Grave Creek Mound Historical Site — Attraction in Moundsville

This place has a very impressive and informative museum that gives a lot of detailed information about the great mound located here. The mound today, while still impressive and with great views, has suffered a lot over the years - it’s full story is detailed in the museum and I must say it is a fascinating story. In summary it was badly treated by the European settlers when they entered the area, which was covered in mounds 200 years ago. This great mound is the only surviving one and was probably the largest. It had two burial chambers which were dug up and destroyed by people looking for loot; it was then turned into a failed freak museum, a failed bar, a failed dance-floor, and it also had a giant prison built right next to it. Thankfully the US government eventually stepped in to preserve what was left and built the fabulous museum and conducted real archeological studies of the area. There is also a well priced gift shop and super friendly staff, clean and modern bathroom facilities and many other unrelated exhibits. A great place to stop for...

The museum was much bigger inside than I was expecting when we read about it online and the Rose, the staff member we spoke to, was a local with a lot of pride in and knowledge about her home state. Rose walked with us around part of the museum and we learned so much for talking to her - she is one of my favorite memories from our visit.

The gift shop had gorgeous glass, gemstones, honey, jam - and ofc some really good books - and the sales lady there was awesome too. Thanks to the staff being so friendly and knowledgeable we spent a lot more time there than expected and learned about tons of places we hadn't known about (we're already planning on coming back for Archeology Day Oct 5th).

I had a heck of a time getting to the top of the mound because it's only steps, which are old and have been repaired at least 3 times (a staff member did mention the stairs were going to be renovated, but I don't know when). The view from the top was gorgeous (with a low stone wall to catch your...

We went with family to the site to see the museum and the mound. All of the information that we saw in the museum was quite interesting to find out about the Adena civilization.

The Adena Mound and Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, West Virginia, offer a fascinating and deeply meaningful glimpse into ancient Native American history and culture. The centerpiece of the site is the massive Grave Creek Mound, one of the largest conical burial mounds in the United States, constructed by the Adena people over 2,000 years ago. Standing at approximately 62 feet high and 240 feet in diameter, the mound is an awe-inspiring testament to the engineering and ceremonial practices of a complex prehistoric society.

Reading some of the reviews stating that the displays are being removed and changed is somewhat disturbing. This is history; why is it...