The original owner of the mound, David Gibson, gave the site to the city of Romney on the condition that the mound would not be disturbed. For this reason, the city has never allowed the mound to be excavated. The Smithsonian Institution suggests the Romney Indian Mound possibly dates from between 500 and 1000 CE given the ages of similar mounds it excavated in the Eastern Panhandle. The mound was likely constructed by peoples of the Hopewell culture, who resided within West Virginia between 500 BC and 1,000 CE.