[1][2] A flood from a melting glacier, known as the Kankakee Torrent, which took place approximately 14,000–19,000 years ago led to the topography of the site and its exposed rock canyons.

Before European contact, the area was home to Native Americans, particularly the Kaskaskia who lived in the Grand Village of the Illinois across the river.

Later after the French had moved on, according to a local legend, a group of Native Americans of the Illinois Confederation (also called Illiniwek or Illini) pursued by the Ottawa and Potawatomi fled to the butte in the late 18th century.

A catastrophic flood known as the Kankakee Torrent,[3] which took place somewhere between 14,000[4] and 17,000 years ago,[5] before humans occupied the area, helped create the park's signature geology and features, which are very unusual for the central plains.

These prehistoric indigenous peoples thrived by foraging and hunting a variety of wild foods;[9] Havana Hopewell settlers during the Woodland period (1000 BC – 1000 AD) built earthwork mounds.

Small bands of aggressive Iroquois settlers arrived in northern Illinois in 1660 in search of new hunting grounds for beaver, stimulating intertribal warfare.

The Kaskaskia struggled with the Iroquois, who were armed with guns seized from or traded by Europeans in the eastern United States.

[citation needed] In 1680 the Iroquois temporarily drove the Kaskaskia out of the settlement during the Beaver Wars, as they were trying to expand their hunting territory.

Accompanying the French to the region were allied members of several native tribes from eastern areas, who integrated with the Kaskaskia: the Miami, Shawnee, and Mahican.

The region was periodically occupied by a variety of native tribes who were forced westward by the expansion of European settlements and the Beaver Wars.

The most popular is a tale of revenge for the assassination of Ottawa leader Pontiac, who was killed in Cahokia on April 20, 1769, by an Illinois Confederation warrior.

According to the legend, the Ottawa, along with their allies the Potawatomi, avenged Pontiac's death by attacking a band of Illiniwek along the Illinois River.

Walthers set up a variety of walkable trails and harbored small boats near the hotel that made trips along the Illinois River.

[21] Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation in the 1930s called for the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to provide jobs for young men.

CCC Camp 614 was deployed to Starved Rock State Park from the Jefferson Barracks Military Post in Missouri.

Camp 1609 constructed the Starved Rock Lodge, several surrounding log cabins, and a large parking lot.

[citation needed] To curb this, the Illinois Young Adult Conservation Corps installed a platform and staircase on the landmark in 1981.

[1] The summit of Starved Rock was the site of archeological excavations in 1947–1949 by archaeologists from the Illinois State Museum and the University of Chicago.

[27] The research was continued in 1950 by an archaeologist from State Department of Public Works and Buildings who had joined the project the year before.

[28] Field investigations were done in 1992 and 1994 and pottery analysis determined that the site was primarily settled during the Late Woodland Period, during the second half of the First Millennium.

[30] It is believed that Hotel Plaza was also the site of a large Native American village that helped support early French explorers in the region during the 17th and 18th centuries.

[32] In 1991 subsurface tests of the 183 m2 shelter site were made and determined that evidence existed only for occupation by Upper Mississippian groups.

[33] Simonson Site has faced significant alterations over the years[33] Approximately 150 types of plants grow at Starved Rock State Park.

[35] On the surfaces of the canyons and cliffs, where it is cooler, other plants are found, examples include: harebell, reindeer lichen, and mountain holly.

[citation needed] No official studies have been undertaken yet to confirm this, but local anglers have reported large catches of silver carp absent any native species.

[citation needed] Northern Illinois has a humid continental climate, featuring mild summers and cold winters capable of producing snow storms.

[43] From December through February bald eagles can be viewed at the park, either fishing below the Starved Rock Dam, where turbulent waters stay unfrozen during the cold winter months or roosting on the Leopold or Plum Island.

[44] During the winter, sports such as ice skating, tobogganing, cross-country skiing and sledding are allowed in parts of the park.

[47] Other alterations were completed between 1986 and 1988 when a major renovation added amenities such as a heated swimming pool and a 30-room addition to the hotel.

[43] The Starved Rock Lodge and Cabins were designed by Joseph F. Booton and constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.