Video
Hamburg Hill – Place to visit on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Transcript
Two hours’ drive southeast of St. Louis, near the town of Jonesboro, Illinois, is the Shawnee National Forest and the Hamburg Hill Trailhead. Walk through this wooded hollow on the same trail travelled by thousands of Cherokee people during the forced removal of 1838-1839 that has come to be known as the Trail of Tears.
From Berryville Road, turn on to Water Plant Lane and follow for 1-mile to a small parking area. Here you will find a vault toilet, but come prepared with drinking water. Wayside exhibits mark the start of the trail east of the gravel parking lot. They tell the story of eight Cherokee detachments who crossed through Illinois and were trapped by freezing temperatures for over a month, waiting to cross the river into Missouri.
Today, visitors can walk a one-mile, out-and-back segment of the same roadbed traveled by the Cherokee over 150 years ago. The steep-sided embankment is lush with greenery bringing life to the historic trail. Pets are welcome, but they must be on a leash.
Shawnee National Forest spans 289,000 acres of southern Illinois and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The area is popular for hiking, camping, horseback riding, and viewing nature.
The Hamburg Hill Trail commemorates the Cherokee Removal and offers a chance to hike the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail in a place where it happened.
For more information, including directions you can visit go.nps.gov/HamburgHill.
Description
Thirteen detachments of approximately 1,000 Cherokees each left Tennessee in the fall of 1838 on the forced removal that became known as the Trail of Tears. They crossed into Illinois in October and December where an unforgiving bitter winter met them. Arriving at Hamburg Hill, they followed a steep-sided, thickly wooded hollow four miles to the Mississippi River. Today, visitors can retrace a one-mile segment of the same roadbed traveled by the detachments, on an out-and-back trail.
Duration
1 minute, 37 seconds
Credit
NPS Video
Date Created
08/05/2024
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