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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
The May Moore Mound is a prehistoric Adena mound located on private property in Mason County, on the Ohio River south of Point Pleasant. The mound is mentioned in the Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology by Cyrus Thomas, describing the extensive explorations of mounds and earthworks conducted throughout North America between 1882 and 1886 by the Smithsonian Institution. Thomas described the mound as being located on the farm of Judge Moore and the largest in the area. The report fails to mention any excavation of the mound.
In 1962, West Virginia Archeological Society members Delf Norona, Oscar Mairs, and Bob White visited the May Moore Mound, which Norona described as possibly the third largest in West Virginia. Although the mound appeared to have been cut into several times previously, it seemed to be intact enough to retain much valuable information. At the present time, the mound is one of the few remaining Adena mounds that is relatively undisturbed.
Written by Darla S. Spencer
McMichael, Edward V. Introduction to West Virginia Archeology. Morgantown: West Virginia Geological & Economic Survey, 1968.
Thomas, Cyrus. Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1894, Reprint, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.