My City — Anderson, Indiana USA

Hidden treasures and mysterious adventures await you at the Crossroads of America

Cover for children’s book I wrote about Mounds State Park. Illustrated by Sudipta Steve Dasgupta

To a passerby my hometown of Anderson, Indiana looks like many mid-western cities, especially from the freeway. Flatland. Cornfields. Lots of retail stores and restaurants, a few less due to the pandemic.

If you take Exit 26 or Exit 34 off of Interstate 69 to Mounds State Park, you will discover one of many hidden treasures at the Crossroads of America.

Peanut Visits Mounds State Park. Entrance illustration by Sudipta Steve Dasgupta. Commissioned by the author.

Mounds State Park was once the home of prehistoric Adena-Hopewell Indians that archeologists estimate inhabited our area 1500 years ago. Some artifacts remain and are on display at the Nature Center.

Peanut Visits Mounds State Park. Native American Indians and artifacts at Mounds State Park. Illustrated by Sudipta Steve Dasgupta. Commissioned by the author.

It is believed that the Adena and Hopewell Indians lived in caves under the earthen mounds that led to a nearby river. The Indians used connecting rivers to travel and trade for furs, weapons, pottery, and other useful items.