Native Americans In Janesville

The Rock River Valley was the home of the Native Americans before the white settlers arrived in Wisconsin. This valley begins in Dodge County near the Horicon Marsh and extends into Illinois, to the point where the Rock River flows into the Mississippi River. Native Americans roamed over this fertile valley. They built their homes in the woods on the rolling hills overlooking the Rock River. Native Americans who lived in the woods were called Woodland because everything they ate, everything they wore, and everything they used came out of the woods or the streams.

Several tribes of Woodland Native Americans lived in the Janesville area of the Rock River Valley. The Winnebago tribe lived on the west side of the river, and the Potawatomi tribe lived on the east side. The Sauk and Fox tribes lived in the southern part of the valley. The land there was like a big garden. The soil was rich and black, and it produced good crops of beans, corn, squash, and pumpkins. Many wild fruits that grew nearby were gathered.

The village was at the foot of some rapids in the river, and this made it easy to catch fine fish. a Native American could catch them in his hands as they tumbled over the rocks in the river.

The children in Blackhawk's tribe never had to go to bed hungry, nor were their old people ever in want. Here the Sauk had been happy for over a hundred years, and here were the graves of their ancestors.

Unlike most Native American tribes, the Sauk did not move from place to place. They were pleased with the spot they had chosen for their home. They did leave the village for short hunting periods, or to gather maple sap. Sometimes they would go to the shores of Lake Michigan to fish for sturgeon. The sturgeon would furnish them with good flue. They fastened the feathers to their arrow shafts with this glue.

The Sauk tribe lived in wigwams that were round and domeshaped. The wigwams were begun with a few poles that were really growing trees. They could withstand windstorms and seldom blew down. Overlapping sheets of bark covered these frames.

The Native American's winter clothing was made out of deerskin. Each tribe of Native Americans had a little different fashion in moccasins. Any Native American meeting another could look at his feet and tell if he belonged to his tribe. Blackhawk's moccasins had side flaps that were so long they nearly reached the ground.

The Sauk thought it best to cut their hair close to their heads, but they always left small pieces of hair on top. This was called a scalp lock. This scalp lock was a place for sticking a few feathers for ornaments.

Native Americans made trails through the Janesville area. They crossed the Rock River at shallow spots. They often crossed near the Monterey Rock. Indian Ford, north of Janesville was also a favorite crossing spot. They especially like to hunt and fish near Lake Koshkonong. Arrowheads, pottery, and other relics have been found in this area.

Blackhawk

Biography of Black Hawk

The man known to whites as Black Hawk was born Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak (Black Sparrow Hawk) in the year 1767. Like most of the boys in his tribe, he learned to hunt and fish at an early age.
By the age of fifteen, Black Hawk had become a "brave." To become a "brave" he needed to kill or injure an enemy in battle. It was in later fighting with the Osage Indians that he earned the title of war chief. By the age of forty-five, he had killed thirty of this enemy's warriors.

Black Hawk was strong and independent minded. As a young man, he recognized the dangers of alcohol and decided never to drink the "fire water." He went against another Sauk custom of marrying more than one woman. Black Hawk married young and remained loyal to his wife, Asshewaqua (Singing Bird) throughout his life. Most successful warriors married several women.
In religion and war Black Hawk was a traditional Sauk. He rejected Christianity and continued to practice their ancient religion. Fighting was very important to the Sauk, and the warriors were ever-ready for battle. They relied on the Great Spirit to give them direction in war.
By the end of the 1700s, the Sauk were coming into contact with more and more white settlers and traders. The Sauk decided that for their own protection they would sign the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. It promised that the Sauk would be received with friendship and given protection by the United States.

In 1804, after a fight between whites and Sauk ended in the deaths of three settlers, some Sauk leaders agreed to travel to St. Louis and arrange a permanent peace. The Sauk leaders were given alcohol and asked to sign a treaty. The treaty gave the government fifteen million acres of Sauk land in Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri for the sum of $2,274.50.
Black Hawk and other Sauk chiefs argued that the treaty was not valid because most of the Sauk Nation was not told of the treaty, and those who signed did not represent them. The government insisted the treaty was binding.

Tensions grew between the two sides until, in 1808, the Americans built a fort in the disputed territory. Black Hawk lead a war party to destroy the fort and massacre the troops but withdrew when confronted with loaded cannons.
Three years later the war of 1812 erupted between Great Britain and the United States. Black Hawk who had remained friendly to the English decided to fight on their side. Another broken promise by America strengthened his decision. The Americans said they would furnish the Sauk with supplies to help them survive. No supplies were ever sent by the government.
Saying " I have fought the Big Knives and will continue to fight them till they are off our lands," Black Hawk went on attacking the Americans even after the war with Britain was over. Finally a treaty was signed to bring about a temporary peace.

By 1821 lead mining brought floods of white settlers to northwestern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin. By 1828 the Sauk and the Fox tribes were forced from their lands and driven across the Mississippi River. In the spring after a snub by President Andrew Jackson, Black Hawk decided to return across the river and reclaim his land.

In 1832 Black Hawk was invited to live in a village of Winnebago Indians led by his good friend White Cloud. Crossing the Mississippi with 400 braves and their families, Black Hawk caused mass hysteria. Although Black Hawk and his braves bothered no one, Governor John Reynolds called out the Militia. Among the 1600 men who volunteered to fight was a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.

The Winnebagos and other tribes in the area, fearing the militia, refused to let Black Hawk stay. Reluctantly, he decided to swallow his pride and return to Iowa.
Meanwhile, the militia was approaching. Black Hawk sent five warriors to tell the militia that his people wanted to peacefully retreat across the Mississippi. All of the warriors were immediately taken prisoner. Black Hawk sent more warriors to see what happened. They were attacked and two warriors were killed. The militia set out after the rest of Black Hawk's people. They were ambushed by Black Hawk and forty of his braves. Eleven of the militia and three of the warriors were killed before the militia broke and ran.

The war had begun. Winnebago and Potawatomi warriors joined Black Hawk and the raided villages and farms through northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. At Ottawa, Illinois, they shot, tomahawked and mutilated the bodies of fifteen settlers and kidnapped two teen aged girls. ( The girls were later released ). These attacks created widespread panic among the white settlers and thousands fled the area.

Black Hawk was still trying to get across the Mississippi. He decided to travel through the Wisconsin wilderness. To cover his retreat he sent out war parties to attack white settlements hoping to delay the pursuing soldiers. As Blackhawk fled the Rock River Valley, he followed the Rock River and arrived at a spot near the Big Rock. Here he forded the river and made his way to the woods that we now know as Palmer Park. Here they camped and rested. The soldiers continued to pursue Blackhawk. (inserted into original article).

On July 21, 1832, the troops finally caught up with Black Hawk's rear guard near present-day Sauk City, Wisconsin. The ensuing battle ( The Battle of Wisconsin Heights ) cost the lives of five warriors and one soldier. The soldiers leery of an ambush let the Sauk slip away an escape.
Black Hawks only hope lay in out running the soldiers and he raced to the Mississippi. When he arrived at the river he found his way blocked by an American steamship loaded with troops and artillery. Black Hawk tried to surrender and sent two warriors under a white flag to the ship. The ship's captain did not understand the request and opened fire on the Sauk. Black Hawk and his followers were trapped.

The next day, August 2, 1832, the soldiers caught up with the Sauk. In what became known as the Bad Axe Massacre, the soldiers killed dozens of the Sauk including women, children and the elderly. Those who made it across the Mississippi were killed by the Sioux, who had joined the Americans. Of the 500 Sauk with Black Hawk, only about 150 survived. The Black Hawk war, now virtually over, had cost the lives of 72 whites and between 450 and 600 Native Americans.
Black Hawk was one of the survivors. He was eventually forced to surrender with his friend, White Cloud, of the Winnebago's. The were sent to the east and were paraded through the eastern cities like captured animals. The public , however, greeted him, "as a brave, romantic symbol of the wild frontier and treated him like a hero.

Black Hawk later was returned to Iowa. In the last few months of his life he found himself the object of admiration among Iowa settlers. He was often invited to the territorial capital to attend sessions of the legislature. His last public appearance was July 4, 1837.

Black Hawk died in his lodge on October 3, 1837. His wife Singing Bird survived him. In his last public appearance he said: " A few summers ago, I was fighting against you. I did wrong, perhaps, but that is past. It is buried. Let it be forgotten. Rock river was beautiful country. I loved my towns, my cornfields, and the home of my people. It is yours now. Keep it as we did."
Written by - Chuck Pitcel Cpitcel@madison.k12.wi.us

Blackhawk's grave was robbed and his body was stolen. It was later recovered, but instead of being respectfully re-buried, the body was shipped to Burlington, Iowa, where it was kept in a museum. In 1855, the museum burn, and the body was destroyed. At last Ma-ca-tai-me-she-kia-kiak was out of reach of those who would exploit and abuse him.

This marker is located on the walking path near the putting green at Blackhawk Golf Course.

How many other places around Janesville can you think of that honor Chief Blackhawk?

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/blackhawk.html

http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/blackhawk/

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-black-hawk-war-a28568

http://www.google.com/search?q=chief+blackhawk&hl=en&prmd=ivns&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=37leTZCoL8P38AbVqsyVDA&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=20&ved=0CGkQ5wIwEw

http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/famous/black_hawk.htm

Frances E. Willard

Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard was born in Churchville, New York, on September 28, 1839. When she was just two years old, her parents moved to Oberlin, Ohio. France had an older brother named Oliver and a younger sister named Mary.





Mr. Willard became ill while they lived in Ohio, and the doctors suggested that outdoor life would help him to recover. The family moved to a farm near Janesville, Wisconsin when Frances was seven years old.

Mr. Willard was a great scholar. When the family moved to Wisconsin, he brought all of his books with him. Oliver grew tired of loading and reloading books when the wagons became stuck in the mud holes. His father always replied that they could do without almost anything but books.




Mr. Willard bought nearly 1000 acres of land along the banks of the Rock River. A house was built among three large oak trees and was called Forest Home by Frances. Mr. Willard later gave some land on which the first school was built. This was also the first real school that Frances and Mary attended. Before that the children had lessons in their home. Mrs. Willard taught them. When the school was built, Miss Burdick was hired to teach the Willard children. The original school is now located on the Rock County 4-H Fairgrounds.








Frances Willard became the founder of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, (WCTU.) She became famous for her efforts to improve family living. Frances Willard died on February 17, 1898. A book written by Clara Ingram Judson called Pioneer Girl tells of the early years of Frances Willard.



She is the first woman to be represented by a statue in Statuary Hall in the U. S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The statue was donated by the state of Illnois.











Frances E. Willard National Statuary Hall Collection, Washington, D.C.

Corn Exchange

This triangular piece of land in the heart of Janesville was a busy spot in the early days. Wooden hitching posts with iron rings were found around the outside of this area. Here the farmers tied their horses and wagons waiting for buyers to come and buy their produce. They sold cordwood, hay, grain, freshly sheared wool, potatoes and more.

There was a pump located in the center of this area, with a community tin cup hanging on it. Large scales could be found bordering the area. Draymen, (a drayman was of a dray, a low, flat-bed wagon without sides, pulled generally by horses or mules that were used for transport of all kinds of goods,) were shouting across the street to tell customers that they would dray their purchases to their homes for ten or fifteen center. In the 1850's and 1850-s came "drovers". They brought cattle and horses from Illinois and Ohio to this spot where they found a profitable market among the early settlers.

This downtown Janesville area has gone through several changes over the years. It is located where Milwaukee and Franklin Streets cross.

This is the Doughboy

Monument, located

at the Corn

Exchange

William Morrison Tallman

William Morrison Tallman is famous in Janesville as the original owner of the house that is now known as the Lincoln-Tallman House on North Jackson Street.

Mr. Tallman was a lawyer and a land speculator who bought and sold land to make money. He was also an abolitionist during the Civil War. An abolitionist believed in freeing the slaves.

