Indian Creek Massacre marker relocating to historic site

Last year, after 80 years along Route 23, the Indian Creek Massacre historic marker was so rusty, salt-damaged and just plain grimy that you could stand just a couple feet away and still not be able to read it.

Friday morning, after its professional restoration, William Furry, executive director of the Illinois State Historical Society, delivered the refurbished marker at its new home — La Salle County’s Shabbona Park north of Harding, the location of the massacre.

The park, which is two miles due west of where the sign had long stood, was deemed a more fitting location for it. The original sign will be reposted when another new sign explaining the massacre in more detail has been fabricated and they can be erected side by side.

The massacre of 15 white men, women and children took place on May 21, 1832.

The killings stemmed from settler William Davis' refusal to take down a dam he constructed that prevented local American Indians from being able to fish the creek.

The incident coincided with the Black Hawk War and ended up with the settlers killed and scalped and gruesomely mutilated.

The victims were buried in what now is the park and monuments were erected in 1877 and 1906.

The park itself is undergoing a refurbishment of its own, said La Salle County Board Member Steve Tuftie, R-Harding.

Tuftie said this week U.S. Silica provided six men who power-washed and painted some of the park structures. Also, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 176 installed updated electrical connections paid for with a $4,700 donation from Fairmount Santrol.

The proposal for the park’s renovation was made to the County Board in 2013 by retired Illinois State University faculty members Ruth Fennick and Lois Guyon.

They proposed to the County Board’s County Property Committee that promoting the massacre site might prove to be a tourism draw.

The proposal caught the attention of Tuftie, who grew up nearby and is steeped in the lore of the historic location.

Aiding Tuftie is the Illinois Valley Horseman’s Association — of which he is a member — which has become involved to mark its 75th anniversary year.

“We host a couple outings here and we’re just looking for an opportunity to pay something back to the county,” Tuftie said.

Furry suggested the association consider developing a small plaza with commemorative bricks.

Tuftie said the group was leaning at least to installing a concrete pad and fence for the markers, although a more ambitious project was possible.

“We’re just throwing out ideas right now,” Tuftie said.

People who want to get involved with the park’s enhancement may call Tuftie at 815-792-8009.