Lower Jackson is the best-documented Middle Archaic mound on the Mounds Trail. It’s a single conical mound on the edge of the Maçon Ridge about 2 miles south of Poverty Point. Until the 1990s, it was treated as part of that site because Poverty Point-style artifacts were found near the mound and because it is aligned due south of the largest mound at Poverty Point. Coring defined a single stage of mound construction with extensive soil weathering. Charcoal from below the mound dated to 3955–3655 BC, placing the mound in the Middle Archaic period (>3000 BC). Some archaeologists believe that the designers of Poverty Point incorporated Lower Jackson into their grand layout. The mound is about 8 feet tall and almost 130 feet in diameter at the base; portions of it were removed in the 1970s and 1980s, so it’s only 70% intact. A small historic cemetery on top helped prevent additional destruction.