Potawatomi Indians - Jacksonville, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 44.073 W 090° 13.731
15S E 737475 N 4401968
They camped in Jacksonville, Illinois, right in the heart of the city.
Waymark Code: WM18ANK
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2023
Views: 0
County of marker: Morgan County
Location of marker: Mauvaiseterre St., Central Plaza Park, Jacksonville
Erected by: The Morgan County Historical Society
Marker Text:
POTAWATOMI INDIANS
were welcomed on this plaza
October 2, 1838
while on the Trail of Death.
From Indiana to what is now Kansas.
Commemoration of this event, September, 1993,
By The Morgan County Historical Society.
Jacob Hull's Detachment of the Potawatomi Emigration of 1838
" ... which is now known as the “Trail of Death” march — one of the last forced removals by militia in 1838 that resulted in over 40 deaths during the two-month journey, most of them children.
"More than 800 members of the Potawatomi Nation did not want to leave their land, even after it was ceded to the federal government and the deadline to leave had passed, so 100 militia men were ordered to force them out of Indiana, making way for future immigrants to move in.
"During the journey that took place in the latter part of 1838, the stop in Jacksonville was significant because one of the deaths that occurred east of town — a girl of Chief Metteah’s family ...
"The story of the “Trail of Death” does live on, but so does the Potawatomi Nation." ~ Jacksonville Journal-Courier, by Darren Iozia, May 28, 2021