1400 South 5th Street
Quincy, Illinois
217-223-7703
Sculpture of a Native American girl
Interpretive signage can be found throughout the park
Archaeologists estimate that there was once were more than 10,000 Native American burial mounds in Illinois. Native Americans from the Woodland Period (1,000 B.C. - 1,000 A.D.) often marked locations of graves by covering them with a mound of earth. These mounds were commonly located on the crest of a bluff overlooking a valley. Today probably fewer than 500 remain, and most are damaged because of illicit excavation. Thanks in part to the citizens of Quincy, Indian Mounds Park is one of the few public places in the state where visitors can reflect on the sacred Native American tradition of burials. Eight, and perhaps more, burial mounds are preserved here.
In 1894, E. J. Park, president of the Quincy Boulevard and Park Association, encouraged the city council to purchase the rugged bluff land comprising the west portion of what is now Indian Mounds Park. Following a petition drive calling for the preservation of the Indian Mounds, the city council purchased 10 acres in 1897. Purchases of land continued until I906 until the park encompassed its present day 37 acres. Renowned landscape architect O.C. Simonds of Chicago designed and managed construction of the park.
0ver the years, many people drowned while swimming in the Mississippi River, fostering discussions about the need for a community pool. In 1924 the city opened the first Indian Mounds Pool, called the Plunge. In I965, a new Olympic-size pool was constructed in the footprint of the old pool. After 30 years of use this pool developed maintenance problems and the Quincy Park Board voted in 2002 to build a third pool. The third Indian Mounds Pool opened in 2003. The pool is heated and features waterslides, rain drop and floor geysers, diving boards, a food court, a sand volleyball court, and a beach-like slope helpful to small swimmers, seniors, and those with disabilities.
The replacement of an existing swimming pool prompted the citizens of Quincy to again draw attention to the Native American heritage of the park. Today visitors can take a self-guided tour through the park and respectfully view the eight remaining mounds. The tour includes eight wayside exhibits that introduce the history of the people who built the mounds. Nearby are a modern sculpture of a Native American girl, a stained glass window titled “Sunset in Indian Mounds Park” above the door of the bathhouse, and a border of blocks that portray stenciled designs of artifacts found in the area.
Visiting Indian Mounds Park
Visiting Hours
Open daily Sunrise - Sunset
The swimming pool is open seasonally
There is no fee to visit Indian Mounds Park. Admission is charged to use the pool.
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