Decatur Park District Executive Director Clay Gerhard and State Rep. Sue Scherer help install a new sign marking the Potawatomi Trail of Death after a ceremony Wednesday at Mueller Park in Decatur.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEW
DECATUR — Located at the bottom of a hill off of Lake Shore Drive is a boulder marking the Potawatomi Trail of Death.
“Approximately 800 Potawatomi Indians passed here on September 26, 1838, during their forced march to Potawatomi Creek, Kansas, after being driven from their land in northern Indiana at gunpoint,” the monument reads.
Although the stone has been sitting on the hill south of Mueller Park and the Decatur Park District’s office since 1994, few people knew about the monument, much less the story behind it and the nearly 80 others marking the treacherous journey nearly 190 years ago.
Community leaders, public officials and members of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association met on Wednesday afternoon to dedicate a direction sign and to honor the Native Americans who sacrificed their land and lives. Records indicate 42 people, 28 of them children, died during the trek.
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George Godfrey and Kevin Roberts, of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association, and Sister JoAn Schullian get together for a picture with the new sign marking the Potawatomi Trail of Death after a ceremony at Mueller Park in Decatur on Wednesday. “A lot of people just don’t know the history,” said Roberts.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEW
George Godfrey is the president of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association. His grandmother’s interest in the trail’s history encouraged him to take part in its preservation. “And knowing that I crossed the Potawatomi Trail of Death everyday on my way to work,” he said. “I began researching.”
The sign was erected Wednesday after the dedication.
Markers were placed in various locations along the 660-mile trail. Some remain, while others need to be more visible. The association created the signage with the hopes of offering clearer direction to the Trail of Death markers. “I have a number of these in my garage,” Godfrey said.
Ceremony attendees approach the stone marker for the Potawatomi Trail of Death, which passed through the area in 1838, at Mueller Park, with Lake Shore Drive in the background, in Decatur on Wednesday.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEW
However, approval is needed for the signs to be displayed along state patrolled highways.
“It’s kind of like we are on sacred ground here,” said State Rep. Sue Scherer. “They went right by here.”
House Resolution 170, which requested the Illinois Department of Transportation to erect a sign directing people to the Decatur marker, was adopted by state representatives last year.
Like many Decatur residents, Sister JoAn Schullian wasn’t aware of the monument, although it was placed in its spot 30 years ago. “I don’t know much at all,” she said. “As I asked different Decatur people, they didn’t even know the monument was up here.”
Schullian said she wanted to do something about the lack of historical knowledge and contacted Scherer and other important figures to bring signage to the Decatur site. “Two signs are there,” she said about the brown Historical Marker Ahead signs.
The rock, placed in 1994, marks the Potawatomi Trail of Death, which passed through the area in 1838, between East Riverside Avenue and East Lake Shore Drive, in Decatur on Wednesday.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEW
According to history, President Andrew Jackson signed into law the Indian Removal Act on May 28, 1830. Eight years later, Native Americans were forced to travel from Indiana, crossing the Mississippi River, to unsettle land in Kansas.
The trek passed through Decatur on what was later called the Trail of Death.
Approximately 850 members of the Potawatomi tribe took the 660-mile trek. Three weeks were spent traveling through Illinois during a drought before the group crossed the river in Quincy. Several would die along the journey.
According to Mark Sorensen, former president of the Illinois State Historical Society, information about the locations was recorded by the militia leaders, including the distance traveled, the topography, weather, “and the almost daily deaths during that drought-stricken summer and fall,” he said. “Dozens of Potawatomi died in the heat while going across Illinois.”
The Potawatomi Trail of Death Association has several statistics, including information of the trail’s 76 historical markers.
The Decatur monument has a quote from Father Benjamin Marie Petit, a missionary to the Native Americans in Indiana, who traveled with the Potawatomi.
“We soon found ourselves on the grand prairies of Illinois, under burning sun and without shade from one camp to another,” Petit is quoted on the Decatur monument.
Other oral stories have followed along the trail. “Little by little we pick up bits and pieces of information,” Godfrey said.
Local members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Boy and Girl Scouts, local historical societies and Potawatomi relatives contributed to the dedication of other historical markers as well.
Shirley and Bill Willard’s sons were Boy Scouts in Rochester, Indiana, where the Trail of Death began. They were encouraged to become members of the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association. The couple traveled to Decatur to be a part of the sign dedication.
“We travel every five years as a caravan, stopping at just about every place that the Potawatomi stopped in the 1838 journey,” Shirley Willard said. “We’ve dedicated historical markers. We’ve reached out to the public to let them know about the Trail of Death, because not too many people knew about it.”
