 The 63rd Illinois General Assembly designated the tract, including the former art colony, Lowden Memorial State Park in 1945.On August 7, 1951 Illinois Governor Adlai E. Stevenson II signed a bill into law which transferred ownership of a section of the park to Northern Illinois Teachers College, now Northern Illinois University (NIU).The land encompassed the former Eagle's Nest Art Colony and its buildings, the Black Hawk Statue was not included in the land transfer.