Pinson Mounds in Recorded History
After the Chickasaw ceded much of West Tennessee in 1818, land speculator Joel Pinson arrived in what is now Madison County to survey the area. Pinson "discovered" the complex which was named after him in 1820. The complex did not receive much attention until a Jackson-area journalist named J.G. Cisco began writing about it in the late 19th century. Cisco's articles drew the interest of the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1916 the Smithsonian dispatched the archaeologist William E. Myer to investigate the site. Myer suggested that the entire complex was built according to a master plan, and created a map for the site. In 1947, the Tennessee Division of Forestry purchased the Western section of the Pinson site.
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