Images from a 1945 article in the Peoria Morning Star on the establishment of the new historical state park at the site include several striking photos of an excavated burial site (described as containing 230 skeletons of Mound-builders who died in a devastating epidemic), including one with of a school group at the burial site and another highlighting Dr. Don F. Dickson's method of leaving the dead in situ; a photo of the Dickson family farmstead (on which the Dickson mounds were located) before the establishment of the state park; and a photo of reconstructed pottery displayed in the museum. There is also a brochure about the site as a tourist and educational attraction with information on the history of the mounts, the Dickson Mound Museum, the work of the Dickson family (primarily Dr. Don F. Dickson, Marion H. Dickson, and Thomas M. Dickson), and the neighboring Payne Collection of artifacts. Several images of the excavated mass burial indicate that it was expected to be the main attraction to visitors, and it is called the "greatest display of stone age man in the world...230 skeletons left in original positions." Views of the burial site are also featured on the two postcards. The Dickson Mounds Museum is still a branch of the Illinois State Museum, and the Dickson Mounds are now understood to be a Mississippian cemetery complex associated with nearby village sites and a ceremonial center.
Presented by Murphy D. Smith.
