Graham Cave State Park
Archaeological · Danville, Missouri
A 386-acre park on the Loutre River holding a sandstone rock shelter that was, in 1961, the first archaeological site in the United States to be designated a National Historic Landmark. Excavations begun in 1949 - after the landowner was persuaded to postpone enlarging the shelter for his livestock - found occupation layers going back as far as ten thousand years, which at the time pushed the known human presence in this part of North America much further back than had been accepted. The Graham family donated the land to the state in 1964.
217 Highway TT, Danville, Missouri, 63361, United States
FREE and open daily, generally dawn to dusk, year round. The cave shelter can be approached at any time the park is open - THERE IS NO GUIDED TOUR AND NO TICKET, and interpretive panels at the entrance do the explaining. Camping is reserved and seasonal. There is no visitor centre; this is a small park with a very large claim.
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