In 1837 the Ho Chunk were forced to sell what was left of their land in Wisconsin. In 1840 Chief Yellow Thunder and his tribe were forced to move to a reservation in Iowa. A year later, they returned to their home in Sauk County. In 1848 they were again removed. Yellow Thunder then took another tack and claimed a homestead in Delton Township where he and his wife lived for some years. In 1868 Yellow Thunder’s wife died. Yellow Thunder died 6 years later of blood poisoning.
The burial site of Yellow Thunder and his wife were vandalized many times by people in search of artifacts. In the end what remained was gathered up and placed in a stone marker. In 1909 the Sauk County Historical Society erected this marker as a lasting memorial. It is located along county highway A between Baraboo and Wisconsin Dells. The memorial park is little more than a small roadside pull off but still, is an important destination for many people interested in Wisconsin’s Native American history.
You can read more about Yellow Thunder and the memorial site on the web at the Sauk County Historical Society’s Yellow Thunder Monument page.