The Lessley Mound is a well-preserved example of Native American mound construction in Mississippi. Built during the late Coles Creek or early Plaquemine period (ca. AD 1100-1350), the site consists of a single large rectangular platform mound. The mound was built in at least two stages, according to professional archaeologists who excavated portions of it in 2013. Additional mound stages are likely to exist but were not encountered in their excavations. Excavators also found post holes and evidence of burning underneath the mound. This evidence, plus pottery, stone tools, and other residential debris, indicates that people lived at the site well before they built the mound. Artifacts from the upper portions of the excavation indicate that mound use continued well into the Plaquemine period, possibly until the mid-seventeenth century. Today, the Lessley family cemetery is located on the summit of the mound, and additional unmarked graves are located at the base. Presumably, the site would have had a village area in addition to the mound, though this has not been confirmed.
