Prairie Peregrine Mound

Decorah artist and amateur archeologist Ted Sojka was fascinated by the idea of the dozens of mounds that had caused the West Decorah street to be called Mound Street. All of the mounds on Decorah's Mound Street, parallel to today's dike and prairie, have been built over. Some became part of the dike system that protects the town from flooding.

Photo by Nancy Sojka

Prairie Peregrine Mound. Photo by Nancy Sojka

Sojka set out to create an “homage to the effigy mound builders,” or honorary representation, of an effigy mound in the shape of a bird. “Effigy” means “in the shape of.” Many mounds in NE Iowa in the Driftless Area were effigy mounds. The bird shaped mound is in the shape of a peregrine falcon.

Ted first sketched the idea by “drawing” with cross-country skis in the snow in 2005. He viewed the outline from Phelps Park overlooking the Prairie. The next summer Decorah Park and Rec staff outlined the bird in mowed grass as the first rendition of the Prairie Peregrine. The next step came when Eagle Scouts renovated a dirt borrow pit nearby and built the mound as a three-dimensional feature. No mowed grasses are needed to see the Prairie Peregrine today: either from the Prairie paths or from Phelps Park.