The Black Hawk Purchase, also known as the Forty-Mile Strip or Scott's Purchase, extended along the West side of the Mississippi River from the north boundary of Missouri North to the Upper Iowa River in the northeast corner of Iowa. It was fifty miles wide at the ends, and forty in the middle, and is sometimes called the "Forty-Mile Strip". The land, originally owned by the Sauk, Meskwaki (Fox), and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Native American peoples, was acquired by treaty following their defeat by the United States in the Black Hawk War. After being defeated the Sauk and Meskwaki were forced to relinquish another 6 million acres (9,400 sq mi; 24,000 km2) and give up their rights to plant, hunt, or fish on the land. The purchase was made for $640,000 (equivalent to $20.64 million in 2025) on September 21, 1832, and was named for the chief Black Hawk, who was held prisoner at the time the purchase was completed. The Black Hawk Purchase contained an area of 6 million acres (9,400 sq mi; 24,000 km2), and the price was equivalent to $0.11 per acre ($70/sq mi; $27/km2).
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