Decatur dedicates new sign recognizing Potawatomi Trail of Death
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A portion of the Potawatomi Trail of Death in Decatur is now recognized with a new road sign.
The sign was unveiled Wednesday along Lake Shore Drive near previously dedicated historical markers. The sign and markers highlight Decatur’s portion of the 660-mile trail that the Potawatomi Tribe marched along in 1838.
More than 840 members of the Indiana-based tribe were forced to leave their homelands that year and march to Kansas, going through parts of Central Illinois. Historians have recorded that 41 people died along the trail.
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Historians said these signs are important because it puts things into perspective.
“Well this particular marker reminds people that the Potawatomi nation came through here at a certain time, said Mark Sorensen, a Macon County historian.” They had no choice, they slept here and lots of other places while passing through Illinois.”
The effort to further commemorate the Trail of Death in Decatur was led by Sister JoAn Schullian and Walt Wessel. They attended the dedication ceremony, along with George Godfrey, a member of the Potawatomi.
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