St. Elmo in Fayette County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Tipi
Photographed by Thomas Smith, January 4, 2026
1. Tipi Marker
Inscription.
Traditional homes of the Plains Indians: Many of the Plains Tribes used the tipi, including the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapahoes, Kiowa, Crow, Gros Ventres, Mandans, and Pawnees. The tipi belonged to the woman of the family, and it was her job to set it up and take it down at each campsite. The Plains Indians were constantly on the move following the great buffalo herds. When not assembled, tipis were compact and lightweight, making them easy to move from place to place. To move it the ends of two of the tipi poles were lashed to a dog or a horse. The other end dragged along the ground, forming a Travois, on which the buffalo coverings and the family's other possesions were tied.
Location. 39° 0.812′ N, 88° 51.301′ W. Marker is in St. Elmo, Illinois, in Fayette County. It is on West Tower Road (at milepost 0.1) east of Interstate Drive, on the right. Touch for map. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Illinois’
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Colorado River Valley, specifically in Flagstaff & High Country, on the Mogollon Rim, in the Prescott Area, in Verde Valley, in the White Mountains, in The Valley (the San Fernando Valley), in the Inland Empire, in Silicon Valley, in the Coachella Valley, in the Colorado Desert, in the Gold Country, in the High Desert, in the Mojave Desert, in the San Bernardino Mountains, in the San Luis Valley, in the Berkshire Foothills, in the Connecticut River Valley, on the Connecticut Shoreline, on the Gold Coast, in Greater Bridgeport, in Greater Hartford, in Greater New Haven, in Greater New London, in the Knowledge Corridor, in the Litchfield Hills, in Mystic and the Eastern Shore, in the Quiet Corner, in the Thames River Valley, on Delawares Beaches, in Southern New Castle County, in the Everglades, on the Florida Keys, on Hilo and East Hawaii, on the Kona Coast, on North Shore Oahu, on Pearl Harbor and Historic West Oahu, in Upcountry Maui, in Lahaina and West Maui, on Windward Oahu, in Central Illinois, in the Quad Cities, on the Indiana Dunes and Lake Michigan Shore, in the Calumet Region, in the
Photographed by Thomas Smith, January 4, 2026
2. Tipi Marker
Spirit Lake Nation, in the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, in the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation, in the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, on the Cheyenne River Reservation, in the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation, in the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, on the Kootenai Reservation, in the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, on the Wind River Indian Reservation, on the ShoshonePaiute Duck Valley Reservation, on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, in the Yankton Sioux Tribe, in the Navajo Nation, on the Shoshone-Bannock Fort Hall Reservation, on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation, on Nez Perce Tribal Land, in the Blackfeet Nation, in the Crow Nation, in the Flathead Nation, in the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, in the Northern Cheyenne Nation, on the Rocky Boys Reservation, in the Tohono Oodham Nation, in the White Mountain Apache Nation, in the Yavapai-Apache Nation, in the Amana Colonies, on Mount Desert Island, in the Kennebec Valley, in the Maine Highlands, in Midcoast Maine, on Penobscot Bay, on Southern Maine Coast, in the Western Maine Lakes and Mountains Region, in Greater Bangor, in Greater Portland, in the Baltimore Metro Region, in Central Maryland, in Historic Boston, on Cape Ann, on the North Shore, in the South Coast, on the South Shore, in Greater Boston, on the Straits of Mackinac, on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, in Greater Duluth The Twin Ports, in Greater Billings, in the Lakes Region, in the Merrimack Valley, in North Jersey, in Central Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, in the Pine Barrens, in Piedmont Triad, on the Cape Fear Coast, on the Crystal Coast, in Greater Asheville, in Greater Charlotte, on the Outer Banks, in the Research Triangle, on the Oregon Coast, in the Blackstone Valley, in Greater Providence, on Narragansett Bay, in Newport and Aquidneck Island, in Historic Charleston, on the Grand Strand, on the Sea Islands, on Waccamaw Neck, in the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Basin, in the Foothills, in Congaree Country, in Greater Burlington, in the Mid-Ohio Valley and in the Jackson Hole Area. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Ohio River Valley, on the Colorado Plateau, in the Black Hills, in the Corn Belt, in the Chesapeake Bay Region, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Fairfield County, Hartford County, Litchfield County, Middlesex County, New Haven County, New London County, Tolland County, Windham County, the Viceroyalty of New France,Acadia, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 6, 2026, by Thomas Smith of Waterloo, Ill. This page has been viewed 54 times since then. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 6, 2026, by Thomas Smith of Waterloo, Ill. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A better wide shot of the marker in context. • Can you help?
