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- By Chez Oxendine
- Real Estate
The Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office announced the complete reacquisition of Sugarloaf Mound, the last remaining Native American mound in St. Louis and the city’s oldest known human-made structure.
The reacquisition process began in 2008, when the Osage Nation purchased about one-third of the mound. In 2009, the nation acquired a house built on the summit, though that was later demolished in 2017.
Beginning in 2021 the Osage Nation, with support from St. Louis-based arts organization CounterPublic, negotiated the transfer of the two properties that made up the remainder of the site. The first of those was transferred to the tribe in November 2024, according to prior reporting by Tribal Business News. The second remaining property was transferred in early September, according to a statement from the tribe.
Counterpublic Executive Director and Co-founder James McAnally said the organization stepped in to support the tribe’s work to save the mound from further development. The organization received $380,000 in funding from the Mellon Foundation to purchase and transfer the homes on the mound.
“I was aware of this unfinished work to preserve the mound and it was always this question of who would take initiative to support the Osage Nation’s efforts,” McAnally told Tribal Business News. “There just wasn’t a lot of visibility around this site and this issue, and so we wanted to bring a spotlight to and support the Osage’s plans to secure and preserve the mound long-term.”
The mound, constructed between 600 and 1200 A.D., is the only surviving example of the hundreds of mounds that once earned St. Louis the name “Mound City,” according to the tribe’s statement. Archaeologists believe it may have served as either a burial mound from the Woodland period or a platform mound from the Mississippian period. Oral histories, linguistic studies and archaeological evidence indicate Osage ancestors inhabited the region for more than a thousand years.
The Osage Nation is seeking additional funding for preservation efforts that include removing remaining structures, stabilizing the mound and developing an interpretive center, according to a press release.
“We have a significant amount of work ahead of us to remove all the structures from the properties and stabilize the mound,” said Andrea Hunter, Osage Nation historic preservation officer. “It has been a long 17-year journey, and I am thrilled to finally see the entire mound come under Osage Nation control.”