Closest national parks to Decatur, Illinois
Closest national parks to Decatur, Illinois
Approximately
237 million people
visited American national parks in 2020, representing a 28% year-over-year decrease attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. Many parks were forced to close to combat the spread of the virus, but that’s not the whole story—when the parks were open, many of them saw record crowds as throngs of people desperate to safely enjoy nature descended onto parks when they reopened.President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 signed the act creating the National Park Service to leave natural and historic phenomenons “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” Since then, our national parks have welcomed visitors from around the world to experience some of the best the country has to offer and showcase the country’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Today, the country’s
63 national parks
contain at least 247 species of
endangered or threatened plants and animals
, more than 75,000 archaeological sites, and 18,000 miles of trails.
Stacker
compiled a list of the closest national parks to Decatur, Illinois. National parks are ranked by closest straight line distance, measured from representative points in Decatur, IL Metro Area and each national park. Estimated driving times are from
Here
and are only available within the lower 48 states. All featured distances and driving times are estimated using representative locations from the center of each metro and national park—for some places within the metro area, the actual distance may be slightly shorter or longer to reach the closest entryway to a park.Be sure to check with individual parks before you visit to find out about ongoing, pandemic-related safety precautions at
www.nps.gov/coronavirus
.You may also like:
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Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#1. Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri)
– Distance: 107 miles
– Driving time: 2.1 hours
– Date founded: February 22, 2018[47]
– 2020 visitors: 486,021 (#31 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 192.83 acres
Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock
#2. Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana)
– Distance: 159 miles
– Driving time: 3.1 hours
– Date founded: February 15, 2019
– 2020 visitors: 2,293,106 (#11 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,349.08 acres
Delmas Lehman // Shutterstock
#3. Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
– Distance: 241 miles
– Driving time: 5.8 hours
– Date founded: July 1, 1941
– 2020 visitors: 290,392 (#41 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 54,011.91 acres
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
#4. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
– Distance: 401 miles
– Driving time: 7.3 hours
– Date founded: October 11, 2000
– 2020 visitors: 2,755,628 (#7 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 32,571.88 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#6. Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
– Distance: 432 miles
– Driving time: 8.3 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1921
– 2020 visitors: 1,348,215 (#16 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 5,554.15 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#7. New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
– Distance: 442 miles
– Driving time: 9.0 hours
– Date founded: December 27, 2020
– 2020 visitors: 1,054,374 (#19 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,021 acres
Steve Heap // Shutterstock
#8. Isle Royale National Park (Michigan)
– Distance: 569 miles
– Driving time: 10.7 hours
– Date founded: April 3, 1940
– 2020 visitors: 6,493 (#59 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 571,790.30 acres
MDuchek // Wikimedia Commons
#9. Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
– Distance: 577 miles
– Driving time: 12.5 hours
– Date founded: December 26, 1935
– 2020 visitors: 1,666,265 (#14 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 199,223.77 acres
Jon Bilous // Shutterstock
#10. Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
– Distance: 617 miles
– Driving time: 12.8 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 2003
– 2020 visitors: 119,306 (#51 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,476.47 acres You may also like:
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Jtmartin57 // Wikimedia Commons
#11. Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota)
– Distance: 627 miles
– Driving time: 11.2 hours
– Date founded: April 8, 1975
– 2020 visitors: 263,091 (#44 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 218,222.35 acres
BlueBarronPhoto // Shutterstock
#12. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
– Distance: 748 miles
– Driving time: 13.6 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 1978
– 2020 visitors: 916,932 (#21 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 242,755.94 acres
Matt Ragen // Shutterstock
#13. Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota)
– Distance: 792 miles
– Driving time: 15.0 hours
– Date founded: January 9, 1903
– 2020 visitors: 448,405 (#33 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,970.84 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#14. Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota)
– Distance: 877 miles
– Driving time: 15.9 hours
– Date founded: November 10, 1978
– 2020 visitors: 551,303 (#28 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 70,446.89 acres
Laurens Hoddenbagh // Shutterstock
#15. Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 880 miles
– Driving time: 14.8 hours
– Date founded: January 26, 1915
– 2020 visitors: 3,305,199 (#4 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 265,807.25 acres You may also like:
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Anna Krivitskaya // Shutterstock
#16. Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 904 miles
– Driving time: 16.3 hours
– Date founded: September 24, 2004
– 2020 visitors: 461,532 (#32 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 107,341.87 acres
Kris Wiktor // Shutterstock
