So very often lost in our American story is the epic adventure of the Sauk Tribal Chief Black Hawk and his amazing home of Saukenuk. Located in the Rock River Valley – directly across from today’s Davenport – this thriving city of 6,000 souls was one of the largest Native American communities in North America. Sadly, by the 1830’s, Black Hawk and his tribe were faced with starvation and needed Saukenuk to survive. The result was the Black Hawk War (1832) and an embarrassing black eye for the American westward movement. Many don’t realize that the name of our state – Iowa – can be traced back to a phrase in Black Hawk’s Algonquin language – kiowa – which means “this is the place.” And it was The Black Hawk Purchase of 1833 that opened Iowa to white settlers – which eventually led to the exploration of Johnson County, and the creation of Iowa City. We all owe so much to Black Hawk and his fight against injustice.

CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE BLOG SERIES – Iowa City’s Top 50 Influencers – Part I

Back in 1979 – The Iowa City Press Citizen ran a special seven-page section called Chronology 1841/1979 and it featured Iowa City’s famed historian – Irving Weber – and his look at 25 People Who Left Their Stamp On Iowa City. So, here we are – forty-four years later – and now, I’m offering these two posts – dedicated to those who have greatly influenced our city over the first 100 years or so. This page features the First 25, and as you can see, each of the 25 names has a brief overview with a link(s) to read more, if you like. Enjoy!

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