Portals to the Past

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Historic Spanish Point in Osprey

Photo Credit: Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau

Generations ago, Native Americans built shell mounds all around Florida. Here's where you can see them today.

These curious Native American attractions are scattered around Florida. Generations ago, these mounds of shells were looted for road building; today, these cherished relics are understood to be more than just slag heaps of mastodon teeth and bone. Some are pyramid shaped and many were ceremonial. While most of the stories and rituals have been lost to time, there is enough left for us to literally step back 1,000 years.

Temple Mound Museum

Fort Walton Beach
139 Miracle Strip Parkway Southeast, 850-833-9595
Situated on one of the largest ceremonial mounds ever discovered in Florida, this site also boasts one of the nation’s largest and finest collection of ceramic artifacts. With roughly 6,000 artifacts and extensive exhibits, the Temple Mound museum gives visitors an inside look at the lifestyles of four southeastern American Indian tribes that inhabited the Choctawhatchee Bay region for the last 12,000 years. Temple Mound also offers tours, a research library and a museum shop. Open six days a week throughout the year with extended operating hours during the summer.

Some are pyramid shaped and many were ceremonial. While most of the stories and rituals have been lost to time, there is enough left for us to literally step back 1,000 years.

Hontoon Island

Deland
2309 River Ridge Road, 386-736-5309

www.floridastateparks.org/hontoonisland/default.cfm, www.hontooncso.com
Hontoon Island sits right in the middle of the St. Johns River and is accessible only by private boat or park ferry. The Timucuan Indian tribe was the first on record to inhabit this island. Snails gathered from the river were a staple food of the tribe. Discarded shells accumulated over time to form these large mounds that still exist. Today, visitors will find picnic areas, boating, canoeing and fishing. Check out the visitor center to learn more about the other tribes and inhabitants of the island.

Randell Research Center

Pineland
13810 Waterfront Drive, 239-283-2157

www.flmnh.ufl.edu/rrc
The Randell Research Center is dedicated to teaching visitors about the culture, history and environment of Southwest Florida and its earliest inhabitants, the Calusa Indian tribe. Located on the western shore of Pine Island, the Center sits on more than 50 acres at the heart of the archaeological site – an enormous Calusa shell mound that extends across more than 200 acres from the coastline. While there, be sure to tour the Calusa Heritage Trail, a 3,700-foot path that leads visitors through mounds and canals. Guided tours are available January to April.

Spanish Center

Osprey
500 North Tamiami Trail, 941-966-5214
www.historicspanishpoint.org
Historic Spanish Point, one of Florida’s premier archaeological spots, is a 30-acre historical and environmental site that extends into the waters of Little Sarasota Bay. With its pioneer buildings, restored gardens and prehistoric Calusa Indian burial and ceremonial mounds, Spanish Point offers visitors the chance to rediscover 5,000 years of history. Enjoy the large Butterfly Garden and nature trails or take a 90-minuted guided tour of the site. Don’t miss the “Window to the Past” archaeology exhibit located inside the shell mound, which was once a garage.

Indian Mound Park

Englewood
210 Winson Ave., 941-861-1980
Indian Mound Park is a 10-acre public park and historic site of the Calusa Indian tribe. Indian mounds on site, along with a collection of artifacts dating back to 400 B.C., add rich historical value to the recreation there. The surrounding park is home to nature trails, picnic areas, a public boat ramp and parking. Open 365 days a year. Free.

Shell Mound

Cedar Key
16450 NW 31st Place, 352-493-0238
www.fws.gov/lowersuwannee/smpubuse.html
In Cedar Key, one of the quaint fishing village communities on Florida’s Nature Coast, visitors will find remnants of prehistoric Indian oyster-shell and sand burial mounds. Six miles outside Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast stands Shell Mound, part of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. Shell Mound is the largest prehistoric shell midden on the central Gulf Coast, covering five acres and rising 28 feet above sea level. Near the water, where the Timucuan and other Native American cultures lived and ate from the Gulf for 3,000 years dating back to 2500 BC, this massive kitchen midden was built from their discarded oyster, clam and whelk shells. Today, visitors will also find nature and hiking trails, choice kayaking, bird watching, bank fishing and spectacular coastal views.

Lake Jackson Mounds

Tallahassee
1022 DeSoto Park Drive, 850-922-6007
www.floridastateparks.org/lakejackson/default.cfm
Throughout Florida, paleo-Indian tribes made hundreds of mounds for ceremonial and practical purposes. Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site, one of North Florida’s premier archaeological sites, was built between 1,200 and 1,500 A.D., the site served as the political and religious center for Native American cultures in the area, just north of Tallahassee. The site consists of six earth temple mounds, the tallest of which stands higher than 35 feet. Visitors often hike to the top of it for a magnificent view of the entire site. Open daily. Free.

Crystal River Indian Mounds

Crystal River
3400 N. Museum Point, 352-795-3817
Considered one of the longest continually occupied sites in the state, this Florida mound is believed to have been occupied for more than 1,600 years. Florida’s first inhabitants traveled long distances to Crystal River for ritual burials and to trade goods and services. Built by pre-Columbian Indians, the Crystal River Archaeological State Park contains burial mounds, temple/platform mounds and a midden. A paved loop trail passes by each mound, with interpretive signs detailing each one’s history. The site, designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1970, was used for ceremonial purposes, and the visitor center houses tools, jewelry and pottery recovered from the site.