Stillman Creek, also known during different eras as Mud Creek, Old Man's Creek, Sycamore Creek, and Stillman's Run, is part of the Rock River watershed, and located in

Ogle County, Illinois Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle, ...

, United States. The stream was named for

Isaiah Stillman Isaiah Stillman (1793–15 April 1861) was an American Cavalry Major who led the Illinois militia in the first armed confrontation of the Black Hawk War against Black Hawk's Sauk Indian Band. The first armed confrontation would be named Bat ...

, who also lent his name to the village of

Stillman Valley, Illinois Stillman Valley is a village in Marion Township, Ogle County, Illinois, United States. It lies east of Byron, south of Rockford and west of Davis Junction. The population was 1,120 at the 2010 census, up from 1,048 in 2000. The village is loca ...

, which lies along the creek.

Course

Stillman Creek originates near Kings, Illinois and continues its course through

Ogle County Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle, ...

until it reaches the Rock River at its mouth. The creek is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 13, 2011

Natural history

Before the Rock River country was settled, which includes the area surrounding Stillman Creek, 35% of the land was covered with

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

; there were of pre-settlement prairie remaining within the Rock River basin."The Rock River Country,
At a glance
" Retrieved 14 August 2007. The land surrounding the Rock River and its tributaries is home to a wide variety of plant and animal species. Found throughout the Rock River country 122 species of native birds, 33 species of reptiles, 78 species of mammals, 33 species of native

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

and 10 species of native

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s. Of the 950 plant

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

found in the river country, 27 are

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s species. In total, 56 species of Illinois endangered or threatened species make their habitat within Rock River country."The Rock River Country,
p. 3
Retrieved 14 August 2007

History

The creek was the site of the 1832

Battle of Stillman's Run The Battle of Stillman's Run, also known as the Battle of Sycamore Creek or the Battle of Old Man's Creek, occurred in Illinois on May 14, 1832. The battle was named for the panicked retreat by Major Isaiah Stillman and his detachment of 275 Ill ...

during the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

. The battle and the creek became humorously known as "Stillman's Run" after Stillman and his men fled the battlefield in defeat, believing they were being chased by thousands of Chief Black Hawk's warriors.Matile, Roger.
Maj. Stillman’s run: advancing to the rear
" ''Ledger-Sentinel'' (

Oswego, Illinois Oswego is a village in Kendall and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,485. Oswego is the largest municipality in Kendall County. It is a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. History In 1833, William Sm ...

), 24 May 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007. The use of the word "run" was a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

describing both the creek and Stillman's "tactics" during the battle. It has been known by other names as well, those include, Mud Creek, Old Man's Creek, and Sycamore Creek.Battle of Sycamore Creek
, Abraham Lincoln Digitization Project, ''Northern Illinois University''. Retrieved 14 August 2007. The stream's current name, Stillman Creek, descended from

, who also lent his name to the village of Stillman Valley (via the creek), along the creek, in Ogle County.History of Stillman Valley
" ''Village of Stillman Valley'', official site. Retrieved 14 August 2007. A 1999 water quality assessment by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency rated Stillman's Creek as "good," along with about 78% of the rest of the water ways found in the Rock River watershed.Rock River Watershed
" (

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

), The Condition of Illinois Water Resources 1999, ''Illinois Environmental Protection Agency''. Retrieved 14 August 2007. In modern times, the village of Stillman Valley has been authorized to discharge treated wastewater into the creek.NPDES Permit No. IL0031275
(

), ''Illinois Environmental Protection Agency'', Division of Water Pollution Control, 19 May 2006. During the

2007 Midwest flooding The 2007 Midwest flooding was a major flooding event that occurred in the Midwestern United States in the third week of August 2007. While Hurricane Dean was affecting the Yucatán Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico, and Tropical Storm Erin was af ...

the creek poured over its banks.

Geography

Stillman Creek's elevation is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

and it is part of the Rock River watershed.Sinclair, Robert A.
Rock River Basin: Historical Background, IEPA Targeted Watersheds, and Resource Rich Areas
" (

), Illinois State Water Survey, April 2006, ''Illinois Department of Natural Resources'', p. 8. Retrieved 14 August 2007.

Notes

References

The Rock River Country: An Inventory of the Region's Resources
" Regional Watershed Assessments, 2000, ''Illinois Department of Natural Resources''. Retrieved 14 August 2007. {{authority control Rivers of Ogle County, Illinois Black Hawk War Rivers of Illinois