The idea began brewing in Hugh Highsmith’s mind in the mid-1980s – the idea to work with the Community Foundation and the Fort Atkinson Historical Society to somehow preserve the Indian mounds on Charles McIntyre’s property which adjoined the Koshkonong Mounds Country Club. An Indian Effigy Mounds Park Fund was opened at the Foundation in 1987 to collect donations and talks got underway about possibly purchasing some or all of the property containing the mounds. During the process, Mr. Highsmith also got a commitment from the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors that they would be interested in making it a county park.
By the early 1990s, over $18,000 had been raised in the fund and that money was granted to the Historical Society for the purpose of purchasing the land. Mr. Highsmith stepped in with the remainder and made the purchase that secured a select group of mounds. Then he and the Historical Society gave the site to Jefferson County to become the Jefferson County Indian Mounds and Trail Park. Teamwork makes the dream work!
The park’s group of eleven mounds contains animal, bird and conical mounds, as well as a section of an old Indian Trail. To learn more about the park, including directions to get there, visit https://www.jeffersoncountywi.gov/Parks and visit the Hoard Historical Museum's ‘Mystery of the Mounds’ exhibit to learn more about their history!
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