The Indian Creek massacre occurred in LaSalle County on this day in 1832.

The massacre stemmed from a settler’s refusal to remove a dam that jeopardized a food source for a nearby Potawatomi village. After the Black Hawk War began, between 40 and 80 Potawatomis and three Sauks attacked the settlement. Fifteen settlers, including women and children, were killed. In the aftermath of the massacre, white settlers fled their homes for the safety of frontier forts and the protection of the militia. Today, the site of the massacre is marked by memorials in Shabbona County Park in LaSalle County, about 14 miles (23 km) north of Ottawa, Illinois. (Wikipedia Entry)

Other Historical Events

1812 — Illinois became a territory of the second grade, with suffrage for all white males age 21 and older who pay taxes and have lived in the territory more than a year. (Illinois Blue Book)

1862 — The original Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. The Homestead Act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to up to 160 acres (65 hectares or one-fourth section) of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River. The law required three steps: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government, including freed slaves, could file an application to claim a federal land grant. The occupant also had to be 21 or older, had to live on the land for five years and show evidence of having made improvements. (Wikipedia Entry)

1875 — After being declared insane, Mary Todd Lincoln arrived at Bellevue Place, a private, upscale sanitarium in the Fox River Valley. (Wikipedia Entry)

1970 — Dr. Albert Crewe, a University of Chicago physicist, announced that he accomplished the feat of seeing a single atom. (Wikipedia entry)

Municipal Incorporations

1889 — Village of Winslow (Wikipedia entry) (Website)

Births

1826 — Potter Palmer was a developer who was responsible for much of the development on State Street in Chicago. (Wikipedia entry)

1899 — John M. Harlan II, a former U.S. Supreme Court Justice who served from 1955 until 1971, was born in Chicago. (Wikipedia entry)

1919 — The comedian and actor, George Gobel, was born in Chicago. (Wikipedia Entry)

1979 — Jayson Werth, a professional baseball player, was born in Springfield, Illinois. (Wikipedia entry)

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