Black Hawk rock officially will become a part of Burlington history.
Black Hawk Rock may be one of the most famous Burlington landmarks that still isn't registered as a national historic site.
The rock's status hasn't changed, but within the next week or so, it will finally be an official part of Burlington. The current owner, Andrew Hoth, is in the process of deeding the rock and the land surrounding it to the city.
"We thought it would be nice, since the rock has historical significance," Hoth said.
Wedged in a ravine overlooking Highway 99 north of Burlington, the rock has likely been around since glaciers covered the land. But it didn't garner fame until the Native American Sauk leader Black Hawk turned the rock into a wartime meeting place.
"It is believed that Black Hawk stood upon this rock and counseled on issues of war," said Burlington historian Russ Fry. "Much of eastern Illinois, parts of Wisconsin and Missouri, and most of Iowa were once the domain of his people. He fought a war in 1832 against the settlers to preserve his homeland. His defeat led to Iowa being opened for settlement."
When the late Steve Hoth, who died last May, bought the property the rock sits on in 1973, he inherited the rock, too. His son, Andrew Hoth, discovered his dad owned the rock while going through Steve's belongings.
Hoth hopes the rock will be turned into a tourist attraction, but for now, its location makes it difficult to access. Those who want to see it either have to park along the side of Highway 99 and go up the bluff, or make the risky journey down the bluff from the Catholic cemetery on Sixth Street. A group of local students cleaned up the area around the rock during a recent Earth Day cleanup, but even they found it hard to reach.
"Hopefully there will be a walking path and some access to it," Hoth said.
For now, that doesn't look likely. Fry has been trying to get the rock registered as a historic site for years, continually stymied by the lack of concrete evidence. Fry knows Black Hawk used the rock for meetings, but his evidence is circumstantial.
"Part of the problem is, it's very difficult to pin down any Native American site because they kept an oral tradition rather than a written tradition," Fry said. "One possibility is to get an archaeological dig there. If they found some artifacts, that would lend credence to the claim."
Much of Fry's evidence comes from Black Hawk himself. In an 1882 edition of "Black Hawk's Autobiography," supplementary materials quote Black Hawk speaking of the rock.
"It is a secluded and romantic spot in the midst of the bluffs not far from the river. And on frequent occasions when it was necessary to make war on the Sioux to redress our grievances, I have assembled to give them counsel before starting on the warpath. And here too we have often met when starting out in the fall of our winter hunt."
An account of the rock in an ancient edition of The Hawk Eye is even more specific.
"A little distance above the waterworks, farther around the turn of the bluff, it terminates as suddenly and sharply as the steeply sloping sides. It is a clear-cut opening in the hillside slightly rising 'til a distance of 75 to 100 yards from the face of the bluff, (it) terminates as suddenly and sharply as the steeply sloping sides. Well back in this grassy retreat upon a little projection of earth that elevates above the surface lies a huge granite boulder. Everything is admirably arranged for a council chamber."