Ganymede and Black Hawk. Half a mile to a mile north of Oregon 

 the river cuts thru another pre-glacial divide, forming high, steep valley 

 sides, in places with outcropping rock. A number of Chicago artists have 

 built cottages on the crest of a bluff above a fine spring, and spend their 

 summers here. A few feet away and a little lower than the spring, they have 

 built a masonry basin to form a bathing pool for those who like a cold plunge. 

 Tradition has it that years ago Margaret Fuller, traveling thru the wild 

 west, named this spring Ganymede, and under the gnarled cedars at the 

 top of the bluff wrote the verses "Ganymede to his Eagle". In honor of 

 this noted woman, the island lying near the bluff is called Margaret Fuller 

 Island. A heroic statue of Black Hawk, the work of Lorado Taft, crowns 

 the hill, and ever gazes in dignified contemplation down the valley once 

 dear to his vanished race. 



Oregon, like the village of Byron, is situated on a terrace of sand and 

 gravel, the material of which was derived from the ice of the Wisconsin 

 glacial epoch. The pre-glacial valley in which the terrace lies extends to 

 the southeast, and seems to have headed in the hills west of the city. Be- 

 tween Oregon and Grand Detour are several places where the water of the 

 river is shallow, and its gradient steep, making navigation difficult in low 

 water. There is here a large amount of water-power going to waste. Resi- 

 dents have little doubt that as this region develops, there will be one or 

 more dams built between Oregon and Grand Detour, as well as at Byron, 

 and the power used for lighting or manufacturing, as is now done at Oregon, 

 Dixon and other cities on the river. 



Castle Bock. About five miles below Oregon the river, probably cutting 

 thru another ancient col, is flanked by bold headlands of St. Peter's sandstone. 

 The contrast with the limestone bluffs farther north is striking. The white 

 and tawny sandstone is less resistant to the weather and is more fancifully 

 carved by the rain:. Its waste supports a vegetation markedly different 

 from that on the rich limestone soil. A number of miles to the north is a 

 considerable growth of white pine, not found elsewhere in Illinois. Visitors 

 who have been along the Illinois River from Ottawa to La Salle will recog- 

 nize the kinship to this area, a likeness depending on the same underlying 

 rock. 



Grand Detour. The big bend in th% river is the seat of a village once 

 flourishing and hopeful of great manufacturing development; now dormant 

 and consoling herself by the enterprise of two hotels, fairly well patronized 

 by summer visitors. A wing dam, now fallen into decay, threw the current 

 of the river to the right bank, where it was caught in a canal, and conducted 

 by a short cut across the bend. Thus power was obtained for driving the 

 factory wheels. A generation ago Grand Detour plows were familiar to the 

 Illinois farmer. The factory burned. The concentration of capital at 

 Rockford, Moline, Chicago and elsewhere was more efficient in building up 

 extensive industries than the natural advantages of water-power. Therefore 

 Grand Detour sleeps. In the bend and for a few miles down stream are 

 beautiful rocks of St. Peter's sandstone jutting into the stream, White 

 Rock, Whirlpool Rock, Pine Point, etc. 



Sixon, like the other towns along the river, is situated on a terrace in 

 a pre-glacial valley, and just below a cut through an old divide. It is the 

 center of a rich farming region and has considerable small manufacturing. 

 The largest industry is the cement works, just above the town. The fall 

 in the river is used in generating electricity. The deep water above the 

 dam gives opportunity for much pleasure boating, and the beautiful groves 

 bordering the stream afford delightful picnic grounds. 



