Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Ancient Indian Trail
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 27, 2025
1. Ancient Indian Trail Marker
Eastward the tall grass of the prairie stretched as far as the eye could reach. Later it served as a road for the early settlers in the long months when the flooded prairies were impassable. May those who now follow this trail gain comfort from nature's peace and beauty.
Erected 1942.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Roads & Vehicles • Waterways & Vessels.
Location. 41° 52.042′ N, 87° 49.227′ W. Marker is in Forest Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Forest Home Cemetery. It can be reached from Des Plaines Avenue south of Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290), on the right when traveling south. The marker is in section 38 of Forest Home Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 863 Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park IL 60130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Haymarket Martyrs Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Haymarket Martyrs' Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pottawatomie Village and Burial Ground
this page online
More about this marker. The face of a Native American has been chiseled into the stone, beside the text. The figure's nose has eroded and partially broken off.
Another marker, about a quarter-mile southwest of here in Section 27 of the cemetery, describes a Native American village and burial site that are believed to have been on this site until white settlement took hold in the 1830s.
Regarding Ancient Indian Trail. The modern Des Plaines Avenue, about 400 feet east of here, runs along the Indian Trail described by this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Video: Native American Sites of the Chicago Region - Forest Home Cemetery. A YouTube video from the channel BeHistoric looks at Forest Home
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 27, 2025
2. Ancient Indian Trail Marker
2. History of Forest Home Cemetery.
Excerpt: "Native Americans of the Upper Mississippian culture lived on the site, dating back to 8,000 B.C. They not only established a thriving village but, in about 2,500 B.C., began using the site as a burial ground. They constructed elaborate mounds, creating a "mini-Cahokia" in what is now Forest Home. Native Americans were expelled from this site in 1832. The Potawatomi had been guaranteed this land by the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829, but were forced to move west just a few years later, after the Black Hawk War of 1832."(Submitted on January 27, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 27, 2025
3. Ancient Indian Trail Marker and Forest Home Cemetery
Credits. This page was last revised on January 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 27, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 197 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 27, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
