Excerpt from
"The Historic Indian Villages of the Peoria Lake Region"
by Harry L. Spooner
— appearing in the 1939 volume of the meetings of the Illinois State Academy of Science Transactions, p.71.
"John Hammet, a pioneer settler on Senachwine creek, describes the Indian village at Sparland at this time (1830-31). He says they had about 30 acres of corn and pumpkins, the finest he ever saw. The corn was planted in hills, like sweet potatoes, the hills being arranged in perfectly straight rows and squares, while the several grains in each hill were planted with like geometric precision.
"The hills were circular, two feet in diameter, and one foot high, the top being flat, and they stood about six feet apart. There were 30 to 40 stalks in each hill, planted in circles, the stalks being about six inches apart. It was the small eight-row variety, was carefully cultivated by hand, and thus treated, grew to magnificent proportions, and matured early, escaping the fall frosts which nipped later varieties."