“Black Hawk” by David Richards 1891

The eighteen-ton granite statue of the warrior Black Hawk stands in front of the Watch Tower Lodge at the Black Hawk State Historic Site. This was the site of the Sauk village, Saukenuk, which was the largest native American village in the present United States.

In 1780, this village was the site of the westernmost battle of the Revolutionary War. In 1832, in attempting to reclaim this land, war was declared on Black Hawk and about 1000 of his followers. Most of his followers, including women and children, were killed and Black Hawk was captured. This was the only U.S. war named after a single individual.

In 1891, a Chicago sculptor, David Richards, carved the sculpture - free-hand and without any measurements. Throughout his career, he carved many statues of American Indians. These were the first stone and bronze sculptures shown in Chicago. Richards was born in 1829 and died in 1897.

The "Black Hawk" statue stood in Spencer Square in Rock Island for 62 years before it was moved to its present site in 1954. The image of Black Hawk in the 1993 mural by Richard Haas is based on this sculpture.

link to drawing by Bruce Walters.