Starved Rock State Park
Starved Rock State Park is an
Illinois state park located in
Utica, Illinois, in rural
La Salle County, Illinois, about 75 miles (120 km) west-southwest of downtown Chicago. The park is 2,630 acres (10 km²)in size and includes 13 miles (21 km) of hiking trails, numerous waterfalls (icefalls in winter) and other landforms. The park contains 18
glacier-carved canyon of
sandstone. Starved Rock itself is a large eroded
butte overlooking the
Illinois River.
French explorers built a fort called
Fort St. Louis atop the rock in
1682 but had abandoned it by the early 1700s.
The rock derives its name from a story that a band of
Illiniwek was trapped in the 1760s on the rock by a band of
Potawatomi trying to avenge the death of the
Ottawa Chief Pontiac. The Illiniwek then scrambled to the top of the rock, where the Ottawa and allied Potawatomi laid siege until the Illiniwek starved to death. However, the authenticity of the story has never been verified, and the story is now considered to be more
legend than truth.
Camping,
boating and
fishing are popular activities in the park. On the property there is also a
1930s lodge built of full timbers by the
Civilian Conservation Corps, the Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center.
Starved Rock State Park is one of the busiest State Parks in Illinois with yearly attendance over 1 million visitors each year. While the natural areas show definite signs of great use (erosion is one of the biggest problems the park faces), a great deal of botanical diversity is found there. As an example, 18 species of ferns have been identified in the forest, wetland, and canyon habitats (Department of Natural Resources interview with Toby Miller, Site Interpreter for Starved Rock State Park).
Visitors are advised to stay on the trail for their safety. Typically, at least one or two individuals fall off a cliff. There were 4 deaths from falls between 1999 and 2006.[
1] No venomous or dangerous animals have been identified within the park, although nearby Matthiessen State Park had a very unusual Timber Rattlesnake sighting in the 1980's. Experts do not know quite what to make of the sighting (Scott Ballard, Herpetile Biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources).
On
March 14,
1960, three women were murdered in St. Louis Canyon. A lodge employee named Chester Weger confessed to robbing and killing the three victims, but later recanted, alleging that his confession had been coerced. He was convicted and is currently serving a life sentence. There has been some movement to try to re-open the case from time to time due to mishandling of evidence. The conviction came largely on the confession, which was taken in the pre-
Miranda days.
*
The Starved Rock Murders, a book about the 1960 murders, written by Steve Stout
*
Starved Rock State Park
