Mounds of History

Indiana’s Mounds State Park happened to be in the right place at the right time for a 2-night stay as we traveled east. We’ve continued to be pleasantly surprised with our somewhat random park choices. While many have been fairly rustic, this park was beautifully manicured with miles of hiking trails, but the 10 ancient “mounds” draw visitors to the area’s history lesson.

The mounds are thought to have been constructed about 160 B.C. by the prehistoric indigenous people of the Adena culture and used centuries later by the Hopewell culture. The outer embankment of the largest of the circular mounds known as the Great Mound (pictured above) measures 9 feet high and 60 feet across. Inside is a 10.5 foot ditch surrounding a central platform. The mounds were used as a gathering place for ceremonial purposes, and possibly to observe celestial bodies, much like Stonehenge in England.
Certainly not my best photos, but if you’re ever in the area, the park is worth a stop.

An interesting side note; Indiana has 14 State Parks, including this one, that were in the path of totality of the 2024 solar eclipse. The Mounds State Park saw 3 minutes and 45 seconds of totality.

Don’t forget to grab your trail map and take advantage of the park’s six miles of hiking paths. We got a pretty good walk in, covering the park perimeter and some of the interior trails.