MACON, Ga. — The Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is now a few acres larger after receiving donated land according to a press release from The National Park Service (NPS) on Tuesday.
Macon-Bibb County and the Macon Housing Authority have donated several land parcels near the Davis Homes community totaling 3.62 acres to Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.
The 2019 John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) nearly quadrupled the park’s authorized boundary. At the time it was 701 acres.
The added land now increases the park’s boundary to approximately 1860 acres.
“Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is a memorial to more than 12,000 years of continuous human habitation by multiple Indigenous cultures and peoples,” park superintendent Carla Beasley said. “We are grateful to Macon-Bibb County, Macon Housing Authority, the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, and National Park Foundation for their on-going support to preserve the rich history of this area.”
The newly acquired area contains evidence of one of the longest periods of human habitation in a relatively small area, the press release says.
The 3.62 acres are situated within the Ocmulgee Old Fields, also known as the Macon Reserve, a three-by-five-mile site revered as a sacred place to Muskogean people.
The Ocmulgee Old Fields-Macon Reserve is comprised of lands specifically retained by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from 1805 until the 1826 Treaty of Washington and other treaties that culminated in removing Muskogean people from their ancestral home to present-day Oklahoma.
Reserving this land from major development provides opportunities to tell a more complete story of American history, the release says. It goes on to say the triumphs and tragedies of those who called the area home for thousands of years continues to shape our lives today and define our collective heritage.