{"nrhp_refnum":"71001026","name":"Emerald Mound and Village Site","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":null,"address_restricted":true,"city":"Lebanon","county":"St. Clair County","state":"IL","lat":38.6306,"lon":-89.7858,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"1971-10-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Prehistoric"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Emerald Mound and Village Site is a prehistoric archaeological site about 3.5 miles northeast of Lebanon, St. Clair County, Illinois. It was the principal mound of a Middle Mississippian town that served as a satellite to Cahokia.","why_significant":"It is one of only two surviving satellite towns of Cahokia, making it important for understanding the economic, political and religious relationship between satellite and center. A radiocarbon date of about 1500 A.D. from a late building stage suggests it remained important after Cahokia's main construction period. The mound is the second largest in Illinois and one of the few built with two terraces.","narrative":"Emerald Mound and Village Site lies about 3.5 miles northeast of Lebanon, Illinois, and was the principal mound of a Middle Mississippian town tied to the great center at Cahokia. The main mound is roughly 300 feet square at the base, 150 feet square at the top and 50 feet high, with an apron extending over 100 feet from the northwest face. At least four other mounds stood nearby, two of them now leveled, along with a large habitation area. Cahokia was surrounded by over one hundred villages and hamlets and five satellite towns, and this is one of only two such towns to survive. That makes it central to questions about how outlying communities related to the main center. A carbon date of about 1500 A.D. from a late building stage points to continued importance after Cahokia's major construction. The mound is the second largest in Illinois and one of few with two terraces. Farming has continued on the site, yet archaeological evidence remains in the ground.","period_of_significance":"Pre-Columbian","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition marked good and altered; the site has been farmed for many years, and about four acres including the mound are a state park. Earth removed from two sides of the mound is to be replaced.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.704569-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/8941/28894121/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/71001026.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001026/c14b2888fa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001026/c14b2888fa-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emerald_Mound_from_south.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emerald_Mound_from_south.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894121","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Mound_and_Village_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16891077"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/st-clair-county/emerald-mound-and-village-site-71001026/"}