The Spirit Lake and Okoboji Monument

Ever since the cruel massacre by Sioux Indians around the lakes in Dickinson County, in 1857, there has been a strong public feeling that some adequate memorial should be erected, not only to perpetuate the names of the pioneer settlers who sadly lost their lives, but of the men of the Relief Expedition who gallantly marched thither under Major William Williams, of Fort Dodge. The stories of the massacre and of that notable march have been often told, as they will be in coming time, and we need not attempt their rehearsal here. At the opening of the Legislature of 1894, Mrs. Abbie Gardner- Sharp, who was carried into barbarous captivity by the Indians, came to the Capitol and remained through the session. Largely through her efforts, heartily seconded by Senator A. B. Funk, who resides at Spirit Lake, a bill was passed appropriating $5,000 for a monument. The law provided for "a special commission composed of five members appointed by the Governor of the State to carry out the provisions of this act." Governor Jackson approved the bill March 30, and appointed the following persons as commissioners: Ex- Governor Cyrus C. Carpenter and Hon. John F. Duncombe of Ft. Dodge, Mrs. Abbie Gardner-Sharp and Hon. R. A. Smith, of Okoboji, and Charles Aldrich, of Boone. The commission was organized by the appointment of Governor Carpenter, Chairman, and Mrs. Sharp, Secretary. A suitable location having been secured without expense to the State, a contract for the erection, for $4,500, of a granite monument, 55 feet high, with a large bronze tablet on each of its four sides, was let to the N. P. Peterson Granite Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. The monument was completed about the middle of March. It is a beautiful shaft, built in alternate sections of rough and polished Minnesota granite. This material is hard and durable, susceptible of a high polish, somewhat resembling Scotch granite, containing, however, less of red and more of gray and black than the imported article. The site selected is near the Gardner cabin. The four large bronze tablets are inscribed as follows:

Okoboji Monument

East Tablet

The pioneer settlers named below were massacred by Sioux Indians, March 8-13, 1857. The barbarous work was commenced near this spot, and continued to Springfield (now Jackson), Minnesota.

West Tablet

Roster of the Relief Expedition
Major William Williams, commanding.
Fort Dodge, March 24, 1357

North Tablet (Iowa Coat of Arms.)
Erected By Order Of The Twenty-Fifth General Assembly Of The State Of Iowa 1894.

South Tablet
Memoranda

Miss Abbie Gardner, Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, Mrs. Lydia Noble, and Mrs. Elizabeth Thatcher, were carried into captivity.

Mrs. Marble was rescued May 21, and Miss Gardner June 23, 1857, through the efforts of Gov. Sam. Medary and Hon. Charles E. Flandreau, of Minn.

Mrs. Noble and Mrs. Thatcher were murdered by the Indians.

Capt. J. C. Johnson, of Webster City, and William E. Burkholder, of Fort Dodge, were frozen to death on the return march, in Palo Alto County, April 4, 1857.

Persons Who Fled from the Attack on Springfield (Jackson), Minnesota,
Rescued by Relief Expedition.

The work upon this monument is believed to be of the best quality, and it has seemed fully to meet the expectations of all who have seen it. The task of preparing the inscriptions has been a most difficult one, owing to the lapse of time and the insufficiency of records. In many cases dependence has been of necessity placed upon the memories of living persons, which, after more than a third of a century, are in danger of being confused; but it is believed that these tablets contain the names of all who lost their lives in the massacre, or participated in the Expedition. And thus the State has rendered a just and generous tribute to their memories. Many of the men in the Expedition afterward volunteered in the Union armies and several of them fell in defense of their country. At the date of this publication it seems probable that the Commission will complete its labors by turning the monument over to Gov. Jackson on the 4th of July next.

Source: Annals of Iowa, Volume 2 Number 6, 189

Iowa AHGP