RISING ABOVE THE WOODED BLUFF OF THE ROCK RIVER VALLEY STANDS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND BEST
KNOWN WORKS OF LOREDO TAFT.
TODAY THE STATUE IS THE CENTER
PIECE OF LADEN STATE PARK.
BACK IN ~L 1800'S BEFORE THE
STATUE'S CREATION, LAND ALONG
THE EAGLE COLONY, TAFT WAS A
MEMBER.
>>ONE EVENING THEY WERE STANDING
ON BLUFF, OVER LOOKING, THEY
WERE STANDING THERE WITH THEIR
ARMS CROSSED, AND THAT'S WHERE
THE CONCEPT OF THE ETERNAL
INDIAN WAS -- CAME ABOUT. AT
THAT POINT, TAFT STARTED WORKING
ON A SMALL MODEL IN HIS STUDIO
WITH A YOUNG SCULPTOR NAMED JOHN
PRESION.
HE WAS EXCELLENT CHOICE SINCE
TAFT WASN'T IN THE MEDIAN WORLD,
WHICH WAS CONCRETE.
PRESHOIN WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE
PROPERTY OF CONCRETE.
TAFT LEFT HIM IN CHARGE OF THE
PROJECT.
FOR THAT ERA, CREATION OF THIS
STATUE WAS A MASTER PIECE OF
ENGINEERING AND ARTISTRY WHICH
WOULD BE WRITTEN ABOUT IN
SEVERAL RENOWNED PUBLICATIONS.
NEXT STEP IN CREATING THE STATUE
WAS TO ERECT A LIFE SIZE MOLD
INTO WHICH THE CONCRETE WOULD BE
POURED.
>>THE FRAMEWORK WAS CONSTRUCTED
USING LARGE TIMBERS FROM THE
OVER ALL HEIGHT AND SHAPE OF THE
WOODEN FRAME WAS COVERED WITH
CHICKEN WIRE, SOME BURLAP AND
PLASTER OF PARIS.
BY DECEMBER OF 1910, THE MOLD
WAS READY, AND THE POURING OF
CONCRETE BEGAN.
IT WAS AN OPERATION COMPLETED BY
WORKING 24 HOURS A DAY, OVER TEN
DAYS WHILE ENDURING FREEZING
TEMPERATURES.
>> 65,000 GALLONS OF WATER WERE
PUMPED TO THE SITE FROM THE
RIVER BELOW AND WAS USED TO
MAINTAIN TWO STEAM ENGINES AND
ALSO FOR THE MAKING OF THE
CEMENT.
>> IT WAS ALSO A 5,000-GALLON
TANK PLUS BOILERS TO HEAT THE
WATER.
IN THE END, 238 YARDS OF
CONCRETE WAS USED, ALONG WITH
38, ONE INCH STEEL REINFORCING
BARS PLUS 20 TONS OF PINK
GRANITE CHIPS TO GIFT FINISHED
STATUE AN ADDED LUSTER.
>>270 TONS WITH THE HEAD ALONE
TOPPING THE SCALES AT 30 TONS.
THE STATUE STANDS 448 FEET, FOUR
INCH TALL AND SITS ATOP 14-FOOT,
8-INCH PEDESTAL ONLY WHICH FIVE
IS EXPOSED.
HEAD WAS POURED SEPARATELY, AND
HOISTED BY A DERICK AND PUT IN
PLACE.
THE POURING OPERATION WAS
COMPLETED ON DECEMBER 20, 1910,
AND THE STATUE WAS LEFT TO CURE
UNTIL SPRING.
THEN IN WARMER WEATHER, WORKERS
BEGAN TO CHIP AWAY THE MOLD AND
UNCOVER THE FINISHED PIECE.
IT WAS A COLOSSAL SUCCESS AND
HAS REMAINED PART OF THE
LANDSCAPE OVER A HUNDRED YEARS.
IT IS NOW BELIEVED TO BE THE
SECOND TALLEST MONOLITHIC STATUE
IN THE WORLD, AND MISTAKENLY
NAMED.
THROUGHOUT THE DECADES, VISITORS
HAVE REFERRED TO THE STATUE AS
BLACKHAWK, BUT IN REALITY, TAFT
NEVER TITLED THIS PIECE.
HE LATER SAID HE HAD STUDIED
SEVERAL TRIBES WHILE COMPOSING
THIS STATUE, AND IT WAS A
COMPOSITE OF ALL THE TRIBES.
GENERATIONS HAVE COME TO VIEW
THIS WORK WHICH, AFTER HUNDREDS
OF YEARS, IS SHOWING SIGNS OF
ITS AGE.
>>IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT
SCULPTOR OR STATUE, CAN YOU SEE
THE ARMS ARE BAD, THE AREAS ARE
START TO GO DISINTEGRATE.
THE MAIN BOYD OF THE STATUE IS
IN VERY GOOD CONDITION.
THERE ARE HAIRLINE CRACKS ON THE
HEAD. WE HAD A STUDY DONE ABOUT
TWO YEARS AGO TO HAVE THE -- GET
AN ESTIMATE WHAT IT WOULD COST
TO HAVE THE REPAIRS DONE.
AT THAT POINT AND TIME, THE
REPAIR COST WAS 400 TO $450,000.
>> RECENT LIT STATUE WAS ADDED
TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF
HISTORIC PLACES, AND EFFORTS ARE
UNDERWAY TO GATHER THE FUNDS
NECESSARY TO ENSURE ITS
SURVIVAL.
TODAY THE WORK OF BOTH TAFT AND
PRESHION STANDS TO TRIBUTE TO
TWO PAST ENTITIES.
IT IS A MAJESTIC REMINDER OF
THOSE WHO PRECEDED EUROPEANS AND
FIRST GAZED ON THE RIVER VALLEY
IT IS THE ONLY PERMANENT MARKER
OF ART COLONY THAT ONCE THRIVED
ON THESE BLUFFS.
TO CONTACT LOWDEN STATE PARK (815) 732-6828