Nicholls Mound
(Schwert Group, or Trempealeau Lakes Group)
National Register of Historic Places
To reach Nicholls Mound, one has to be ready for a hike. Located just off of Great River State Trail, the mound is about a mile and
a half from the nearest trailhead. The latter is located at the intersection of Highway 35 and Great River State Trail on the south-east
edge of the Village of Trempealeau. Head south-east on the trail until you reach an observation platform with information tablets
describing the history of mounds in the region and the Nicholls Mound in particular. The mound is on private property, but just a few
yards from the platform, looming large over it due to its formidable size.
This mound group used to have 26 mounds and, according to one of the tablets on the platform, 10 of them remain today. Some other
sources indicate that the Nicholls Mound is the only one remaining. There is a confusion with naming, too. Nicholls Mound was named
after W.Nicholls, on whose property it was located, along with another 3 mounds in this cluster. The rest of the mounds were located
on the property of L.Schwert, and consequently known as a Schwert Mound Group.
The mound is in good shape, but has shrubbery growing on it. It's almost 90 feet wide and 11 feet high and completely surrounded
by ploughed land. Mound was excavated in early 20th century (see photos of the excavation and artifacts recovered below).
For more information and photo of the mound taken from Highway 35 see:
