Indian place name: Senachwine Creek

The Ogden-Fettie Mound is one of many large groups of Middle Woodland mounds in the Illinois River valley. It is one of a handful of Native American burial mounds that remain where once there were 35 or more arranged in a huge crescent. Standing 15 feet tall, the mound was made from earth gathering by Native American hands and transported Read more...

From the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 to 1832, the tribes had been forced westward as American settlement expanded. Between 1800 and 1809, most of Illinois had been ceded, often under duress, through treaties between the United States and the Illinois, Kickapoo, Meskwaki, Piankashaw, Potawatomi, and Sauk tribes. Tribal resistance to American settlement was growing and encouraged by the Read more...

Manito or manitou is an Algonquian word meaning unknown power. A plaque erected in town in 2003 relates the following: “The town was first known as Black Hawk Grove, but the citizens were not satisfied with that name. They searched for a stronger name and many wee suggested. One resident, inspired by Henry Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” proposed the name Read more...