OREGON, Ill. (AP) — Preparations are starting in an $825,000 restoration project to repair a more than century-old statue of a Native American overlooking the Rock River in northern Illinois.

Dr. Andrzej Dajnowski, the project's conservator, says a crew has been testing various repair mixtures to fill cracks in the 50-foot tall statue. He tells Sauk Valley Media  that the statue remains surrounded with mesh and scaffolding that protected it over the winter.

The Ogle County statue stands on a 125-foot bluff at Lowden State Park. It was designed in 1910 and dedicated as a tribute to Native Americans the following year.

The statue was named in April to the state's list of Most Endangered Historic Places.

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