The Black Hawk Statue

The Black Hawk Statue. . , The towering concrete statue known as "Black Hawk" is Lowden State Park's most famous landmark. The sculpture, a marvel of period engineering and technology, was created between 1908 and 1910 by sculptor Lorado Taft and artist and engineer John G. Prasuhn., An Ambitious Plan , The giant statue began very small. In 1908, Lorado Taft sculpted an eight-inch model of the Indian figure. Taft's assistant, John G. Prasuhn, made larger copies, including a six-foot copy that was used as the template for the full-scale sculpture.,

Statistics , Height: 48' 4" , Concrete amount: 238 yards (enough to make a concrete slab nearly 100' X 200') , Concrete thickness: 8" to 3' , Granite chips: 2 tons

, Construction on the concrete statue began in the fall of 1910. Workers began by building a full-height wooden tower at the center of the future statue. Around the tower, on a scaffold, they created a wood, wire netting, burlap and plaster mold., Once the mold was complete, workers created an I-beam and steel bar system to brace the outside of the mold, and added a steel tower and reinforcing rods on the inside. The mold was ready for pouring., A Colossal Pour , The pour began in November, but cold weather froze the first concrete and it had to be broken out. For the next attempt, the crew insulated the entire mold with muslin and burlap, and heated it with steam piping. They began pouring again on December 20, at two degrees below zero., Two crews of fourteen men worked around the clock to pour for ten straight days. After all the concrete was in place, the mold was kept heated for three days. Then the team went home for the winter and waited for the concrete to cure., A Statue Revealed , In early spring, Taft, Prasuhn, and sponsor Wallace Heckman pulled away the burlap, plaster, and netting mold from the head and shoulders to check the set of the concrete. They were pleased by the results. Over the next two weeks, workers broke away the rest of the mold, revealing the statue we see today., The Story of the Name At the July 1911 dedication, Taft said that his sculpture was modeled not after any one person or group but was inspired by the spirit of all Native American people. However, the name "Black Hawk" was printed on the cover of the dedication program, and the statue has been known by this name ever since. The historical Black Hawk was a Sauk war leader of the late 1700s and early 1800s.