| Gordon-Schaust Site | |
| Nrhp Type: | hd |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Location: | , Crosslake, Minnesota |
| Built: | Undetermined |
| Refnum: | 74001015 |
| Designated Nrhp Type: | December 23, 1974 |
The Gordon–Schaust Site (Smithsonian trinomial 21CW83) is a prehistoric Native American archaeological site in Crosslake, Minnesota, United States. It comprises two separate but nearly parallel groups of linear mounds, undated but well preserved.[1] The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 for having state-level significance in the theme of archaeology.[2]
The main series of mounds was first documented by Jacob V. Brower during archaeological surveys in 1897 and 1901. He dubbed them the Gordon Embankments. The Minnesota Historical Society sponsored a new survey in 1972, which revealed a second series of mounds a short distance away and nearly parallel to the first. These were designated the Schaust Embankments.[3]
The Gordon Embankments consist of 20 mounds, all but one of them linear. Four lie on a north–south axis, while the rest trend somewhat to the northwest. The longest is 480feet long.[4] Brower described the mounds as being 20feet wide and 2.5feet high, and measured the full span of the mound group at 1040feet.
Both embankments comprise a series of linear mounds lying mostly end to end. This contrasts with two other mound groups in the area: the Upper Hay Lake Mounds lie in parallel rows, while the Fort Flatmouth Mounds form a rough enclosure.