Trail of Death
Fulton County Historical Society
Located in North Central Indiana
 Potawatomi Trail of Death Regional Historic Trail
                         1838 Indiana to Kansas

    On Sept. 15, 2006, the Manitou Chapter and several Indiana state DAR
    officers took part in the dedication of 5 new highway signs to mark the
    route taken by the Potawatomi Indians from Indiana to Kansas in the fall
    of 1838. The Potawatomi were marched at gunpoint down Rochester's
    Main Street on Sept. 5, 1838. So many died along the way that it is called
    the Trail of Death. Of the 859 Potawatomi who began the trip, 42 died.
    They crossed into Illinois at Danville, went through Springfield, and ferried
    crossed the Mississippi River at Quincy, Ill. They crossed Missouri
    and ferried across the Missouri River at Lexington. The end of the trail is
    at Osawatomie, Kansas.

    These are the first historic highway signs in the nation for the Potawatomi
    Trail of Death Regional Historic Trail. The signs are the same size as the
    Lewis & Clark Historic Trail signs. There are now five Potawatomi Trail
    of Death highway signs across Fulton County, Indiana - the first in the nation.
    The one pictured is at the Marshall - Fulton County line, on Old 31
    about seven miles north of Rochester. It is at the corner of Indiana 110 and
    Old 31 by the County Line Landfill. The other signs are at the north edge
    of Rochester by the railroad tracks, south edge of Rochester by CVS Pharmacy
    where Indiana 25 heads south, the north edge of Fulton, and in front
    of Caston School at the Cass - Fulton county line.
    The logo was created by David Thomas Anderson, Seattle, Washington.
    He is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.  The little family is being
    protected by a redtailed hawk.

    Plans are to erect these signs on the whole 660 mile Trail of Death route from
    Indiana to Kansas, with the help of other DAR chapters and volunteers, so
    that motorists, hikers and bikers can follow the historic trail and
    find the 78 Trail of Death historical markers. "It is our hope that
    people will read the Trail of Death historical markers and the highway
    signs, and say a prayer for peace for all mankind and that
    there will never be another terrible forced removal, and that all
    people will learn to be kind to each other and take care of each
    other as we travel Earth together," stated Shirley Willard, Manitou
    Chapter Regent and president emerita of Fulton County Historical
    Society, Rochester, Indiana. Shirley served as coordinator for
    erecting the Trail of Death historical markers 1988-2006. There
    are now 78 historical markers, including markers at each camp site
    every 15 to 20 miles.

    See www.potawatomi-tda.org for pictures of all the Trail of Death
    historical markers, GPS locations, driving directions, 1838 diary,
    and more.