User:IveGoneAway/sandbox/Burnett’s Mound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burnett’s Mound, also known as Shunganunga Mound,[3] Webster's Mound,[4][5] and Knox Knob Top,[4][6] is a natural landmark in Shawnee County, Kansas, as mentioned in early histories[3] and scientific journals.[7][8] The site also holds significance to some Indian cultures and is a burial location.[9]
Burnett’s Mound | |
---|---|
Shunganunga | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 349 m (1,145 ft)[1] |
Coordinates | 39°00′34.74″N 095°44′12.15″W[2] GNIS feature ID: 478675 |
Geography | |
Location | Shawnee County, Kansas, United States |
The common name of the landmark came from the mound's one-time owner, Potawatomi Chief Abram Burnett, Nan-Wesh-Mah,[4] who was an important founding businessman of Shawnee County, also referred to as "the biggest man in Kansas".[10]
Today, the landmark is within the incorporated limits of Topeka, recognizable from Interstate 470 by the large water tank that is constructed near its summit. However, in the mid-1800s the Mound was just within the eastern border of the prior Kaw reservation that the Potawatomi settled in 1847.
Tradition held that the mound spiritually, if not physically, protected Topeka from tornados; but when the hill was eventually disturbed by major construction, a strong tornado happened to cross the very summit of Burnett's Mound before rampaging through Topeka to the State House.[11]