Trail of Tears State Forest is a State of Illinois

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

on in Union County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.Joe McFarland, "High Country Forest", ''Outdoor Illinois'' XVIII:12 (December 2010), pages 2-5. Trail of Tears was established in 1929 when Illinois purchased acres of

Shawnee Hills The Shawnee Hills is a region of southern Illinois that rests mainly in an east-west arc roughly following the outline of the southern end of the Illinois Basin. Whereas Mississippian and Pennsylvania Age rock layers are deep beneath the soil su ...

land and used the resulting land to create the ''Kohn-Jackson Forest'' (later ''Union County State Forest''). Soon afterwards, the state park was improved with work performed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. Subsequent land acquisitions created the Trail of Tears State Forest of today. The forest occupies land near the route followed by the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

in December 1838 during their forced relocation in the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

. Today's state forest contains a state

tree nursery A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...

, the Ozark Hills Nature Preserve, and of trails for hiking and equestrian use. The nearest town of any size is

Jonesboro, Illinois Jonesboro is a city in Union County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,853 in 2000. It is the county seat of Union County. The city is known for being tied to its close neighbor Anna, together ...

References

External links

* Illinois state forests Protected areas of Union County, Illinois Protected areas established in 1929 1929 establishments in Illinois {{Illinois-protected-area-stub

See also

References

External links