Much of what is known about Serpent Mound comes from the work of Frederic W. Putnam of Harvard University's Peabody Museum. On his first visit to Serpent Mound, he wrote that awe and admiration overwhelmed him and that he felt a demand for an interpretation of the mystery so that the unknown might become known. Between 1887 and 1889, Putnam studied the site, excavated parts of Serpent Mound, three nearby burial mounds, and a village site, and also helped preserve Serpent Mound by inspiring his colleague at the Peabody Museum, Alice Fletcher, to raise money to purchase the site for future generations.