Frank Orren Lowden | Inducted between 1920 and 1936

Accomplished lawyer, professor, statesman and Governor of Illinois, Lowden was also a prominent Shorthorn and Holstein breeder.

1861-1943 | Artist: Robert Wadsworth Grafton (1876-1936)

Impact & Accomplishments

Born in Minnesota, Frank O. Lowden moved to Iowa as a child and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1885, as valedictorian. He was also valedictorian of his 1887 class at Union College of Law (now Northwestern University), thereafter becoming a successful trial lawyer and a professor at his alma mater.

Lowden was a lieutenant colonel during the Spanish American War. He entered politics in 1900, serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention and a member of the Republican National Committee. That same year, he established Sinnissippi Farm, near Oregon, Illinois. He bred Shorthorns and Holsteins, operated a dairy, and planted 500,000 trees on the property.

He showed the Grand Champion Shorthorn at the 1908 International Live Stock Exposition and was a director of the International.

Frank Lowden was elected governor of Illinois in 1916. During his term, Governor Lowden restructured state government, lowered taxes, enhanced public schools, and improved waterway and road infrastructure. He returned to the farm when his term ended and was a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920 and 1928.

Did You Know?

Lowden was nominated for vice president at the1924 Republican National Convention, but he declined the nomination.

Frank Lowden at his desk, circa 1920.

Lowden State Park boasts one of the most picturesque sites along the Rock River is just north of Oregon in Ogle County, Illinois. The park serves as a memorial to Gov. Frank O. Lowden, who served Illinois during World War I.

Just north of Oregon, Illinois in the Lowden State Park, the bluffs are graced with a majestic image of an American Indian gazing over the Rock River Valley. This is no ordinary statue. It is a 50 foot, concrete-reinforced wonder that is awe-inspiring. A tribute to all Native Americans, but more commonly associated with Chief Black Hawk, the statue was designed by sculptor Lorado Taft.