#17. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (Colorado)
– Distance: 1,009 miles
– Driving time: 19.5 hours
– Date founded: October 21, 1999
– 2020 visitors: 341,620 (#39 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 30,779.83 acres
SL-Photography // Shutterstock
#18. Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)
– Distance: 1,014 miles
– Driving time: 17.8 hours
– Date founded: May 14, 1930
– 2020 visitors: 183,835 (#45 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 46,766.45 acres
Doug Meek // Shutterstock
#19. Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas)
– Distance: 1,045 miles
– Driving time: 18.9 hours
– Date founded: October 15, 1966
– 2020 visitors: 151,256 (#49 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 86,367.10 acres
ShuPhoto // Shutterstock
#21. White Sands National Park (New Mexico)
– Distance: 1,075 miles
– Driving time: 18.6 hours
– Date founded: December 20, 2019[111]
– 2020 visitors: 415,383 (#34 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 146,344.31 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
#22. Big Bend National Park (Texas)
– Distance: 1,092 miles
– Driving time: 21.2 hours
– Date founded: June 12, 1944
– 2020 visitors: 393,907 (#37 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 801,163.21 acres
Eric Foltz // Shutterstock
#23. Everglades National Park (Florida)
– Distance: 1,105 miles
– Driving time: 20.8 hours
– Date founded: May 30, 1934
– 2020 visitors: 702,319 (#25 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,508,938.57 acres
Simon Dannhauer // Shutterstock
#24. Arches National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 1,106 miles
– Driving time: 19.4 hours
– Date founded: November 12, 1971
– 2020 visitors: 1,238,083 (#17 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 76,678.98 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
#25. Biscayne National Park (Florida)
– Distance: 1,106 miles
– Driving time: 19.8 hours
– Date founded: June 28, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 402,770 (#36 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 172,971.11 acres You may also like:
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NPS // Wikimedia Commons
#26. Acadia National Park (Maine)
– Distance: 1,107 miles
– Driving time: 22.2 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2020 visitors: 2,669,034 (#8 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 49,076.63 acres
Romiana Lee // Shutterstock
#27. Dry Tortugas National Park (Florida)
– Distance: 1,108 miles
– Driving time: 22.7 hours
– Date founded: October 26, 1992
– 2020 visitors: 48,543 (#55 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 64,701.22 acres
U.S. National Park Service // Wikimedia Commons
#28. Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 1,131 miles
– Driving time: 26.6 hours
– Date founded: September 12, 1964
– 2020 visitors: 493,914 (#30 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 337,597.83 acres
Manamana // Shutterstock
#29. Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho)
– Distance: 1,148 miles
– Driving time: 21.1 hours
– Date founded: March 1, 1872
– 2020 visitors: 3,806,306 (#2 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,219,790.71 acres
Lane V. Erickson // Shutterstock
#30. Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
– Distance: 1,155 miles
– Driving time: 20.1 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1929
– 2020 visitors: 3,289,638 (#5 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 310,044.36 acres You may also like:
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#31. Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 1,188 miles
– Driving time: 19.7 hours
– Date founded: December 9, 1962
– 2020 visitors: 384,483 (#38 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 221,390.21 acres
Felix Lipov // Shutterstock
#32. Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 1,197 miles
– Driving time: 21.0 hours
– Date founded: December 18, 1971
– 2020 visitors: 981,038 (#20 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 241,904.50 acres
Layne V. Naylor // Shutterstock
#33. Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 1,261 miles
– Driving time: 23.1 hours
– Date founded: February 25, 1928
– 2020 visitors: 1,464,655 (#15 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 35,835.08 acres
ronnybas frimages // Shutterstock
#34. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 1,289 miles
– Driving time: 23.3 hours
– Date founded: February 26, 1919
– 2020 visitors: 2,897,098 (#6 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,201,647.03 acres
Josemaria Toscano // Shutterstock
#35. Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
– Distance: 1,311 miles
– Driving time: 23.5 hours
– Date founded: October 14, 1994
– 2020 visitors: 762,226 (#24 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 92,867.42 acres You may also like:
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#36. Zion National Park (Utah)
– Distance: 1,312 miles
– Driving time: 23.6 hours
– Date founded: November 19, 1919
– 2020 visitors: 3,591,254 (#3 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 147,242.66 acres
Galyna Andrushko // Shutterstock
#37. Great Basin National Park (Nevada)
– Distance: 1,353 miles
– Driving time: 23.6 hours
– Date founded: October 27, 1986
– 2020 visitors: 120,248 (#50 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 77,180.00 acres
Arlene Waller // Shutterstock
#38. Glacier National Park (Montana)
– Distance: 1,377 miles
– Date founded: May 11, 1910
– 2020 visitors: 1,698,864 (#13 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,013,125.99 acres
Pung // Shutterstock
#39. Death Valley National Park (California, Nevada)
– Distance: 1,533 miles
– Driving time: 26.8 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2020 visitors: 820,023 (#22 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,408,406.73 acres
Bryan Brazil // Shutterstock
#40. Joshua Tree National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,544 miles
– Driving time: 27.1 hours
– Date founded: October 31, 1994
– 2020 visitors: 2,399,542 (#10 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 795,155.85 acres You may also like:
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#41. Kings Canyon National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,614 miles
– Driving time: 35.1 hours
– Date founded: March 4, 1940
– 2020 visitors: 415,077 (#35 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 461,901.20 acres
Patrick Poendl // Shutterstock
#42. Sequoia National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,628 miles
– Driving time: 33.4 hours
– Date founded: September 25, 1890
– 2020 visitors: 796,086 (#23 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 404,062.63 acres
Virrage Images // Shutterstock
#43. Yosemite National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,645 miles
– Driving time: 32.5 hours
– Date founded: October 1, 1890
– 2020 visitors: 2,268,313 (#12 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 761,747.50 acres
Stephen Moehle // Shutterstock
#44. North Cascades National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 1,696 miles
– Driving time: 33.4 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2020 visitors: 30,885 (#56 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 504,780.94 acres
National Park Service/Deby Dixon // Wikimedia Commons
#45. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 1,707 miles
– Driving time: 30.7 hours
– Date founded: March 2, 1899
– 2020 visitors: 1,160,754 (#18 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 236,381.64 acres
Diane Fetzner // Shutterstock
#46. Lassen Volcanic National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,713 miles
– Driving time: 29.6 hours
– Date founded: August 9, 1916
– 2020 visitors: 542,274 (#29 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 106,589.02 acres
Zack Frank // Shutterstock
#47. Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)
– Distance: 1,724 miles
– Driving time: 30.7 hours
– Date founded: May 22, 1902
– 2020 visitors: 670,500 (#26 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 183,224.05 acres
Hank Shiffman // Shutterstock
#48. Channel Islands National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,725 miles
– Date founded: March 5, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 167,290 (#47 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 249,561.00 acres
Ethan Daniels // Shutterstock
#49. Pinnacles National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,759 miles
– Driving time: 31.9 hours
– Date founded: January 10, 2013
– 2020 visitors: 165,740 (#48 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 26,685.73 acres
Yhelfman // Shutterstock
#50. Olympic National Park (Washington)
– Distance: 1,795 miles
– Driving time: 33.8 hours
– Date founded: June 29, 1938
– 2020 visitors: 2,499,177 (#9 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 922,649.41 acres
f11photo // Shutterstock
#51. Redwood National Park (California)
– Distance: 1,833 miles
– Driving time: 34.1 hours
– Date founded: October 2, 1968
– 2020 visitors: 265,177 (#43 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 138,999.37 acres
Bob Pool // Shutterstock
#52. Virgin Islands National Park (U.S. Virgin Islands)
– Distance: 2,071 miles
– Date founded: August 2, 1956
– 2020 visitors: 167,540 (#46 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 15,052.53 acres
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
#53. Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,455 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 5,748 (#60 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,223,383.43 acres
Alan Wu // Wikimedia Commons
#54. Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,655 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 16,655 (#57 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,323,146.48 acres
Sewtex // Wikimedia Commons
#55. Kenai Fjords National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,910 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 115,882 (#52 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 669,650.05 acres
National Park Service, Alaska Region // Wikimedia Commons
#56. Denali National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 2,945 miles
– Date founded: February 26, 1917
– 2020 visitors: 54,850 (#53 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 4,740,911.16 acres
Denali National Park and Preserve // Wikimedia Commons
#57. Lake Clark National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 3,038 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 4,948 (#61 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 2,619,816.49 acres
Ryjil Christianson // Wikimedia Commons
#58. Gates of the Arctic National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 3,049 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 2,872 (#63 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 7,523,897.45 acres
National Park Service, Alaska Region // Wikimedia Commons
#59. Katmai National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 3,104 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 51,511 (#54 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 3,674,529.33 acres
Katmai National Park and Preserve // Wikimedia Commons
#60. Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska)
– Distance: 3,206 miles
– Date founded: December 2, 1980
– 2020 visitors: 11,185 (#58 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 1,750,716.16 acres
LCGS Russ // Wikimedia Commons
#61. Haleakalā National Park (Hawaii)
– Distance: 4,129 miles
– Date founded: July 1, 1961
– 2020 visitors: 319,147 (#40 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 33,264.62 acres
MH Anderson Photography // Shutterstock
#62. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
– Distance: 4,131 miles
– Date founded: August 1, 1916
– 2020 visitors: 589,775 (#27 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 325,605.28 acres
jo Crebbin // Shutterstock
#63. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa)
– Distance: 6,415 miles
– Date founded: October 31, 1988
– 2020 visitors: 4,819 (#62 highest among all national parks)
– Park area: 8,256.67 acres
Tavita Togia, National Park Service // Wikimedia Commons
Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR
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