Janesville High School - Phoenix Yearbook (Janesville, WI)

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PAGE SIX Lake Koshgonong-site of Blackhawk's Island, where the women and children of the tribe were kept for safety's sake. The stone image of a great Indian ehlef guards the mouth of the Rnck River. Cf The Past. The city of Janesville is rich in Indian lore. The books from the history section of the public library tell us that Janesville was founded as a direct result of the Blackhawk VVar. Soldiers who had participated in this war went home with glowing stories of the beauty of southern Wisconsin. It was these tales that fired the pioneer spirit in the hearts of the men who left their homes to settle here. The man who was later to become renown- ed as the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lin- coln, was one of the soldiers who fought in this region. In later years, when he was visit- ing in Beloit, someone reminded lVIr. Lincoln that he had battled here. He remembered the country with pleasure and immediately came to Janesville for a visit, his last in this area. We have all heard tales, whether true or fictional, of when Chief Blackhawk made his Hight through Janesville to Prairie du Chien where he was captured. Most of the legends center about the big rock at Monterey and the fact that Blackhawk was supposed to have lived there. The history books are silent on this point. They do state, however, that dur- ing their Hight, Blackhawk and his men kid- napped Rachel Hall and her sister from a town in northern Illinois and held them at Blackhawkls Grove for 32,000 ransom. Today we know Blackhawks Grove as Palmer Park.

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A Woman Ut The Present This year's Phoenix is dedicated to one who has served Janesville High School both as an English teacher and as an able adviser of this book. She devoted unlimited amounts of time and energy to the making of an annual which she hoped would please the students of J.H.S. Late in December, a serious illness forced her to abandon the teaching pro- fession. VVe will not soon forget what she has done for us or how she always had a warm smile and helping hand for whom- ever she met. Adella Belto has a secure place in the hearts of everyone who knew her even as a most casual aquaint- ance. PAGE FIVE

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In his Hight north, Blackhawk spent a great deal of time at Lake Koshgonong on an island that now bears his name. He kept the women and children of the tribe there for safety. The leader-of one of the earliest groups to settle here was a man named Holmes. Our city became known as Holmes' Rapids. This name gave way to Big Rock Ford in honor of lVIon- terey Rock which was a familiar landmark. This name also was discontinued when a city farther south on the Rock River began calling itself Rockford. The rest of the story is rather familiar to all of us. An Englishman, Henry Janes, who had a hobby of building cities, set up a trading post where now runs one of Janesvilleis main streets. As so often happened with Janes, ven- tures, the town grew. At the mouth of the Rock River stands a sculptured tribute to the great Chief Black- hawk who unwittingly played so momentous a part in our history. VVe shared a great deal with this Indian: our love of liberty, the beau- ity of the Wisconsin hills, and perhaps, who knows, the same Great Spirit watched over both him and us. The roelc at Monterey endowed Janes- ville with a name and a landmark. Palmer Park was once Blackhawk's Grove, where the Hall sisters were held for 52,000 ransom. PAGE SEVEN