The Trail Of Tears In Illinois Winds Through 60 Miles Of Land of Lincoln History
One of the most historic stretches of the Trail of Tears is found in Illinois, and while guests can walk the path, it puts hikers in the footsteps of a terrible stain that has been left on the country for centuries. A protected area has been built up around the marked trail that Native Americans were once forced to take while being removed from their land, and it can still be walked today. Check it out:
A 60-mile stretch of a historic path is preserved in southern Illinois within Trail of Tears State Forest where Cherokee Natives were forced to travel for three months in order to make it across the Ohio River and then the Mississippi River into what would be known as Indian territory according to the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Cherokee began their crossing into Illinois at Golconda after passing through Tennesee and Kentucky and traveled to Jonesboro where they eventually made it across the Mississippi River into Missouri on their way to Oklahoma. The path was longer than necessary as smallpox and other diseases were rampant among native communities, and towns would not let them enter.
The Trail of Tears State Forest is 5,000 acres and preserves this portion of the long and treacherous journey that thousands had to take. It is filled with natural wonders and leftover pieces of the past.
Prior to the Indian Removal Act, about 125,000 natives lived in what is now considered the Deep South region of the United States where they had owned land for centuries. White settlers wanted their land in order to grow cotton, tobacco, and other crops.
There were five remaining tribes that had decided to assimilate, convert to Christianity, and otherwise give in to the will of white settlers in order to keep their settlements. These tribes were the Muscogee (aka Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Cherokee.
Some left willingly, but along with the settlers' African slaves, about 60,000 natives were forcefully removed from their land, typically chained and lined up with no belongings except for the thin clothes on their backs and the moccasins on their feet.
The Cherokee lived in present-day Georgia and though about 2,000 voluntarily relocated, many were forced to trade the land they already had for land in Oklahoma. They were rounded up and made to depart from present-day Chatanooga, Tennessee where they traveled the northernmost route of the Trail of Tears, which is known as one of the harshest and most deadly parts due to the weather conditions at the time.
They were made to leave their land in early December and crossed southern Illinois around December 26, 1838. It took three months for the Cherokee to completely get across Illinois due to freezing temperatures that caused giant ice blocks to crash into each other in the Mississippi River. This portion of the trail was where they suffered most deaths due to not being prepared for the cold.
One of the structures you may pass while hiking this trail is the encampment where Cherokee stayed while waiting for winter to pass at the Mississippi River. About 4,000 to 5,000 died along this journey.
The Treaty of New Echota traded all Cherokee land that was east of the Mississippi River for $5 million and was negotiated by a few members of the tribe. This deal was not agreed on by most members of the community who certainly felt sold out and betrayed. Though a petition was signed by 16,000 Cherokee to get rid of the treaty, the government when through with it anyway.
Your hike through this forest and along this path will be filled with history and the knowledge of who marked the trail. Your excursion will undoubtedly be much more peaceful than the tearful trek originally taken.
If you’ve ever hiked the Trail of Tears in Illinois, we’d love to hear from you. Please share your experiences and photos with us below in the comments.
An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.
