Entitled "Paths of Conviction, Footsteps of Fate," the dual statue was dedicated
on October 13, 2002. Adams explained, "This sculpture is a reflection on the personal
conviction, struggle, and fate shared by Lincoln and Black Hawk."
Adams created the Lincoln portion using a life mask and 64 photographs. "My intent
was to capture Lincoln's spirit, not illustrate a particular moment in history." The
Black Hawk figure "sits on an incline, symbolic of the precarious position of the
Native Americans during the white settlement of the prairie."Adams Statue in Oregon, Illinois
Sculptor Jeff Adams designed a highly unusual statue with
Abraham Lincoln and Chief Black Hawk emerging from the same base.
It stands in the beautiful Rock River Valley, an area familiar to
both men in the 1830s. You will find the massive bronze work in a park beside
Route 2 about one-half mile south of Route 64.
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