1841–1885: Wait! Its Heart Is Still Beating
This chapter illustrates the growing public interest in Starved Rock. Privately owned starting in 1835, Starved Rock was the domain of Daniel Hitt. In time, private development of the Starved Rock region grew. The adjacent property south and east of Starved Rock was purchased by private individuals, mainly farmers, industrious people whose labor brought forth the promise of the underdeveloped lands of Illinois that had years before been reclaimed by nature. In addition to tillable land, the farmers utilized erodible land for pasture to feed domestic livestock. In 1867, the US Army Corps of Engineers dispatched a party of cartographers to map the Illinois River. In September and October of 1883, another group of Army engineers under the supervision of W. H. H. Benyaurd surveyed the Illinois River. By the close of the nineteenth century, mining and industry were becoming an important part of the Starved Rock area's economy.