Chief Wapello’s Memorial Park is a Site for History and Reflection

Venturing down to the southeast Iowa to visit my girlfriend and her family always affords me an opportunity to slow down from my perpetually busy existence. Wherever I visit, she jumps at the opportunity to take me down the country roads and the rolling farmlands to show me fascinating little nooks and crannies that exist on the outskirts of town.

My latest weekend trip found me at Chief Wapello's Memorial Park, a historic site located near Agency, IA. The park is on the site of the Indian Agency, which became the home of the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes after they were relocated by the US government in the aftermath of the Black Hawk War of 1832.

It was a windy Saturday when we arrived in Agency to get a dose of history regarding Chief Wapello's selflessness and lasting legacy. On this plot of land, a stone marker denotes the site of the Agency House, while another commemorates the 1842 negotiations for the aforementioned tribes to hand over their Iowa lands to the US government.

The tribes were then relocated from the town now known as Agency to Kansas.

A plaque is set inside a large boulder, which distills the story and serves as a memorial:

In Memoriam: The site of the signing of the Treaty, October 11, 842 for the purchase of Iowa from the SAC and Fox Indians. The first Christian service in Interior Iowa, held in A.D. 1838, By a Methodist Circuit Rider Rev. Thomas M. Kirkpatrick, in the Wigwam of Chief Wapello. Located on a Knoll about 1/4 mile north west of this place. The influence of the church in community development has been inestimable. God gave the increase - 1 Corinthians 3:6.

Chief Wapello's grave is a site to behold in itself. Surrounded by a gate, placards tell the story of his alliances and his death, which occurred whilst on a hunting trip near the Skunk River, just east of Ottumwa, IA.

He was buried in accordance with his wish to be laid to rest alongside his close friend, General Street, which is this small, well-kept plot of land in Agency.

This memorial park is located right alongside some railroad tracks. Without the bustle of a train rolling by, it's quite a peaceful and serene scene, not easy to miss thanks to large letters that spell out "CHIEF WAPELLO" at the entrance of the site. Large stone monuments inside a small, nearby pavilion detail the story of Chief Wapello, General Street, and the other individuals involved and buried at the site.

For more information on Chief Wapello's Memorial Park, click here.