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Spirit Mound is a culturally and historically significant glacial feature in the vicinity of Vermillion, SD. #MapMonday

  • Writer: Doris Peterson
    Doris Peterson
  • Nov 29, 2021
  • 1 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

The mound appears on this 1856 map as Little Spirits Hill.


Historical map showing Spirit Mound near Vermillion, SD.
Warren, Gouverneur Kemble.

Spirit Mound was described by local Indigenous people to the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804. Twenty years ago in 2001, it was replanted with native grasses and joined the South Dakota state park system as Spirit Mound Historic Prairie. In 2010, a geologic survey determined the mound to be a rock-cored drumlin created by a glacier. Check out the websites for Spirit Mound Trust or the Spirit Mound Historic Prairie for more information.


Historical topographic map showing Spirit Mound, South Dakota.
U.S. Geological Survey.

Both maps can be viewed in the Archives and Special Collections.


Information about the addition of Spirit Mound Historic Prairie to the South Dakota state park system can be found in the William J. Janklow papers at the Archives and Special Collections.


Geologic survey by Cody Miller, Origin and Erosion of Spirit Mound, Spirit Mound Trust website (accessed November 8, 2021).

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