Kate May Fitch stands by some images of Hononegah, the Native American wife of Rockton area early settler Stephen Mack Jr. Fitch is creating a bronze statue of Hononegah which is planned to be placed in front to the Hononegah Community High School Field House.
Kate May Fitch stands by some images of Hononegah, the Native American wife of Rockton area early settler Stephen Mack Jr. Fitch is creating a bronze statue of Hononegah which is planned to be placed in front to the Hononegah Community High School Field House.
ROCKTON—Although Hononegah was not a tall woman, standing only about 4 feet when she walked the lands of Pecatonic in the 1830s, her image will stand tall in local history. A bronze statue of the Native American woman and wife of Rockton area settler Stephen Mack Jr. is being created.
Area sculptor and artist Kate May Fitch is creating the statue, which when complete will stand 6 feet tall with its base and will be placed near the entrance of the Hononegah Community High School Fieldhouse in Rockton. Fitch gave a presentation about the progress of the statue on Saturday afternoon at JR Finally in Rockton.
When complete, the statue will weigh about 600 pounds and will be mounted on a limestone boulder. Four bronze plaques will be affixed to the base—one giving a little background about Hononegah, two will be letters Stephen Mack Jr. wrote and one will be dedicated to those who made the project possible.
The statue, which will be cast in bronze at Art Casting Company in Oregon, Illinois, is expected to be complete in mid-October.
The group Rockton Remembers, is spearheading the Hononegah Project, which has been in the works for about a year, according to Rockton Remembers President Judi Crane-Truman. She met with Fitch in August after seeing some of her art work. By December, Fitch had provided renderings of what she imagined the project would look like.
“Kate has just been a dream to work with,” Crane-Truman said.
Fitch has been sculpting as a career for about eight years. She studied sculpting and art at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. She does acrylic and oil painting as well as sculpting. She lives in Boone County about halfway between Rockford and Belvidere.
Fitch said many different materials have been used to create the form for the statue. She said she used wood and wire to create Hononegah’s hands. She used an actual dress to make Hononegah’s dress, but it had to be stiffened with starch and paint to create the form. She also made a replica of a necklace that Hononegah made and wore in the 1830s. The necklace has been incorporated into the statue.
A mold will be made for the statue at Art Casting Company to complete the statue.
Crane-Truman said she and others from Rockton Remembers have met with members of the Ho Chunk and Potawatomi nations and invited them to attend the statue unveiling.
Meanwhile, fund raising efforts continue for the project, which is estimated to cost $110,000. Crane-Truman said the group needs to raise about $45,000 more to meet its goal.
Those who wish to donate to the Hononegah Statue Fund can make donations at the First National Bank and Trust in Rockton, or send donations to Rockton Remembers Hononegah Statue Fund, P.O. Box 508, Rockton, IL 61072-0508.
An "Immersion Sunday" event will be held Feb. 13 at Macktown Living History in Rockton.
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