A small native stone shelter in the city park honors Opothleyahola (Yahola), a Creek Indian leader who suffered great hardships when he and his followers were marched to Indian territory from Georgia and Alabama on the Trail of Tears in 1839. Siding with the Union during the Civil War, Yahola and about 1,000 of his followers formed the First Indian Home Guard in 1862 and were inducted into the army at LeRoy. A plaque in the shelter provides a detailed history of these events.