The Kanesville Tabernacle

While we were in Omaha, we drove across the river to Council Bluffs to visit the Kanesville Tabernacle.  The tour was pretty cool.  The original tabernacle was built in 1847 out of green cottonwood logs.  Because the logs were green, the walls warped and the building was demolished within a few years of being built.  In 1997, the replica was built on the site out of cottonwood logs by a historical society in Council Bluffs to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Mormon's arrival in Utah.  It was then donated to the Church.

The tabernacle has a small Mormon Battalion exhibit, since Council Bluffs was where the Mormon  volunteers came from before reporting to Ft. Leavenworth to begin their epic march.

Two notable events happened at the Kanesville Tabernacle.  The first one was Brigham Young being sustained as 2nd Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in December 1847.  It changed my perspective of Mormon history a little bit, since I had always assumed that Brother Brigham had led the Saints west to Utah, then stayed there in Salt Lake City, except for when he went to St George for the winter.  Nope.  He led them to Utah, then quickly turned around and went back to Iowa.

The second notable event was it was where Oliver Cowdry, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon came to a church meeting after being separated from the church for a number of years and began the process of rejoining the church.

Nearest City: Council Bluffs, Iowa
Location: 222 E Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA
Time Needed: 45 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info: Kanesville Tabernacle Website

Effigy Mounds: The Sny Magill Unit

Somewhere at Effigy Mounds, I saw something about a detached unit with more mounds, so I asked about it.  They said that I was probably wondering about the Sny Magill unit, which has the largest concentration of mounds.  Yup- that's it!  They had a paper with an outline of the mounds at the Sny Magill unit, as well as directions on how to get there.  I was interested, so we carved out some time to seek it out.

The Sny Magill unit has over 100 mounds, all located close to each other.  It's on the flood plain of the Mississippi River, about 10 miles south of the main section of the park.  There are mostly conical mounds, but also bird and bear mounds.  This page of the NPS website has a little bit about it.  I was wondering who this Sny Magill guy was, and if he had donated the land to the NPS or why there was the separate unit to the park.  It turns out that Sny is another word for slough, and Magill was a Scottish indian trader who lived in the area.  So even though his name was Donald, Sny was not his nickname.  Sny Magill, Magill's Slough, same difference!  There's a creek with trout in it, as well as access to the river all named after the old trader.
We parked at the boat launch/ river access, crossed through a gate, and came to the first of the mounds in a couple hundred yards.  The area is mowed down, but it goes quite a ways off to the north.  We didn't stay long because in late June the mosquitoes were pretty bad.  It's definitely worth a visit though if you like places that are a little untrammeled and quiet.

Nearest City: McGregor, Iowa
Location: South of McGregor on County Road X56 a couple of miles.  When the road crosses a small creek (Sny Magill Creek), turn east and park at the parking lot to the boat launch.  Go through the gate to the north.
Time Needed: 30+ minutes
Difficulty: easy, finding it is the hardest part
Kid Friendly: meh
Additional Info:

Effigy Mounds National Monument

We spent a morning at Effigy Mounds National Monument.  It's a pretty park, located along the bluffs of the Mississippi River in the Driftless area of northeast Iowa.  I do have to say that I think the northeast corner is the most pretty part of Iowa.  The monument was formed to protect a large concentration of effigy mounds created by mound builders several hundred years ago.  Some mounds are round, others are linear, but the most fascinating mounds of all are the effigy mounds- ones shaped like bears, birds, or other animals.  

Before we arrived, my expectation was that the mounds would be outlined in lime or whitewash to help make them easier to identify.  I was disappointed that they weren't.  It can be difficult to see the mounds, since they are only 2-3 feet taller then the surrounding area.  In fact, it is amazing that they were discovered in the first place!  That said, the park protects a large collection of mounds.  Probably 90% of the mounds out there have been destroyed, many by farmers just plowing up their fields and not realizing that there was a mound there.  

We hiked up to Fire Point and had a great viewpoint of the Mississippi River, and passed several mounds along the way.  There were lots of round mounds, a few columnar mounds, and we saw the Great Bear and Little Bear mounds too.  Some of the mounds have been excavated, while many haven't.  The museum at the visitor center has several artifacts that were found in and around some of the mounds.

I liked the visit, but if you want to see mounds be prepared to hike to see them.


Nearest City: Harpers Ferry, Iowa
Location: 151 Hwy 76, Harpers Ferry, Iowa
Time Needed: 1/2 day
Difficulty: moderate- difficult (hiking, with elevation and distance variables)
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info: Effigy Mounds National Monument