Franklin County, Indiana Native American Earthworks The Glidewell Mound is one of the surviving Native American earthworks in our region. Adena people built this oval-shaped mound on a promontory overlooking the Whitewater Valley about 2100 years ago. Later cultures also used it. Excavations beginning in the late nineteenth century found several Hopewell burials and copper grave goods. The earthwork is located about mid-way around the two-mile “short loop” Glidewell Trail in the Mounds State Recreation Area. The trail winds through mature second-growth upland forest with views of the lake. Protected by the Indiana Department of Natural ResourcesThe mound, named for an early landowner, is a preserved feature in the Brookville Lake–Whitewater Memorial State Park Complex. The federal government purchased the area for flood control, wildlife, and recreation. Brookville Lake filled after construction of a dam in 1974, and IDNR now manages the area surrounding it. You can support IDNR by volunteering or contributing to the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. | How to Find Glidewell MoundThe trailhead is next to a gravel parking lot near the end of Mounds Beach Road off State Route 101. For location details, click here. |