{"nrhp_refnum":"73000712","name":"Lunsford-Pulcher Archeological Site","other_names":["S-40 Illinois Archeological Survey Number"],"category":"site","location":{"address":null,"address_restricted":true,"city":"Columbia","county":"Monroe County","state":"IL","lat":38.4944,"lon":-90.2311,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"1973-07-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Prehistoric","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An archeological site of Mississippian mounds and an associated village about 2 miles south of Dupo, near Columbia in Monroe and St. Clair counties, Illinois, occupied roughly AD 600-1200. It also includes a house built in 1825 by Adam W. Snyder on one of the mounds.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the only Middle Mississippian town site remaining in the American Bottoms, serving as a satellite community to Cahokia. It is one of few Mississippian sites in the United States where prehistoric garden plots have been noted. The 1825 Snyder house is also among the oldest standing structures in this part of Illinois.","narrative":"Lunsford-Pulcher is an archeological site south of Dupo, Illinois, made up of Mississippian temple mounds and an adjoining village area. It appears to have been a satellite town of Cahokia, the center of Mississippian culture in the American Bottoms. The nomination describes it as the only Middle Mississippian town site left in that region. Aerial photographs show possible garden beds and stained areas that may mark house structures, and few Mississippian sites in the country have preserved evidence of prehistoric garden plots. Test excavations in 1950 and the early 1960s found village debris and refuse pits. The site was mapped by Collot in 1796 and visited by George Rogers Clark. A house built in 1825 by Adam Snyder sits on the central mound; Dr. John Francis Snyder spent his first three years there. Farming has lowered some mounds and a railroad destroyed two, but the village remains well preserved. Planned Interstate 255 and suburban growth were seen as serious threats.","period_of_significance":"AD 600-1200 (site); 1825 (house)","architect_builder":"Adam W. Snyder (house, 1825)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Site described as well preserved and largely open farmland, though partly cultivated, topped mounds, and threatened by planned interstate highway construction and urban expansion. The Snyder house is in good condition and modernized.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.707469-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/8937/28893737/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/73000712.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000712/b56b3940fc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000712/b56b3940fc-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lunsford-Pulcher_Site_from_Oklahoma_Hill_Road.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lunsford-Pulcher_Site_from_Oklahoma_Hill_Road.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893737","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunsford-Pulcher_Archeological_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16894384"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/monroe-county/lunsford-pulcher-archeological-site-73000712/"}