Black Hawk Purchase

The Black Hawk Purchase, sometimes called the Forty-Mile Strip or Scott's Purchase, was a land acquisition made in what is now Iowa by the United States federal government. The land, originally owned by the Sauk, Meskwaki (Fox), and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Native American people, was acquired by treaty following their defeat by the United States in the Black Hawk War. The purchase was made for $640,000 on September 21, 1832 and was named for the chief Black Hawk. He was held prisoner at the time the purchase was completed. The Black Hawk Purchase contained an area of some 6 million acres (24,000 km²), and the price was equivalent to 11 cents/acre (26 $/km²).