THREE SPECIFIC MOUNDS FIGURE PROMINENTLY IN LDS HISTORY Zion’s Camp March May 5th to July 3rd, 1834
Nauvoo Mounds Now Enter Current History
“Mormonism sprang from the mounds,” wrote Roger Kennedy, former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Even before the Book of Mormon was published, Mormonism was linked to the Moundbuilder civilizations of North America. One man who claimed to have heard a reading of the lost 116 pages said “It was a description of the mounds about the country and similar to the Book of Mormon. In 1843, Joseph Smith apparently alluded to the 116 pages when he said the Book of Mormon spoke about sacred burial places. Several authors have placed the Book of Mormon among other 19th century books about the origins of the Moundbuilders. At one time, there were over a million ancient earth mounds in North America; approximately 100,000 remain today. Many of these mounds are located in the territory from western New York through western Missouri where early Mormon history took place. Three specific mounds figure prominently in LDS history: Zelph’s mound in Illinois, the Kinderhook mound, also in Illinois, from which the six brass plates were taken, and Enon mound in Ohio. Until the early Saints leveled them to build homes and farms, Indian mounds dominated Nauvoo. Joseph Smith purchased one and resorted to it from time to time. Less well known are the mounds located just north of Nauvoo that have recently been discovered and preserved. The connections between Mormonism and the mounds of North America have yet to be fully explored. …The increasing awareness of the numerous Hopewell mounds in the Nauvoo area may give renewed attention to the connection between Mormons and the mounds. When workers dug a utility trench between the Red Brick Store and the Joseph Smith Homestead, the equipment churned up Hopewell bones and artifacts. This area is adjacent to the Smith Family Cemetery, leading to the possibility that Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, his brother Hyrum and his parents are buried in a Hopewell burial site.”The Mormons and the Mounds – Jonathan Neville Mormon History Association June 2017. [Read more about Joseph’s burial mound from Jennice Curlee below]
LIVING AMONG THE MOUNDS
Jennice and Wilson Curlee Caretakers of the Sacred Nauvoo Mounds
“The days that Sister Sandie was with us were filled with a variety of activities around Nauvoo, but mostly were centered on the mounds. One afternoon Wilson stayed home with the two dogs while Sandie and I went to the Community of Christ tour of the Joseph Smith home and Mansion House. While we were standing outside of the “Homestead” house next to the fence that enclosed the Smith family cemetery, the guide was saying that this was not the first time that the cemetery had been used as a burial ground; that many years before it was an Indian Burial Ground. Both of us looked at each other signaling what we had just picked up on. Later, having left the tour early, because Sandie said she had something on her mind, she told me that at the moment that the guide said that about it being an ancient burial ground, she heard a soft whisper saying “You’ve got to find us”. This certainly did add another dimension to our searching for answers. Either that afternoon or the next day I took her over to Susan’s house for introductions. As soon as Susan saw Sandie she said she had the vibrations that Sandie was “a Grandmother”, meaning in the Native American sense, as Susan also is one. They felt like kindred spirits. We talked about numerous things, as well as what had just happened at the Smith family cemetery. Sandie showed her the carved rock that she found in a field in North Dakota many years ago, and which she always carries with her. It was undoubtedly an anciently carved rock. We all bonded in a special way. On Saturday the 18th we took her back to St. Louis to the airport to return to Colorado Springs. We hope she can return next summer or fall. It was on one of these afternoons that Emma, my cat was killed by a car by our house, and as hard as it was on me, Sandie, Wilson and Susan’s company helped. It is hard to explain many shared memories, I just skim over it.
On Monday morning, Sept 20, 2010, Wilson [Curlee] took a bike ride around Nauvoo, which he often does before I am even fully awake. This time he rode over to the Community of Christ visitor’s center to ask Lach [*Lachlan McKay. See profile in blue text below], the director, where this one particular guide got her information about it being a burial ground for ancient American Indians. He shared with Wilson how in the early 1970’s, when they were re-building Joseph’s Red Brick Store, while digging a trench for spot light wiring, they hit some artifacts, which resulted in calling in the archaeologists who then unearthed more artifacts and bones, all carbon dated to the Hopewell civilization of at least 2000 years ago.. He also said the 1840’s map of Nauvoo has the legend showing ancient “tumuli” [Map Below] within the city of Nauvoo at that time. When Wilson got home he shared this information with me, and you would know for a certainty that I went right over to talk to Lach myself and to buy a copy of that map!! We talked for about an hour and he brought out two binders that were given to them from the University of Missouri that detailed the dig, sketching out the artifacts. He said most of the artifacts were still with the university, but that they held a real treasure in their vault, which was a Cardinal Platform Pipe, which was dated to middle woodland, or Hopewell era (100 BC to 400AD). He said the bones were sent off to the Archaeology museum in Kampsville, which is a very small village on the Illinois River, not far from Zelph’s mound. I found out by researching it that there are major archaeology digs around that area because of the high density of ancient mounds on the Illinois River, so Kampsville is a summer training place for students and they have a nice little museum there. So the very next day Wilson and I drove to Kampsville, enjoyed the trip and the museum, but they said “no, any bones would have been sent to the Chicago or the Springfield museum”. Now, many months later, we have talked to other archaeologists who say that those bones have been re-interred in Nauvoo.
*Lachlan Mackay is a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, for the Community of Christ Church 
assigned to the Northeast USA Mission Field. He also serves as Historic Sites director and Church History and Sacred Story Ministries Team lead.
A native of Independence, Missouri, Lach received a bachelor of arts in economics and Russian arts studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is active in the John Whitmer Historical Association; the Mormon History Association; and the Nauvoo, Illinois, Chamber of Commerce.
He co-authored A Time of Transition: The Kirtland Temple, 1838–1880. He was the winner of the John Whitmer Historical Association’s Best Article award for 1999. He also has published articles in Mormon Historical Studies, The Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, The Journal of Mormon History, and Religion in Ohio: Profiles of Faith Communities.
Community of Christ has 250,000 members in more than 60 nations. The church’s mission is to “proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.” Community of Christ International Headquarters is located in Independence, Missouri.
Jennice Curlee continues, “I shared all of this information with Susan and Sandie and also Joe and Emily. In turn, Joe had filled Alan and Jane in on everything that was going on, so little by little our support network was growing. By now we had talked to Jared and James about it as well, and feel they are with us. Susan felt sure that we should call Wayne May and tell him of the new discoveries and that we had bought some of the mounds on the hill. Wayne is the Editor/Publisher of “Ancient American Magazine”. He had been here in the spring, and that is when Susan had met him, and had been up on the hill to see the mounds himself. He has been doing his own discoveries and seminars for most of his adult life. He is a convert to the church (as a young adult) and lives in Wisconsin. He was on hand to see a mound excavated when 7 years old, and was hooked. He has a gift for discerning the truth about who the Hopewell Indians were, long before he was a member. He says he has somehow always known it and it surprises him that other did not see and understand what he has naturally known. He writes books and compiles information for the rest of us to enjoy. He puts on wonderful lectures. Much of what was presented at Book of Mormon evidence conferences at that early date came from Wayne. When I called him to introduce myself, he was so down to earth and genuine that I was very comfortable talking to him. He [Wayne] took in everything I told him about the recent information we learned from Lach regarding the burial sites around the Red Brick Store, the tumuli on the old map [Pictured Below] and about us buying some mounds, with enthusiasm. He said, “I’m coming down in a couple of weeks, and we will have some fun!”
When I shared all this with Joe by phone, he got on the computer and while we were talking he pulled up a copy of the Nauvoo 1840’s Map and enlarged it to see the “tumuli” [Map Above] He also googled articles on the church and ancient mounds during the early saints time here, and had them forwarded to me in just a few minutes. Wow! Such great information. We live in such times that communication is instant! We then bought a second map for Joe, but had to wait until December to take it to him, as it is big. Wilson counted the “tumuli” on the map and then drew them on a “tourist’s map” of Nauvoo. [Map Below]
That map was made from a copy of the old map, and if looked at closely you could see the mounds drawn in the background of the copy. So he used that to draw them in and counted 20 of them, beginning at the corner of Mulholland and Partridge St., and running north to Carlos Street. They of course, are no longer there, and are covered up by the pavement and even the parking lot of the Church’s Visitor Center! Mystery! When/who took down the mounds? Again Joe did some research and sent us a page from the biography of Parley P. Pratt, which quotes him saying that upon his return from his 3 year mission in England, Nauvoo had changed dramatically, and the “hills had been leveled”. Obviously to make room in the growing city to house more of the Saints moving there.
With the beautiful Month of October upon us, on Oct 6-9th, we took a side trip on our way to Dubuque, Iowa to see Vaughn, Christine and grandkids. We drove up the Illinois side of the Mississippi to see mound sites in Albany (pretty little river town) and in East Dubuque at Gramercy Park. While visiting with V & C, we went to “Mines of Spain” park which was very interesting, and which history I had never known before. There were also mounds there, but they were a mile hike off the road, so we didn’t see them. Then when we left we drove down the Iowa side of the river and went off the main road to see the Toolesboro mound site [Map Below] and there they told about some little known about and not very accessible mounds (56) known as the Malchow mounds. They are outside a very little town just north of Burlington (30 miles from Nauvoo). It was almost dark when we got there, and they were located up a very steep trail. At the top of the bluff was tall grass with no paths, but you could see them along the ridge. We plan to go back there in the summer and spend more time. But it was a lovely and well spent trip all around.
