The story of the Works Progress Administration excavation of Angel Mounds in 1939 is more than a tale of 250 men unearthing over 2 million artifacts during the depression. It is about prehistory Native Americans who built huge mounds using baskets of dirt. They found that the site along the Ohio River was a good place to settle, as did the modern day family of farmers named Angel. It is a story of how modern archaelogy came to Indiana led by the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana University. It is the story of Eli Lilly as mentor and father figure to Glenn Black, Indiana’s first archaeologist. It is a story best told through the eyes of ida May Black, first lady of Indiana archaelogy. Smart as a whip, a snappy dreser, and a good cook, Ida may’s work alongside her husband was important and gives a colorful viewpoint to Indiana History.

This story is part of the Sharing Hoosier History Through Stories series in collaboration with Indiana Historical Society. This story is tied to the You Are There 1939: Exploring Angel Mounds Exhibit at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center.