[1] In 1832, when word arrived that Chief Black Hawk and his 1200 Sauk followers had crossed the Mississippi River, it was decided to build a fort to protect the settlers.

[2] Word quickly arrived at the settlement of an engagement between Black Hawk's group and the Illinois militia on May 14, 1832.

[1] This, along with the closeness of the Ho-Chunk tribe, brought fear to the settlers, and they worked quickly to complete the fort in about two weeks.

[1][2] From May 20 to September 20, 1832, the settlers and miners joined General Henry Dodge's Michigan Territory Militia during the Black Hawk War.

[4][5] The marker, which was cleaned up and re-mounted on a chert boulder donated by Blue Mound State Park, sits on the site of the Fort, although it is not currently accessible by the public.