We were able to buy more lots that adjoined our original purchase yet that fall. On October 14, we signed the papers to buy three adjoining lots, one beside and two in back of our first lot, the Homestead, but we had no immediate hope of buying more. In two days we would be learning so much more, with more to rejoice over. I think the Lord knew we needed to pause and regroup to get a new perspective, but the year had already brought us more than we ever dreamed of when we first asked.” Jennice Curlee Nauvoo Mounds Owner
Indian mounds near Nauvoo are believed to be battle burial sites
From 8,000 BC to 500 BC, archaic period peoples inhabited deciduous forests in small groups, hunted deer and small game, wove baskets, and ground seeds with stones. More recently, from 500 BC to 900 AD, she writes that woodland culture “Indians” developed maize agriculture, built villages and burial mounds, invented the bow and arrow for hunting, and began making pottery.
Some things these woodland culture people left behind are the Hopewell Burial Mounds. These mounds are part of the Hopewell culture which flourished from around 550BC to 400AD.
These mounds were first discovered in Ohio during the early 1800s on land owned by a Mr. Hopewell. The mounds that he found were the first to be excavated publicly by “archeologists” who documented their findings.
Early settlers in our country found mounds all over the East and Midwest, and often took them down for farming purposes.
Today mounds are found between the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Missouri River.
These mounds were built by the Woodland Culture people, who were part of the ancestors of today’s Native Americans.
Just like the ancient pyramids of Egypt or Peru, Hopewell mounds are in existence and visible along the Mississippi River just north of Nauvoo.
In 2005 Wilson and Jenny Curlee came to Nauvoo to purchase property so they could spend their retirement years in Nauvoo. They discovered Hopewell mounds near their property on Sycamore Haven Road.
Jenny Curlee was awed and told her husband Wilson, “I gotta take care of these!”
During the next few years, the Curlees purchased the adjoining property that contained some of the mounds. Since purchasing the land, the Curlees have worked hard to clear out brush and dead trees.
A local Boy Scout chose to help with the effort as his Eagle Scout Project. Many people, as well as representatives of the Standing Bear Council, came to assist.
A state archaeologist came to Nauvoo, identified the mounds as Hopewell Indian burial sites and placed protective archaeological signs around them.
According to Jenny Curlee the State of Illinois had certified the largest mounds back in the 1970s, but since they were on private property they did not have any other contact through the years, and they were not kept up or taken care of until the Curlees purchased the land and called the State ourselves to come and oversee how they were protecting them.
The State of Illinois then gave the Curlees official signs/markers to place throughout the area. They also helped them to apply for “cemetery status” so that the mounds would be further protected and exempt from real estate taxes.
The mounds are like “grave stone markers” that we use today. Hopewell people build mounds over their dead. It was a sacred place for them.
The Curlees continue to treat the mounds that way and hope to preserve this site for the future. Visitors are welcome to walk through the land and see the mounds located about 2 miles north of Nauvoo on Sycamore Haven Drive. Source:
Why Do Nauvoo’s Historic Burial Mounds Matter?
Meridian Magazine By Rosemary G. Palmer · June 9, 2013
On Memorial Day, which we recently observed, we honor those who died while serving in the U.S. military, and we often remember our own family members by visiting cemeteries and placing flowers on their graves. “The place where a man is buried is sacred to me,” the Prophet Joseph Smith said. Each cemetery forms a chapter in the history of our human past. What about burial sites from many years ago which have no visible markers and are hidden from view?
Centuries ago, the Hopewell culture flourished in central and eastern North America. Hopewell people lived and farmed along the Mississippi River, and many chose bluffs along the river to build earthen mounds to bury their dead. A group of these mounds is located along the Mississippi River north of Nauvoo. Some 40 years ago, many of the mounds were attacked by looters seeking artifacts. Later, the area became neglected, and brush, brambles, and dead trees concealed these burial spots.
Wilson Curlee in brush hiding a mound
Then, a few years ago Wilson and Jennice (Jenny) Curlee moved to Nauvoo and discovered the mounds. When they first walked into the area, “it was an overwhelming moment,” Jenny Curlee said. She felt they had stepped on sacred ground. “The first thing out of my mouth besides Wow’ was “I wish I could take care of them.” During the next few years, the Curlees purchased property that contained some of the mounds. “One is struck by the serenity and spirituality this place evokes,” Jenny Curlee said. “It is like being in another time and place.”
