Charles Mound is a gentle, 1235 feet (376.4 m) high hill in northern Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Jo Daviess County is a county located in the northwest corner of U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 22,678, which is an increase of 1.7% from 22,289 in 2000. Its county seat is Galena....

, near the small town of Scales Mound

Scales Mound, Illinois

Scales Mound is a village in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census, down from 401 at the 2000 census.-History:...

 and 11 miles (17.7 km) northeast of Galena

Galena, Illinois

Galena is the county seat of, and largest city in, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in the United States, with a population of 3,429 in 2010. The city is a popular tourist destination known for its history, historical architecture, and ski and golf resorts. Galena was the residence of Ulysses S...

. It is the highest natural point in the state; thus, it is considered a highpoint

Highpointing

Highpointing is the sport of visiting the point with the highest elevation withinsome area , for example the highest points in each county within a state...

.

Geography

Charles Mound is the highest natural point in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. (The highest point is the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower.) The top of the hill is about 0.25 miles (402.3 m) from the Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 border. It is within the Driftless Area, a region of Illinois, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, and Wisconsin, centered around Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....

, that was not covered or ground down by the last continental glaciers. The hill itself is an erosional remnant, similar to that on which the original village site of Scales Mound was located.

Settlement

Elijah Charles, one of the region's first permanent settlers, arrived in 1828 and settled at the base of the mound and the hill assumed his name.

Access

Charles Mound is located on rolling farmland. The land owners, Jean and Wayne Wuebbels, allow public access only on the respective first full weekends of the months of June, July, August, and September.