The Black Hawk Purchase, also known as the Forty-Mile Strip or Scott's Purchase, extended along the West side of the Mississippi River from the north boundary of Missouri North to the Upper Iowa River in the northeast corner of Iowa. It was fifty miles wide at the ends, and forty in the middle, and is sometimes called the "Forty-Mile Strip".
The land, originally owned by the
Sauk,
Meskwaki (Fox), and
Ho-Chunk (Winnebago)
Native American people, was acquired by treaty following their defeat by the United States in the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...
. After being defeated the Sauk and Mesquakie were forced to relinquish another 2.5 million hectares or (6 million acres) and give up their rights to plant, hunt, or fish on the land. The purchase was made for $640,000 on September 21, 1832 and was named for the chief
Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to:
Animals
* Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856
* Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus''
* Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii''
* Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...
, who was held prisoner at the time the purchase was completed. The Black Hawk Purchase contained an area of 6 million acres (24,000 km²), and the price was equivalent to 11 cents/acre ($26 per km²).
The region is bounded on the East by the Mississippi River and includes Dubuque, Fort Madison, and present-day Davenport.
About
The treaty was made by General
Winfield Scott and the
Governor of Illinois
The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
,
John Reynolds, at what is now
Davenport, Iowa, on the west bank of the
Mississippi River. The agreement was ratified February 13, 1833, and officially went into effect on June 1, 1833, when the territory became the first section of what is now Iowa to be opened for settlement by non-Native Americans:
United States citizens, or Europeans.
Description
In "Treaty With the Sauk and Foxes, 1832", the land was described as follows:
all the lands to which the said tribes have title, or claim, (with the exception of the reservation hereinafter made,) included within the following bounds, to wit: Beginning on the
Mississippi River at a point where the
Sac and
Fox northern boundary line, as established by the second article of the
Fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien
The fourth Treaty of Prairie du Chien was negotiated between the United States and the Sac and Fox, the Mdewakanton, Wahpekute and Sisseton Sioux, Omaha, Ioway, Otoe and Missouria tribes. The treaty was signed on July 15, 1830, with William Cl ...
, July, 1830, strikes said river; thence up said boundary line to a point 50 miles
0 kmfrom the Mississippi measured on said line; thence in a right line to the nearest point on the
Cedar River, of Iowa, 40 miles
0 kmfrom the Mississippi; thence in a right line to a point in the northern boundary of the
State of Missouri, 50 miles
0 kmmeasured on said boundary from the Mississippi River; thence by the last mentioned boundary to the Mississippi River, and by the western shore of said river to the place of beginning."''
According to ''The Making of Iowa'' (1900), "The Black Hawk Purchase extended along the west side of the
Mississippi River from the north boundary of
Missouri north to the
Upper Iowa River
The Upper Iowa River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwest of the United States.
Its headwaters rise ...
. The Upper Iowa River is in the northeast corner of
Iowa, and must not be confounded with the
Iowa River
The Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the state of Iowa in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 and is ...
in the southern half of the state. This is than where the tract extended from
Missouri nearly to
Minnesota. It was 50 miles
0 kmwide at the ends, and 40 in the middle."
According to ''The History of Jefferson County, Iowa'' (1879), "This was a strip of land on the west bank of the
Mississippi River, the western boundary of which commenced at the southeast corner of the present
county of Davis; thence to a point on Cedar River, near the northeast corner of
Johnson County; thence northwest to the
neutral grounds of the
Winnebago Winnebago can refer to:
* The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin
** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state
** The Winnebago language of the ...
es; thence to the Mississippi to a point above
Prairie du Chien
Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was est ...
..." Still another history describes it as extending from the
Yellow River in the north to the
Des Moines River
The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...
in the south.
Two areas were held back as special awards; one was assigned to the chief
Keokuk and his Sauk people in thanks for their neutrality (later known as Keokuk's Reserve); the other was given to "
half-breed
Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white.
Use by governments United States
In ...
" translator
Antoine LeClaire
Antoine Le Claire (also "LeClaire"; December 15, 1797 – September 25, 1861) was a US Army interpreter, landowner in Scott County, Iowa, and Rock Island County, Illinois, businessman, philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport, Iowa.
...
. (Note: LeClaire's reserve was different from the
Half-Breed Tract
A Half-Breed Tract was a segment of land designated in the western states by the United States government in the 19th century specifically for Métis of American Indian and European or European-American ancestry, at the time commonly known as hal ...
, which was designated and set aside west of the Missouri River before the Black Hawk Purchase.)
The land of the purchase was successively governed by the legislatures of the
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...
, the
Wisconsin Territory
The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...
,
Iowa Territory and finally
Iowa.
The Black Hawk Purchase was followed by the so-called
Second Black Hawk Purchase (1837) and New Purchase (1842).
See also
*
Enos Lowe
References
External links
*[ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ia/state/history/andreas/history/399-402.txt A.T. Andreas, ''Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa'', 1875: "Indians of Iowa, Black Hawk, The Black Hawk War, The Black Hawk Purchase, Keokuk's Reserve, The Sac and Fox Agency, Indian Treaties"], scanned at Rootsweb
*[ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ia/state/history/andreas/history/402-404.txt A.T. Andreas, ''Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa'', 1875: "Territorial Relations, Pike's Expedition, Spanish Grants, The Half-Breed Tract"], scanned at Rootsweb
"Treaty with the Sauk and Foxes, 1832" Treaty authorizing the Black Hawk Purchase, Digital Library, Oklahoma State University
"Map of the Black Hawk Purchase"{{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
*
ttp://iagenweb.org/history/moi/MOIChp5.htm Not Displayed, "Making of Iowa.” How the Indians Lost Iowa, Website Accessed October 16, 2014. br>
Wesson, Sarah. "Makataimeshekiakiak: Black Hawk and His War." Black Hawk. Accessed October 16, 2014.
Sac and Fox
Former regions and territories of the United States
Pre-statehood history of Iowa
1832 in the United States
Black Hawk War
Aboriginal title in the United States