Jenny and Wilson felt compelled to preserve this chapter of the Hopewellian past by keeping the area pristine and making it a retreat for visitors who appreciate nature, tranquility, and those who lived and had been forgotten. Since purchasing the land, the Curlees have spent hours clearing out brush and dead trees. The prospect of restoring the mounds seemed overwhelming–until they met Joseph Petersen, a young man from Nauvoo looking for an Eagle Scout service project.
Joseph and the Curlees’ make plans
Eagle Project Proposal
Carrie Petersen, Joseph’s mother, said that Joseph’s journey began last fall when the former owner of the land mentioned to Joseph’s father the possibility of an Eagle Scout project. Joseph’s father suggested this to Joseph who contacted the Curlees and they agreed. “Throughout the years these sacred grounds have been pillaged and vandalized,” Joseph wrote in his project proposal. “To honor the deceased,” Joseph chose to restore several mounds to their original appearance by refilling them with dirt. He noted that the beneficiaries of this project would be Native Americans of the Standing Bear Council as well as the local and surrounding communities when the area becomes a public archaeological park.
Mound to be restored Tom Simpson Photo
Preparation for the Project
Before Joseph could submit his proposal to the Boy Scouts of America, the local Native American Council representatives needed to approve the project. A meeting was organized; and on October 26, 2012, the Curlees, several Native American Grandfathers and Grandmothers, Joseph’s family, and other guests met at the mounds site to join in a healing ceremony to restore harmony and balance to the land and mounds before Joseph began the restoration project.
Preparing for healing ceremony
During the last fall and winter, Native American men tutored Joseph and gave him instructions to complete his project. “In following these instructions, Joseph learned more about an ancient culture and was brought into a fellowship of something he had only heard about,” Jenny Curlee said.
In addition, Joseph needed to receive permission from the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Dawn Cobb, Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act Coordinator of the same agency. According to Dawn Cobb, “this Act protects from disturbance all graves, grave markers, and grave artifacts that are over 100 years old and not located in a registered cemetery.” Prehistoric burial mounds are both a cemetery and a grave marker, and the mounds on the Curlee’s property met the criteria.
The Day of the Project
At 10:00 a.m. on Easter weekend March 30, 2013, approximately 33 people met on the bluff near the mounds to assist Joseph Petersen with his Eagle project. Carrie Petersen “was in awe to see everyone who came and gave up their holiday Saturday morning to help.”
Tom Simpson Photography
With a cloudy sky and forecast of rain, “many prayers went up for us to accomplish the project before it rained, and that was exactly what happened,” Jenny Curlee said. “Wilson and I were the last ones off the hill when it started to rain.”
Ceremonial Protocol
Observing Native American protocol, the participants gathered in a circle for an opening ceremony and instructions before entering the project site. Susan Stanton of the Turtle Island Council and Monica Thompson of the Hummingbird Council drummed and led the group in the Cherokee morning song, a lyrical prayer which greets the new day with gratitude to the Creator.
Larry Cooper of the Standing Bear Council told of his personal history around Nauvoo and the many years he visited this mound group and hundreds more in the Mississippi River vicinity.
He honored Joseph and offered a prayer. Others in the circle spoke, and Joseph gave instructions. Jenny Curlee told the volunteers “not be surprised at what they might feel or learn, but be aware that they will have an experience meant just for them.”
Sage smudging before entering the site Tom Simpson Photo
Later, Carrie Petersen shared her impressions and said, “This has been no ordinary Eagle Scout project. From the beginning of the customary healing ritual after everyone was smudged with sage to cleanse came a peculiar and powerful spirit that was unexpected. We came to a revived awareness that the desire to restore and preserve Native American history and culture is similar to ours as members of the LDS Church. We feel a connection with those who once lived where we now live.”
Restoration of Two Mounds
Dawn Cobb from Springfield, Illinois, identified many mounds on the Curlee’s property “and nearly all of them were damaged decades ago when someone dug into the tops of them, most likely in search of prehistoric artifacts. Joseph Peterson’s Eagle project began the process of repairing damage to two of the mounds.”
Joseph and Scouts fill buckets Tom Simpson Photo
On the day of the project, the previous owners of the property used their heavy equipment to haul dirt to a location where volunteers could access it with wheelbarrows and buckets and carry it to the mounds. Joseph’s Native American tutors requested that the mounds be filled in by hand as they had originally been built. Joseph honored the tradition. Although he planned to repair several mounds that day, Joseph discovered how long it took to finish the first mound. Time would only permit the restoration of two mounds following these steps:
- Rake the mounds of leaves before placing ground fabric on the mounds.
