Manataka American Indian Council
Starved
Rock
Shared
by Momfeather
History
This
area has been home to humans from as early as 8000 B.C. Hopewellian, Woodland
and Mississippian Native American cultures thrived here. The most recent and
probably the most numerous group of Native Americans to live here was the
Illiniwek, from the 1500s to the 1700s. Approximately 5,000 to 7,000 Kaskaskias,
a subtribe of the Illiniwek, had a village extending along the bank of the
Illinois River across from the current park.
In 1673, French explorers Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette passed
through here on their way up the Illinois from the Mississippi. Known as “Pere,”
the French word for “Father,” Marquette returned two years later to found
the Mission of the Immaculate Conception-Illinois’ first Christian mission-at
the Kaskaskia Indian village.
When the French claimed the region (and, indeed, the entire Mississippi Valley),
they built Fort St. Louis atop Starved Rock in the winter of 1682-83 because of
its commanding strategic position above the last rapids on the Illinois River.
Pressured from small war parties of Iroquois in the French and Indian wars, the
French abandoned the fort by the early 1700s and retreated to what is now
Peoria, where they established Fort Pimitoui. Fort St. Louis became a haven for
traders and trappers, but by 1720 all remains of the fort had disappeared.
Starved
Rock State Park derives its name from a Native American legend of injustice and
retribution. In the 1760s, Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa tribe upriver from here,
was slain by an Illiniwek while attending a tribal council in southern Illinois.
According to the legend, during one of the battles that subsequently occurred to
avenge his killing, a band of Illiniwek, under attack by a band of Potawatomi
(allies of the Ottawa), sought refuge atop a 125-foot sandstone butte. The
Ottawa and Potawatomi surrounded the bluff and held their ground until the
hapless Illiniwek died of starvation- giving rise to the name “Starved
Rock.”
The Illinois State Parks Commission was initially headquartered in Starved Rock
State Park after the park was purchased in 1911
Waterfalls,
rivers and streams can undercut a cliff, creating overhangs in the sandstone,
like Council Overhang at the east end of the park. Other sights can be seen from
the bluffs themselves, which provide vantage points for enjoying spectacular
vistas. The porous sandstone bluffs allow water to soak quickly through, only to
collect in greater quantities on the slopes below. The resulting lush vegetation
supports an abundant wildlife and bird population, including woodchucks, moles,
vireos and catbirds. Wood ducks that nest in hollow trees occasionally can be
seen paddling along the river’s edge. Evidence of beavers and muskrats can be
seen as you walk along the River Trail.
CREDITS:
Turtle Tracks, Inc. http://www.turtle-tracks.org