Archeological Inventory for a Proposed Visitor Center, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Stoddard County, Missouri

The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) was established in 1944 as a resting and wintering area for migratory waterfowl in Stoddard and Wayne Counties in an area of southeastern Missouri known as the Bootheel. Annual visitation is approximately 20,000 persons per year. The current Refuge Visitor Center was constructed in 1973 just off Missouri State Highway 51 north of the town of Puxico. It occupies a narrow ridge overlooking the pools and marshlands of the abandoned channel. Deterioration of the structure and proposed expansion of public use facilities requires construction of a new Visitor Center. This work will take place at the same location as the current building in 2009 or 2010 as funding permits. Ground disturbance associated with this new structure will extend 55 ft (16.8 m) from the front of the current building. The replacement structure will have the same orientation as the current Visitor Center.
An archeological inventory of this location was completed in advance of proposed construction of a new Visitor Center for Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) to provide data to assist MNWR management in complying with pre-construction Section 106 requirements.