Black Hawk Trail
CLOSED
History
The Black Hawk Trail Hike was a 20-mile round trip hike from Camp Lowden to Lorado Taft’s "Black Hawk Statue" in .
The hike both started and ended at Camp Lowden, with the halfway point (turnaround) at Black Hawk Statue. The trail between Camp Lowden and Daysville crossed land belonging to the family of former Illinois Governor Lowden, for whom
Camp Lowden and Lowden State Park are named. It is alleged that the trail was walked by members of the Stillman campaign during the Black Hawk War, by Sauk and Fox Indians, and even by Abraham Lincoln. As many as 300 Scouts in one
day took the hike.
According to former camp director
, Dwaine Murphy (the first Camp Lowden director, from 1940-1941) was always looking at Black Hawk Statue, and set up the trail hike. He went to the library and
found a book that each hiker had to read and then write a report. He walked the original trail, got permissions from landowners, etc. He personally set up the rules for the hike. It was to be a buddy hike, and could not have more
than two at a time. Pairs were sent out 20 minutes apart. When each pair arrived at the statue, one Scout went up to the statue and looked at the river for 20 minutes, then they switched. Hikers were also to report on any littering,
etc. Mr. Schenk states that the trail hike started in 1940 or 1941, as it was already in operation in 1942.
Bill Peterson was at Camp Lowden in 1941-1942 and was one of the first to hike the Black Hawk Trail.
The trail was very popular and troops came from near and far to hike it. The beginning of the trail was at the southwest corner of the parking lot, down Backbone Ridge (one of the trails that leads to the waterfront), and then north
along the river through Daysville, and then on to the Black Hawk Statue. states that the original philosophy was to jog for 40 paces, walk for 40 paces, etc.
Once you reached the statue, you had to take a compass reading and there was a symbol at the base of a tree. This was to prove that you were there.
Later Years
Ray recalls that when the river was more navigable, land owners were not allowed to fence down to the water and they had to stay 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge. However in later years they were given the right to fence off
to the water line, which also blocked part of the Black Hawk Trail. Therefore the original trail was modified, and once you got to the railroad tracks you had to go up to the blacktop and take the blacktop into Oregon.
The trail became more of a blacktop route than actually enjoying Mother Nature.
Route Variations:
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In later years the trail became in disrepair, had high weeds, poison ivy, etc., and the trail became impassable. The landowners blamed Scouts for vandalism, but that could have occurred along the river from just about anybody.
In the late 1970s an ad was placed in the council newsletter for help in rehabbing the trail. More than 85 Scouts and leaders showed up to help. Under the guidance of and , the volunteers marked it, built a 30-foot bridge, cut weeds, removed downed trees, and basically put the Black Hawk Trail back into service.
The trail reopened as of October 1, 1979. However, due to issues regarding property boundaries, routing of the trail, and upkeep, the Black Hawk Trail was closed indefinitely in 2004.
Postcard with Lowden staffers
recalls that the drug store in Oregon used to have . The photo was taken in 1954 by a company that was doing postcards of things around Oregon. Pictured (l-r) were Ed McKeown, Wayne Torgeson (in shorts sort
of in the front), and an unknown Explorer (Ken thinks it might be Tom Skibba, who was on the staff in 1952 and 1953). On the right: Ted Kjellstrom and Ken Merwin.
Patches and Medals
were available for sale upon completion of the hike and were highly sought after. The first medal had the American Legion emblem (rather than the fleur-de-lis) because the
Legion gave them out. The next medals were a heavy lead back with a bronze face, the lead being engraved with the hiker’s name and date.
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