In September 1838, the federal government forced 859 Potawatomi people on a 600-mile march to this endpoint in present-day Osawatomie. After two months on the trail, they arrived in winter to find that the promised food, shelter, and medical care had not been provided. Along what is now remembered as the Potawatomi Trail of Death, 42 people died from starvation, disease, or exposure, and a few escaped. Most of the survivors later found refuge about 20 miles south at Sugar Creek Mission in present-day Linn County.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Dorsett