The Largest Native American Burial Mound in Bloomington
During the Woodland period somewhere between 2,500 and 900 years ago, Native Americans constructed mounds of earth generally associated with burial of the dead. This occurred throughout the region atop the Bluffs of the Minnesota River. The Great Burial Mound of West Bloomington is one of many such earthworks. But this mound stands apart from its peers due its sheer magnitude. It is 80-feet in diameter and rises to 7-feet high. The industrious people who built it had to move more than 15,000 cubic feet (800 tons) of soil to form the astounding circular feature.
Figure 1: Topographic Map. The mound's builders chose a prime location overlooking the river valley and this construct would have dominated the landscape of the time. In fact, it still does.
Figure 2: Photograph of The Great Mound taken in the 1920's by a local historian. The photographer was standing west of the mound and looking east. You can see the burial mound in the center. To the left is Auto Club Road. The Minnesota River is to the right. Far in the distance beyond the mound is the Minneapolis Automobile Club building. The oak tree on the left hand side of this photo is likely the same oak tree that stands there today. Source: Minnesota Digital Library University of Minnesota.
Figure 3: Photograph of The Minneapolis Automobile Club. Whilst today’s auto clubs primarily offer roadside assistance, in their heyday these clubs offered much more. In the earliest years of the automobile, auto clubs were a place for the small group of well-to-do motorists to socialize. The site of the Minneapolis Automobile Club was perched high above the Minnesota River Valley on the south side of Auto Club Road, southwest of the Minnesota Valley Golf Club on what is now known as Bluff Drive. The original Minneapolis Automobile Club was built in 1908 and burned to the ground in 1918. The new larger building was built on the same site soon after the old building burned. The luxurious Club House building and the beautifully landscaped grounds were a vision to behold and the Club, with its excellent chefs and services, was a very popular place for diners. However, the facilities were not designed for winter use and eventually became uneconomical to operate as a seasonal business. In the mid-1950s, the building was demolished, and the grounds developed into homesites. Source: Bloomington Bicentennial Committee, Bloomington On The Minnesota (Bloomington, Minn: Brings Press, 1976), p.88.
Little Susan
A heart-rending story that often has been repeated in Bloomington is that of a young Native American girl who was being cared for by a family of white settlers. Little Susan, a Dakota girl who had been adopted by Mrs. A.M. Whalen, was murdered by a band of Ojibwe (Chippewa) here in 1856. As the story is told, Mrs. Whalen with her baby and Little Susan, had gone to the home of their neighbor, Mrs. Orville Ames (Mrs. Ames became Mrs. John Brown years later). The men were working in the fields.
The Ames cabin was located a short distance southwest of The Great Mound. Susan was playing on this mound when she observed a band of about twenty Ojibwe men riding nearby and ran into the house. The Ojibwe saw Little Susan and followed her. Twelve of them entered the house, the other eight remaining outside the door. The first Ojibwe told Mrs. Ames and Mrs. Whalen that they wanted to see the little girl and shake her hand. As each man shook her hand, he passed her on to the next until they had her out the door. Once outside, they shot her in the arm and chest. Five or six of them scalped her after she fell dead. The men then mounted their horses and road away. Source: Bloomington Bicentennial Committee, Bloomington On The Minnesota (Bloomington, Minn: Brings Press, 1976), p.79 and Bloomington Historical Society Bloomington Historical Society - 100 Historic Sites
Figure 4: Newspaper article describing the tragic incident. Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 16, 1856, p.2.
Figure 5: Aerial photograph dated October 30, 1937. Although the photograph was taken nearly a century after Little Susan's murder, it shows the proximity of the Ames cabin southwest of The Great Mound. The barn in the photograph is another famous Bloomington landmark. It still stands today on the Bethany International property just to the north of the posted coordinates. Source: John R. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota.
Figure 6: Little Susan's stone marker in the Bloomington Cemetery (N 44° 48.881 W 093° 17.376) is a reminder of her tragic death. No explanation of this terrible deed was discovered, except for the fact that the Ojibwe and Dakota were traditional warring enemies. The 1850's were a tense period of time in Minnesota. Susan's story is just one of a chain of unfortunate events including the Acton Massacre, a deadly farmhouse raid in Acton, Minnesota, leading up to the Minnesota-Dakota War of 1862.
The Cache
In order to log this cache you must actually visit the site and provide evidence that you were there. At the posted coordinates you will be located on the public sidewalk adjacent to Auto Club Road. Across the street to the south lies The Great Mound. To claim this virtual, all you need to do is upload a picture of yourself (faces are not required) or a personal item (such as a trackable, piece of paper with your username, or your GPSr) with The Great Mound in the background. Please be mindful that you are near a burial place that has been here for thousands of years. The burial mound itself is sacred ground. Do not trespass.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.