The Sauk Trail was originally a Native American trail running through what are present-day

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the United States. From west to east, the trail ran from Rock Island on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

to the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

near modern

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then along the north bank of that river to Joliet, and on to Valparaiso, Indiana. Then it ran northeasterly to La Porte and into southern

running through Niles, Sturgis, Ypsilanti, and ending at the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

near

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Sections of the trail appeared to follow the southern boundary between the dense forest and the mixed grassland regions. The identification of a

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

trailway along the same path indicates that the Native Americans may have been using a long established game trail, as they did in other areas, for instance where they followed bison paths. In 1820

Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi ...

, then at present-day

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It had a population of 32,075 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Lake Michigan in the Michiana region, the city is about east of Chicago and is west o ...

, described the trail, as a "plain horse path, which is considerably traveled by traders, hunters, and others..." and said that a stranger could not follow it without the services of a guide because of the numerous side trails. The Sauk Trail intersected many important trails and early roads, including trails to

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, to Green Bay, to

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

and to Little Traverse Bay.

Illinois

In Illinois, not much is known about the exact path. Scholars believe it likely ran along the

, and past what was at one point, the "Grand Village of the Illini", near current-day Utica. Settlers also used this trail, and U.S. Route 6 (US 6) ultimately was built along the same rough route. It ran from Rock Island, to

and follows along the northern bank of the

to Joliet. Settler accounts note that where the Rock River joined the

was the beginning of a native path that continued eastward to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. A highway named Sauk Trail runs from Frankfort, Illinois through Park Forest, Illinois to just west of the state line at

Dyer, Indiana Dyer ( ) is a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,517 at the 2020 census. It is a southeastern suburb of Chicago. Geography Dyer borders Munster to the north, unincorporated St. John Townshi ...

. US 12 was built along a known portion of the Sauk Trail that ultimately ends in

. US 6 parallels, at various points, the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers' paths, and some of their tributaries. Natives and later settlers often found pathways easiest along the river banks.

Indiana

The transition of the trail from Illinois to Indiana is uncertain. A Great Sauk Trail memorial was installed outside of Iddings Elementary School in

Merrillville, Indiana Merrillville ( , ) is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 36,444 at the 2020 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville bec ...

. It has been established that the trail ran through what is today Valparaiso, then into La Porte and on to Michigan. Today Rte 30 transitions to Rte 2 along this route.

Michigan

In Michigan, the route of the modern US Highway 12 has been associated with the Sauk Trail since 1962. Before that year, US 112 was the roadway along this route. The route in Michigan has also been known as the Chicago Road or Chicago Trail. * *

References

External links

* {{road index Historic trails and roads in the United States Native American trails in the United States Native Americans in Indiana Historic trails and roads in Indiana Historic trails and roads in Illinois Historic trails and roads in Michigan Sac and Fox U.S. Route 12 Native American history of Illinois Native American history of Michigan

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

See also

References

External links