History of Starved Rock

Mark Walczynski

Description

The History of Starved Rock provides a wonderful overview of the famous site in Utica, Illinois, from when European explorers first viewed the bluff in 1673 through to 1911, when Starved Rock became the centerpiece of Illinois' second state park. Mark Walczynski pulls together stories and insights from the language, geology, geography, anthropology, archaeology, biology, and agriculture of the park to provide readers with an understanding of both the human and natural history of Starved Rock, and to put it into context with the larger history of the American Midwest.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Indigenous peoples
• History of the Americas
• Illinois

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501748264
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 7 Mo

Extrait

The History of Starved Rock

The History of Starved Rock

Mark Walczynski

Northern Illinois University Press an imprint of Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2020 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Walczynski, Mark, author. Title: The history of Starved Rock/Mark Walczynski. Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019026063 (print) | LCCN 2019026064 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501748240 (paperback) | ISBN 9781501748264 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501748257 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Illinois Indians—Illinois—Starved Rock State Park—History. | Kaskaskia Indians—History. | Indians of North America—Illinois—Illinois River Valley—History. | Starved Rock State Park (Ill.)—History. | Illinois River Valley (Ill.)—History. Classification: LCC F547.L3 W35 2020 (print) | LCC F547.L3 (ebook) | DDC 977.3/5—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026063 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019026064

Cover image: From a postcard by W. E. Crosiar, Utica Illinois. Crosiar was awarded the contract for concessions at the park in April 1912 and promoted to general manager of the hotel and park in 1918.

Introduction

Contents

Part I. Starved Rock in the Seventeenth Century

 1. 1673–1679: The Black Robe Arrives at Kaskaskia (Kaaskaaskinki waahpiiwa mahkateehkoreya)

 2. 1680–1682: Everything Is Difficult (Čeeki kiikoo aarimatwi)

 3. 1683: The French Build a Fort (maamistikoošiwa wešihtooka niimihki)

 4. 1684: The Iroquois Lay Siege to the Fort (Niimihki wiiyostamwa pahsiikania)

 5. 1685–1691: Trade and the Beaver (Ataweeyoni ci amehkwa)

1

9

21

40

51

58

vi Contents

Part II. Starved Rock into the Eighteenth Century

 6. 1692–1712: The Rock Is Abandoned (Neekarentaaašipehkwa)

 7. 1712–1730: Starved Rock and the Fox Wars (Mihšikatwi Aašipehkonki—Mahkwaskimina)

 8. 1730–1776: We Leave, Never to Return (Nimecimehkaamina)

Part III. Starved Rock into the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

 9. 1777–1840: The Big Knives Will Be in Control (Tipeerinkiiwakikatamihšimaarhsaki)

10. 1841–1885: Wait! Its Heart Is Still Beating (Eeskwa perakiiwi ateehi)

11. 1886–1911: It Will Always Be Sitting Here, Beautiful (Peehkisita moonšaki apiwa kata)

Concluding Thoughts

Timeline of Starved Rock: 1673–1911

Notes

Bibliography

Index

89

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128

145

163

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186

191

207

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235

The History of Starved Rock

I NTRODUCTION

Throughout its long history, Starved Rock has been known by many names. Lost to time, today we can only know some of these, and only those that come to us from the relatively recent past since the last quar ter of the seventeenth century. Names such as “Le Rocher” (the Rock) and “Rockfort” have been used to describe Starved Rock’s formidabil ity. During the last one hundred fifty years, titles such as “the Gibraltar of the West” boasted of the site as a place of strategic defense, ironically during times of general peace and prosperity that earlier occupants of the Starved Rock area never enjoyed. Despite the colorful characterizations that these names conjure up, very little is known about the history of the famous rock. While archaeologists, historians, and students of the French period in the upper Illinois Valley are familiar with the names of Marquette, Jolliet, La Salle, Tonti, and Charlevoix, it has been my experience that few know much about the wonderful eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentiethcentury history of Starved Rock. When surveying people with