- Lay the ground fabric according to state law to separate existing dirt from new dirt on the mounds.
- Fill the mounds with dirt using shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows.
- Clear the area of tools and materials.
After the opening ceremony and smudging with sage, the volunteers headed to the project site. “We had to carry our tools, rakes, shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows along the sides of the road, walking in the leaves because of the muddy ground from the recent snow melt and torn-up road,” Jenny Curlee said. “No one seemed to mind the mud or the chill as they focused on the higher reason they had come together. There was an air of excitement, of oneness of purpose and fellowship.”
Walking on muddy ground to the site Tom Simpson Photo
When the group reached the project site, volunteers first raked leaves off the mounds. Then Dawn Cobb taught them “how to install landscape fabric in the holes before backfilling them with clean fill.” She explained that “landscape fabric covers the old disturbance (the looter’s pit) as a visible separation between the mound and the new fill.”
After the fabric was in place, boys and men filled buckets with dirt and carried them up the sides of the mound to dump the dirt. “The teamwork was awe-inspiring,” Jenny Curlee said. “Dawn Cobb urged them to fill in just a little more here or a little more there.”
Putting dirt on the mound Tom Simpson Photo
At noon the volunteers took a lunch break with homemade chili, cookies, and Indian fry bread. After lunch they finished the first mound and started on the second one. When it was time to leave, the second mound still needed dirt to round the top, and the Curlees offered to finish it during the week. “No doubt all who picked up their shovels and other tools and buckets walked more slowly down the lane than when they came in,” Jenny Curlee said. “Tonight there will be aching backs and knees and probably deep sleep, but peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment.”
In Joseph’s final report he expressed gratitude that “everyone was willing to help. They were dressed properly, brought tools, and worked until the end of the project even though it was a holiday weekend.”
The Project’s Impact
What impact did this Eagle Scout project have on its participants?
Dawn Cobb from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency said, “Joseph Peterson’s Eagle project has a greater depth of meaning because a variety of groups were interested in helping him succeed. Everyone had the same goal – to repair the damage and to right a wrong. His project began the healing process that these mounds and the community needed. I hope that other Scouts look to this project as an example of a community working together towards a positive goal.”
Eagle project volunteers Tom Simpson Photo
Joseph’s mother observed that “Scouts from Troop 110 learned something by the service they gave and hopefully will continue to reverence that place.” She reported that even though Joseph is normally shy, he always has been service-oriented. “This experience will continue to shape the way he views himself and his ability to accomplish something extraordinary.”
Jenny Curlee noticed that “Joseph’s face almost radiated, and he looked and acted like a leader. He seemed to have grown up since we first met him last fall at the onset of the Eagle project.” She added, “As for us, we felt the Spirit radiate through the trees, on the mounds, in the faces of all who came and shared. Many remarked to us how they felt something they had not known they would feel. It was far more than an Eagle Scout project; it was service to each other, to those who built these original mounds, and to God.”
As stewards of the land, the Curlees plan to repair other mounds. One they recently restored is “turnaround mound.” “And for the first time we can walk right up to it, and it is clean and visible,” Jenny said. “Before, it was covered with brambles, honeysuckle, and dead trees. Also the trail by the children’s mound’ is almost cleaned out and looking good.” After a wet Nauvoo spring, visitors to the site were amazed to see beautiful ferns growing prolifically on the tops of mounds and no other place in the area.
Mound with ferns growing on it
Besides restoring mounds on their property, the Curlees hoped to preserve the burial sites in the future. Before Joseph began his Eagle Scout project, Dawn Cobb and a state archaeologist came to Nauvoo, identified mounds, and placed protected archaeological signs by some of them. The Curlees also requested cemetery designation, and a week after the Eagle project, the State of Illinois granted the property cemetery designation.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Each of us has a small field to cultivate. While so doing, we must never lose sight of the greater picture . . . Weave beautifully your small thread in the grand tapestry, the pattern for which was laid out for us by the God of Heaven.” (Ensign, Nov. 1989)
Thanks to the Curlees’ and Joseph Petersen’s small threads, Nauvoo’s diverse history is expanding for visitors to learn more about Nauvoo’s historic past. By keeping this area pristine, individuals and families can roam through the trees, appreciate nature, and contemplate the lives and history of those who built the earthen mounds and were forgotten but can be remembered again. Source:
