About St. Charles

• Preface
• Native American History
• Early Settlement
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Native American History

North American Prehistory

Present day prehistoric archaeologists take part in heated debates over the peopling of North America. The most widely regarded theory is that people migrated over the now non-existent land bridge between Russia and Alaska and trickled down the coast of North and South America gradually moving inward. The people are estimated to have started populating the Americas either 30,000 years ago or 12,000 years ago. The reason for the discrepancy is both the lack of evidence and the fact that an ice-free corridor existed during only these two times making it impossible to migrate during any other time.

The people from about 11,500 years ago are generally referred to as part of a culture which the Clovis spear point is named after. Archaeologists know that the Clovis Culture had complex societies with many regional sub-groups. The culture was widespread, as Clovis points are found in every one of the lower 48 states. Typically, the points are associated with a mammoth kill site.

As the climate changed in North America, the Clovis people developed into other cultures and new stone tool technologies were invented. It is a severe generalization to lump the newly developing civilizations into the category of "mound-builder" because this grossly underestimates the extent of their culture. There were actually several periods in time when the mounds were being built and many different peoples building mounds. The people responsible for building the famous mounds in North America, like the Effigy Mounds in Ohio or Cahokia around St. Louis, were Hopewellian, Woodland, and Mississipian period people. Their cultures flourished from 500 BC to 1400 ad. During this time, evidence of pottery making, farming, new weapons, complex social structures like cemeteries and marketplaces, recreational tools, and detailed craftsmanship on things such as ornaments are found in the archaeological record.

Archaeologists tend to concentrate on what the prehistoric people left behind. This, is obviously not the whole picture because things such as wooden objects, folklore, clothing, language, or artwork is not usually preserved in the ground. As a result, much of the knowledge of prehistoric cultures is based on stone tool technology or lithics, pottery making, and burial practices or mound building. This provides an insightful, but very limited view of their culture. It is important to stress that new information is discovered all the time about prehistoric people as the archaeology techniques become more advanced.

Some Woodland period mounds were found along Ferson’s Creek near Wildrose in St. Charles. They were excavated in the early 1990s. Unearthed in the mounds were skeletal remains from prehistoric people, tools, pottery, an other ornamental items. The evidence shows that the people associated with that mound were hunters and gatherers; typically the men hunt and the women gather. Distant trading routes were uncovered including evidence of mica from North Carolina, obsidian (volcanic glass that is sharper than stainless steal) from Wyoming, and pearls from the gulf coast. This implies that they had networks with other groups and people traded goods and possibly services. Many of the artifacts left from the prehistoric people in this region are on display at the Main Museum of the Heritage Center.

Historic Native Americans in the Fox River Valley

Many different groups migrated in and out of the Northern Illinois region from the time of Columbus (1492) to the white settlement of the Fox River valley (1833). Most of the groups were Algonquin-speaking people and included the Sauk, Fox, Illiniwek, Kickapoos, Miamis, Potawatomi, Menominee, and Winnebago.

The historic period starts in 1492 when Columbus landed outside of what is now Cuba. Although it is acceptable to refer to the historic indigenous people as "Indians" or "American Indians," it is more accurate to call them "Native Americans" due to their having no association with the country of India.

Life of the Native American drastically changed after 1492. Even before direct contact with the whites, European trade goods trickled through the networks and into the most remote of groups years before the emigration of white settlers. Disease was the most evident result of this transfer as millions of Native Americans were killed by deadly European strains of smallpox and influenza. By the time the French reached the Illinois country in 1725, diseases had radically changed the populations of the Native groups there forever.

St. Charles was home to the Potawatomi. The Potawatomi ("Neshnabi" as they called themselves, meaning ‘the people’) were a nation of Algonquin-speaking peoples who subsisted as hunters, farmers, traders, and negotiators. They were a migrating group which moved from northern summer to southern winter settlements. They hunted and farmed subsisting on corn, beans, squash, fish, fowl, and various forest game. Examples of housing, food, and tools are on display at the Main Museum of the Heritage Center.

Native and Settler Relations 1730-1837

Before 1700, the Potawatomi lived in the upper Great Lakes region. During the 18th century however, they were forced south from their homes by invading Iroquois war parties. The Iroquois battled for hunting rights and the Potawatomi were not numerous enough to fight back. Consequently, in order to survive, the Potawatomi migrated south to northern Illinois. By the late 1700s, the Potawatomi bands harbored the hunting and fishing rights of the northern Illinois region from the Fox River to Lake Michigan.

Although at war with the Fox nation in the early 1700s, the French had successfully installed fur trading posts from Lake Michigan to the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Trade continued throughout the 18th century between the several native groups and French. By 1790, some of the Potawatomi bands living in this region were heavily involved with the fur trade, therefore, relationships with whites had been positive.

The Potawatomi and white settlers shared aspects of their culture, benefiting from each other’s knowledge. Archaeology in the northern Illinois river valleys has shown that by the time the Potawatomi were forced to leave Illinois, many of the bands lived in cabins and used European tools. In addition, white settlers used Native knowledge about local food and plants to survive the harsh Illinois winters. Furthermore, intermarriage between both cultures caused even stronger ties with the new settlements. Most of the best negotiators during this time were the half-breed children of these marriages. In effect, both cultures had been changed in positive and negative ways by coexisting with one another.

However, after the 1830s the relations between the Potawatomi and the newly arriving Anglo-American settlers were not as fruitful. Historians have noted that the attitude toward the Native Americans held by the Anglo-Saxons (English) was vastly different than the ones held by the French and Spanish invaders. This is not to say that all relationships between French and Spanish and native groups were positive. Generally however, the Anglos believed that the native people were inferior, almost subhuman. However, the French and Spanish commonly believed in living, or at least trading, in and among the native populations, rather than drive them from their land. Thus, intermarriage and shared cultures prevailed among the French and Spanish settlements and warfare was more common in the English settlements. It was the influx of Anglo settlers from the years 1820-1835 that generated a forceful movement of the Natives from Illinois, essentially causing the Black Hawk War.

Black Hawk War

According to the United States, the leaders of the Sac and Fox groups "signed" a treaty in 1804 which deeded the land west of the Fox River to the US. Black Hawk did not acknowledge this treaty because the negotiator, General William Henry Harrison, did not consult the entire council of Sac and Fox nations. In addition, Harrison intoxicated the leaders with whiskey, making them more susceptible to any agreement. Even the leaders who did sign admitted they never thought they would be forced to leave their ancestral hunting grounds. These "whiskey treaties" are responsible for much of the land that was "deeded" to the US in the 19th century.

In 1816, a new treaty was signed by Black Hawk which agreed to sell Sac and Fox land to the US, with the understanding that the Natives would be allowed to live there as long as the government owned the land. Black Hawk had later admitted he would never have signed the treaty if he had known he was giving away his village.

The Sac and Fox nations were able to remain on their land with little conflict until 1828. That winter, white settlers moved into their main camp of Saukenuk. In spite of their perseverance, the Sac and Fox nations were not able to persuade the settlers to leave their land. The US government intervened, citing the 1816 treaty and demanded the removal of the Natives to west of the Mississippi river.

The war began in April 1832 when Black Hawk and 2,000 of the Sac and Fox (over half women and children) moved from their winter to their summer hunting ground. When they crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois to plant their spring crop, they sealed their fate. Governor Reynolds called the militia in to remove the natives and the fighting began.

The different Potawatomi bands were not in agreement about the war. Several, including Shabbona and Waubonsie aided the whites, while some sided with Black Hawk. All of the groups would eventually be removed to the west regardless of their viewpoint.

Despite some embarrassing defeats experienced by the US troops (who reportedly were drunk during most of the fighting), Black Hawk had led his people into a tragic end. In the summer of 1832, a white flag was raised by the Sac and Fox which was ignored by the US troops. In the end, out of 2,000 men, women, and children, less than 100 survived.

There is no way to shed a positive light on the events in which our country took part. The actions taken against the Native populations of America were immoral, illegal, and reprehensible. The war was considered an embarrassment to the US government and is largely forgotten outside of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. It should not be forgotten, however, because not only did the war effect the lives of the Sac and Fox, but all of the Native populations living in the region. Even the groups who sympathized with the US were not able to remain. The end of the war enabled Northern Illinois to be settled by white farmers meaning that every native group would leave the Illinois country.

The Potawatomi groups in the Fox River region did not remain long after the war was over. Waubonsie led his band west to Iowa in 1834-35, and other Potawatomi bands soon followed. Due to settler expansion, the Natives were unable to remain on the land they once lived. By 1837, all of the Potawatomi were removed from Illinois to Iowa and Missouri. Descendants of the Potawatomi still reside in eastern Kansas today.

History of St. Charles
The First 100 Years
Written by Jeanne Schultz-Angel
The Heritage Center

Several sources were compiled to provide the information in this account. More information about the history of US and Native relations and the Black Hawk War is available at the Heritage Center.

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