Southern Illinois farm to be designated part of Trail of Tears

GRANTSBURG, Ill. -- A Johnson County farm is set to become the first site in Southern Illinois to be designated as part of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

Joe Crabb, who has lived on the land for more than 40 years, said he was following the established trail when he noticed a missing segment near his property.

Visits by a historian and representatives of the National Park Service and the national Trail of Tears Association confirmed his Grantsburg farm is part of the trail.

"They were impressed," Crabb told the Southern Illinoisan.

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is maintained by the park service and marks the 2,200-mile path taken by thousands of Cherokee Indians in the 1830s as the federal government forcibly removed them to land that is now Oklahoma.

Steve Burns, a landscape architect for the National Park Service, said the segment of the trail in Southern Illinois was likely the deadliest, because the Cherokees were stuck between two frozen rivers in the frigid winter of 1838.

Crabb's farm will get its official Trail signage at a dedication ceremony Tuesday.

Burns said the sign along the trail is to help people "find, follow and experience the trail."