Visit to Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center

Posted on by Julia

April 11, 2026

On Friday (April 3), Bruce and I drove 45 minutes to meet my youngest sister at the Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center in Danville, AL.

My sister drove from South Mississippi to North Alabama to enjoy the beauty of North Alabama. On her drive through the Bankhead National Forest, she admired the dogwood blooming under the tall trees.

The Okaville Indian Mounds Education Center is a beautiful park as well as an education center.

The education center is full of artifacts, most of which belong to Wheeler Pounds.

Education Center

There was so much to see at the education center. I provided only a few snapshots of the many I took.

We walked around the park, enjoying the lake.

Dogwood
Killdeer on Nest
Frog
Yellow Fag Irises
Yellow Flag Irises
My Sister and Her Husband

After exploring the Okaville Indian Mounds Education Center, we drove to Decatur, AL. We had lunch at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q. Then we visited the Historic Decatur Union Depot. We got to watch a train go by. We waved at the engineers and they waved back.

Train Heading Our Way
Closer to Us.
Rumbling Past

We drove home and my sister and her husband followed us. The fields planted with mustard looked so beautiful.

Field of Mustard

We walked around Blackberry Homestead then we visited for a while. Before it got dark, my sister and her husband headed back to their hotel in Moulton, AL.

My right foot ached from walking so much. Note to self: don’t walk so much after having plantar warts removed.

21 thoughts on “Visit to Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center”

  1. That looks like a fascinating spot to visit. I’d be real interested in exploring the similarities and difference between the local tribes and our western tribes. You ever compare you former Colorado Paiutes with the Cherokee and Chickasaw which I suspect were the guys who hung out in your Alabama neck of the woods?

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    1. In the past, several tribes lived in Alabama. In the historic period: the Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and Chickasaws, and smaller groups such as the Alabama-Coushattas and the Yuchi lived in Alabama. Most were forced from their land during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Today, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians maintain their traditions on portions of their tribal homelands in the state. This information is from the Encyclopedia of Alabama https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/

      We went to the “Oka Kapassa” Return to Cold Water America Indian Festival last year. Each year, the Nations return to ‘recollect’ the warm embrace of Tuscumbia hospitality, echoing the gracious spirit of the early 1800s. When tribes were forced to out, the folks of Tuscumbia, welcomed the tribes, providing food and blankets. The tribes still remember the Tuscumbia welcome.

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  3. What are “chunkey stones”, and why were they important?

    Just curious, do mustard plants have a scent when there are that many of them?

    Hope you had a great visit with family!

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    1. Chunkey stones were used in the game chunkey. Chunkey stones were rolled across the ground and spears were thrown at them, with the intention of having the spear land as close to the stopped chunkey stone as possible. The game was played in large arenas and was an important part of the Native American tribes in Missouri, the South, and the Great Plains.

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      1. Nice!! I have a couple of arrowheads that were found on my farm. I had a large collection that were found in Roane County WV, but they have been lost somewhere over the years. They were found back in the 50s.

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    1. It has so many amazing artifacts! They had so many different types of flint artifacts. The dress is beautiful. You could tell just how much work she put into the dress. They had a lot of information about the maker of the dress, which I found interesting.

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Published by Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. We bought a ranch house on a hill in the middle of five acres. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist and I’ll share my current projects. Reading is my favorite hobby.