Black Hawk Statue at Lowden State Park

The Eternal Indian Statue, commonly known as Black Hawk, was created by sculptor Lorado Taft in 1911 and is located in Lowden State Park, where it stands 48 ft tall overlooking the Rock River.

Taft created the 48 foot tall figure, which weighs 536,770 pounds, with the help of John Prasuhn, a German sculptor who had experience working with concrete, the medium Taft proposed to use. It is said to be the second largest concrete monolithic statue in the world. On December 20th, 1910, workmen began pouring the concrete. Pouring continued night and day for 10 days with up to 28 men working on the project. It was then left until spring to set. The body of the statue is hollow but the head contains the ends of 24 steel rods and is cast in solid concrete Although the statue is called Black Hawk, it does not represent any one man. It is a tribute to all Native Americans, especially those who lived along the Rock River. Illinois 250