The construction of the Tallman House was begun in 1855 and completed in 1857. It is four stories tall, including the cupola (observation tower) at the top. It was the largest house built in Janesville before the Civil War and has twenty rooms. The house cost about forty-two thousand dollars to build. In 1971, that cost would have equaled about five hundred thousand dollars.

The house is described as an Italian villa. It has ornate decorations, marble fireplaces, and an oval opening in the front hall ceiling. The heating and water systems were considered very modern for those days.

Because Mr. Tallman was an abolitionist, many people believed for years that the Tallman House was a part of the Underground Railroad that hid escaping slaves who were traveling north to freedom. There is no proof at this time that the Tallmans were involved in the Underground Railroad in Janesville, and no mention is made of this when you visit the house today.

While Abraham Lincoln was campaigning to become the U.S. President, he stayed at the Tallman House with the Tallman family. This happened on October 1-2, 1859.

William Morrison Tallman died in 1878. His older son William Henry Tallman was in the perfume business and lived on Academy street. His young son, Edgar and his family continued to live in the house until 1951. No one lived in the house after that. George Tallman, a grandson of William Morrison Tallman donated the house to the city of Janesville in 1950. It was restored and opened as a museum in 1951. In 1995 a major restoration project was completed in an effort to make the house appear as it did when it was first built.

Carrie Jacobs Bond Janesville's Famous Composer

Carrie Jacobs Bond was born in Janesville on August 11, 1862, in a brick house that was located on the present corner of West Court Street and North Oakhill Avenue. A marker telling of her birth has been placed in Bond Park behind Sunnyside Shopping Center. At the time Carrie was born, the house belonging to her grandfather was in the country on a fifteen-acre farm. When the house was torn down in 1944, many people in Janesville asked for one of the bricks for a souvenir. Some school children helped to scratch the name "Bond" on the bricks. Some of these bricks were kept in third grade classrooms in Janesville.

Carrie loved music and learned to play the piano. Both of her parents were musicians. By the time she was six years old, Carrie could play by ear anything that she had heard only one time. She was invited to play the piano at the Myers' Theatre when she was only eight years old. When she was ten, Carrie began taking piano lessons from local music teachers. She became an accomplished musician.

During Carrie's first marriage she began writing songs. Her first marriage was unhappy and ended in divorce. She later married Dr. Frank Bond and they moved to Iron River, Michigan. He died seven years later. Carrie and her son returned to Janesville. Upon her return she wrote the song "I Love You Truly," which became a favorite wedding song. Click on this link to hear Jim Cullum Jazz Band playing. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6776881513701707347

Since she and her son were so poor, Carrie decided to move to Chicago in order to make money. She continued to write, and finally a professional singer became interested in her songs. In a short time these songs had sold a million copies each, and famous people began singing these compositions.

For more information about Carrie, click on this link. http://parlorsongs.com/bios/cjbond/cjbond.php

There is a marker on the northeast corner of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Streets identifying the location where her house once stood.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112348069

A Robin and the Giant Notables feature of Carrie Jacobs Bond:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CM8yKoiG7c

A song that we can sing with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4H7tSIn8mk

Burr Robbins Circus Wintered in Janesville

Janesville was the winter home of the Burr Robbins Circus. The circus wintered here from about 1870-1888. Mr. Robbins kept his circus in the Springbrook area. This area is near what is currently Dawson Field. He liked Janesville for his winter home because there was plenty of water for the animals and workers. Janesville also had good railroads. The tracks ran right by the fairgrounds so the circus could load and unload easily. The people of Janesville were treated to a circus parade about May 1st each year. It was a beautiful parade since all of the cages and wagons had new coats of paint. Many of the wagons had circus pictures painted on their sides. Mr. Robbins had many kinds of animals in his circus including elephants, sea lions, lions, tigers, giraffes, camels, and exotic birds. After the parade, the people of Janesville could buy tickets and go inside a tent to watch the circus people and animals do their acts. Children paid fifteen center and adults paid twenty-tive centers for their tickets. After the people of Janesville had viewed the circus, Mr. Robbins took it on the road. When winter came the circus returned to Janesville.