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The mounds range in elevation from two hundred to five hundred feet and were used as Comanche campsites and ceremonial grounds. The mounds had abundant spring water which encouraged [[hunting]], the gathering of medicinal plants, and worship. The Comanche Nation still considers two of these mounds to be sacred: the tallest, Medicine Mound, and the second tallest, Cedar Mound. The Indians return to these sites to gather plants and herbs and to seek spiritual guidance.<ref>"The Skipper's Report," U.S. Merchant Marine:http://bhirdo.net/2007_October_Liberty_Log.pdf</ref>​

The mounds range in elevation from two hundred to five hundred feet and were used as Comanche campsites and ceremonial grounds. The mounds had abundant spring water which encouraged [[hunting]], the gathering of medicinal plants, and worship. The Comanche Nation still considers two of these mounds to be sacred: the tallest, Medicine Mound, and the second tallest, Cedar Mound. The Indians return to these sites to gather plants and herbs and to seek spiritual guidance.<ref>"The Skipper's Report," U.S. Merchant Marine:http://bhirdo.net/2007_October_Liberty_Log.pdf</ref>​

==Historic preservation==​

==Historic preservation==

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Potts grew up in the store, which she later described as her "playhouse."  In addition to the Hicks-Cobb General Store, Medicine Mound in its heyday had the W. W. Cole Building, a combination [[bank]], drugstore, gasoline station (with rusty pumps remaining), and post office, a laundry, a school, and a church. U.S. Highway 287 bypassed Medicine Mound in the late 1920s, and the community slowly declined in population.<ref name=txex>"Texas' Favorite Detour: Could Medicine Mound Be Texas' Most Interesting Ghost Town?", TexasEscapes.com: http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasTowns/Medicine-Mound-Texas-Favorite-Detour.htm</ref>  The ghost town is located at the junction of Texas Farm or Ranch Roads 91 and 1167, which can be reached from U.S. 287 southward at Chillicothe or several miles further west of Chillicothe. It is southeast of Quanah, the seat of government for Hardeman County. ​

Potts grew up in the store, which she later described as her "playhouse."  In addition to the Hicks-Cobb General Store, Medicine Mound in its heyday had the W. W. Cole Building, a combination [[bank]], drugstore, gasoline station (with rusty pumps remaining), and post office, a laundry, a school, and a church. U.S. Highway 287 bypassed Medicine Mound in the late 1920s, and the community slowly declined in population.<ref name=txex>"Texas' Favorite Detour: Could Medicine Mound Be Texas' Most Interesting Ghost Town?", TexasEscapes.com: http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasTowns/Medicine-Mound-Texas-Favorite-Detour.htm</ref>  The ghost town is located at the junction of Texas Farm or Ranch Roads 91 and 1167, which can be reached from U.S. 287 southward at Chillicothe or several miles further west of Chillicothe. It is southeast of Quanah, the seat of government for Hardeman County.

 

[[Cotton]] was grown about Medicine Mound, and times were generally prosperous until the [[Great Depression]]. A fire swept through Medicine Mound in 1933, but the community rebuilt. Though the original town buildings were wooden, solid [[granite]] round rocks were placed on the revised structures—the stone is really prehistoric gravel<ref name=txex/> and was brought from the Wichita Mountains of [[Oklahoma]],<ref name=comanche>The Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee newsletter, 1999:http://www.comanchelanguage.org/November%201999%20Newsletter.pdf</ref>​

[[Cotton]] was grown about Medicine Mound, and times were generally prosperous until the [[Great Depression]]. A fire swept through Medicine Mound in 1933, but the community rebuilt. Though the original town buildings were wooden, solid [[granite]] round rocks were placed on the revised structures—the stone is really prehistoric gravel<ref name=txex/> and was brought from the Wichita Mountains of [[Oklahoma]],<ref name=comanche>The Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee newsletter, 1999:http://www.comanchelanguage.org/November%201999%20Newsletter.pdf</ref>​

 

The population steadily declined from some five hundred to nothing, meaning a ghost town, though the 2000 [[census]] placed the count at fifty, those living away from the town itself. When the Hicks-Cobb Store closed in 1966, the town died. There are four Texas Historical Commission markers outside the old store dedicated to (1) the community of Medicine Mound, (2) the Hicks-Cobb store, turned into a museum by Potts, (3) a [[WPA|Works Progress Administration]] sanitation project from the 1930s, and (4) a pioneer cemetery south of Medicine Mound believed to have only nine graves.​

The population steadily declined from some five hundred to nothing, meaning a ghost town, though the 2000 [[census]] placed the count at fifty, those living away from the town itself. When the Hicks-Cobb Store closed in 1966, the town died. There are four Texas Historical Commission markers outside the old store dedicated to (1) the community of Medicine Mound, (2) the Hicks-Cobb store, turned into a museum by Potts, (3) a [[WPA|Works Progress Administration]] sanitation project from the 1930s, and (4) a pioneer cemetery south of Medicine Mound believed to have only nine graves.<ref name=comanche/>​

