Renovations are taking place at Winterville Mounds, but the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) said it could take up to five years before that work is completed.
The visitors center and museum closed in March 2020 and will remain closed throughout the renovation process, which will involve new exhibits, outdoor signage, and an orientation film in consultation with MDAH’s Tribal partners, archaeologists, and the Delta community.
Winterville Mounds Association ex officio Lynn Cox said the historic grounds still remain open for visitors to explore. There is even a new brochure to provide visitors with information and direction around the site.
“You can tour the grounds and enter through two entrances to the museum and mound site,” Cox said.
According to MDAH director of public relations Michael Morris, they will also continue working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as they have since 2016, to obtain the funding to repair the sloughing on Mound A, the site’s most prominent feature.
“We hope that during this time, FEMA will provide the money for the needed repairs,” he said.
Standing 55-feet tall, Mound A — The Temple Mound — is Winterville Mound’s largest mound and has experienced several bouts of sloughing over the past few years. It is the tallest mound between Natchez and Cahokia, Illinois.
In the meantime, the mound remains barricaded and there is a blue tarp on the back side of the mound in hopes of preventing any further sloughing, Cox said.
With the help of the Winterville Mounds Association, recent improvements to the site have included historic preservation of the grounds, landscaping work on the mounds, refurbished pavilion areas with new picnic tables and grills for families, a new pedestrian overpass, and new outdoor signage.
The amount of funding it will take to complete all of the site’s projects is unknown at this point. Preliminary planning will soon take place in Jackson by the MDAH Museum Division administration.
“We will hold meetings with our Tribal partners and will hold community meetings in Greenville to see what the residents would like to see from the site. Our goal is to continue to have Winterville as a place for the community to visit and also be respectful of the wishes and the ancestors of our Tribal partners,” Morris said.
The work taking place at Winterville Mounds is a continuation of work MDAH has been doing in conjunction with the Winterville Mounds Association for many years.
“Several years ago, much of the site was overgrown with trees; the trees were removed to return the plazas between the mounds to their original state. We also have made improvements to the front of the site with landscape, signage, and a newly paved parking lot. Most recently picnic tables and trash receptacles for the pavilion were replaced and the outdoor restrooms have been repaired. All of the work done at the site is to improve it as a whole,” Morris said.
Winterville Mounds’ renovations stem from a state-wide program wherein lawmakers are working to find a way to revive Mississippi’s 25 state parks, according to Mississippi Today.
Faced with spending $147 million to update the parks and millions of dollars more each year to keep the parks maintained, there has been discussion of privatization and a search for other options, with a tax to fund parks likely a nonstarter in the Legislature.
State parks spending has been cut by nearly 60% since 2000, and staffing by 70%.
Most of the state’s 600 structures in its parks are in need of some repair — from major to minor.
Mississippi receives about 1 million visitors to its parks each year, which is considerably less than neighboring states, like Arkansas and Alabama.
Arkansas state parks attract nearly 8.5 million visitors a year and serve as the state’s largest tourism draw, generating more than $1 billion a year for that state’s economy. Alabama sees nearly 5 million visitors to its parks annually, with an economic impact of about $375 million.
One of the biggest differences is Arkansas parks are funded through a dedicated “conservation tax.” In Alabama, parks are 90% self-funded through fees and rentals. Mississippi parks lack an adequate dedicated funding source.
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the state doesn’t have an extra $147 million on hand to make repairs, according to Mississippi Today.
About Winterville Mounds
Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1993, the 42-acre park is a prehistoric ceremonial center built by a Native American civilization that thrived from about A.D. 1000 to 1450.
In 1939, the Greenville Garden Club raised money to purchase the mound site because many of the mounds were being destroyed by farming practices and highway construction, according to Cox.
“Ever since then, our club has volunteered out there and been instrumental in its preservation. After purchase, the GGC partnered with the city as custodians, then the Park Commission and then the State of Mississippi and in 2000, MDAH acquired the site,” she said.
Located at 2415 1 N. in Greenville, the park is open daily from dawn to dusk with free admission.
