In 1888, the Quincy Boulevard & Park Association was created to determine the location of parks and to develop beautiful boulevards. As early as 1894, E.J. Parker, the Association's president, began discussions with the city to acquire land where Indian Mounds Park is located today. Some citizens had serious interest in the bluff property for possible residential or industrial use, and the city was reluctant to commit funds. Following resolutions by the Quincy Historical Society, Women's Council, Typographical Union, Journal of Industry, Committee to Express the Disappointment of Women, and a petition signed by several hundred citizens calling for the "preservation of the Indian Mounds," the city council finally voted to purchase 10 acres in 1897 for $3,200. More land was acquired over the next nine years, and today the park encompasses 37 acres. The first pool, "the Plunge," was constructed in 1924 on a plateau that appeared not to disturb the burial mounds. A second pool was built in 1965 and a third in 2003. In 1934, archaeologists created this map of Indian Mounds Park. They discovered 10 mounds (A14 through A23) and a peculiar "u"-shaped ridge on this stretch of river bluff. Excavation of two mounds (A22 and A23) in the 1960s led to the discovery that the mounds were built about AD 900. The "u"-shaped ridge remains a mystery. It may have been an enclosure where Native Americans conducted funeral rituals. Sacred Heights was suggested as a name for the park. E.J. Parker chose Indian Mounds Park.