<ref name=comanche/>​

 

On April 5, 2008, Potts addressed the West Texas Historical Association annual meeting in Canyon, south of [[Amarillo]] on her historical preservation work and her attempt to highlight the contributions of rural Americans.<ref>Myna Potts, "Medicine Mound: A Look at Our Past,'' West Texas Historical Association, annual meeting, April 5, 2008, Canyon, Texas.</ref>​

On April 5, 2008, Potts addressed the West Texas Historical Association annual meeting in Canyon, south of [[Amarillo]] on her historical preservation work and her attempt to highlight the contributions of rural Americans.<ref>Myna Potts, "Medicine Mound: A Look at Our Past,'' West Texas Historical Association, annual meeting, April 5, 2008, Canyon, Texas.</ref>​

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==''Texas Country Reporter''==​

==''Texas Country Reporter'' interview==

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In 2007, Potts told Bob Phillips in his ''Texas Country Reporter'' syndicated [[television]] series]] that Medicine Mound "was [[rural]] America, and it was complete. We had everything we needed right here. . . . I want the people remembered who settled the area. . . . [This place] has meaning; they had a place in history." <ref name=tcr>Myna Potts, ''Texas Country Reporter,'' September 1, 2007:http://www.texascountryreporter.com/show.htm; Myna (Hicks) Potts, D.M.M.P.G./Medicine Mound Museum, 8450 South FM 91, Quanah, Texas 79252, 940-839-4344 or medicinemound.com</ref>​

In 2007, Potts told Bob Phillips in his ''Texas Country Reporter'' syndicated [[television]] series]] that Medicine Mound "was [[rural]] America, and it was complete. We had everything we needed right here. . . . I want the people remembered who settled the area. . . . [This place] has meaning; they had a place in history." <ref name=tcr>Myna Potts, ''Texas Country Reporter,'' September 1, 2007:http://www.texascountryreporter.com/show.htm; Myna (Hicks) Potts, D.M.M.P.G./Medicine Mound Museum, 8450 South FM 91, Quanah, Texas 79252, 940-839-4344 or medicinemound.com</ref>​

Museum hours are usually 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday but also by appointment. In many ways, Medicine Mound Museum is Potts' "personal museum," the story of her own life.<ref>"Quanah," ''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008,'' pp. 129-130.</ref> There is a highway rest stop on U.S. 287 to assist travelers desiring to detour to Medicine Mound to see the four mounds, the historical museum, and the ghost town.<ref>Angela Timmons, "Kiosks make travel touch and go," ''The Amarillo Globe-News,'' June 30, 2003:http://www.amarillo.com/stories/063003/tex_kioskshelpful.shtml</ref>​

Museum hours are usually 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday but also by appointment. In many ways, Medicine Mound Museum is Potts' "personal museum," the story of her own life.<ref>"Quanah," ''Texas State Travel Guide, 2008,'' pp. 129-130.</ref> There is a highway rest stop on U.S. 287 to assist travelers desiring to detour to Medicine Mound to see the four mounds, the historical museum, and the ghost town.<ref>Angela Timmons, "Kiosks make travel touch and go," ''The Amarillo Globe-News,'' June 30, 2003:http://www.amarillo.com/stories/063003/tex_kioskshelpful.shtml</ref>​

 

Photographer Joe Miller recommends a visit to Medicine Mound for those who like solitude: "Potts is a gracious hostess and the place is certainly worth a visit. I love places like Medicine Mound because I hate crowds -- especially when I'm trying to do photography.  I set up my heavy tripod in the middle of the street knowing that there probably wouldn't be any traffic and, if someone did come along they would most likely pull around me and wave like they do when you meet them on the highway. There's not a lot of [[road rage]] in Medicine Mound."<ref>Joe Miller Fine Art Photography, Photo Log, 2004:http://www.fineart-photography.com/photologS4.html</ref>​

Photographer Joe Miller recommends a visit to Medicine Mound for those who like solitude: "Potts is a gracious hostess and the place is certainly worth a visit. I love places like Medicine Mound because I hate crowds -- especially when I'm trying to do photography.  I set up my heavy tripod in the middle of the street knowing that there probably wouldn't be any traffic and, if someone did come along they would most likely pull around me and wave like they do when you meet them on the highway. There's not a lot of [[road rage]] in Medicine Mound."<ref>Joe Miller Fine Art Photography, Photo Log, 2004:http://www.fineart-photography.com/photologS4.html</ref>​

==References==​

==References==​

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Myna}}​

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Myna}}​