interpretive walks among the historic serpent and nearby mounds.[2] They closed the park in 2009 because of a decline in tourism.

History

Archaeological field work at the campground revealed that the construction and early occupation of the Serpent Mounds area occurred about 2000 years ago during the prehistoric Middle Woodland Period. The first prehistoric peoples to occupy the site were classified by archaeologists as the Point Peninsula complex, based on their artifacts.

The people occupied areas of what are now the jurisdictions of central and southeastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec in Canada, and northern parts of New York state in the United States, between 300BC and 700AD.[3]

Attractions

Serpent Mounds Park offered many activities, including:

See also

References
  1. "Serpent Mounds National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Government of Canada. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  2. "Serpent Mounds Park". Home. Hiawatha First Nations. Archived from the original on 2007-08-08. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  3. "The Prehistory of Ontario". Middle Woodland Period. Retrieved 2007-08-24.

Literature
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