Last updated: August 22, 2024
Place
Hamburg Hill
Courtesy of the Shawnee National Forest
Quick Facts
Location:
Water Plant Ln, Jonesboro, IL 62952
Significance:
The trail on Hamburg Hill follows a remnant of the road traveled by Cherokee detachments during the forced removal of 1838-1839. Today, visitors can retrace a one mile segment of trail swale, hiking through this deep road-cut.
Designation:
National Forest
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
5 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Pets Allowed, Toilet - Vault/Composting, Trailhead
Thirteen detachments of approximately 1,000 Cherokees each left Tennessee in the fall of 1838. The groups were staggered across the trail to ensure an adequate supply of wood, spring water, food, and forage for all. They crossed into Illinois in October and December 1838 where an unforgiving bitter winter met them. The 60-mile trek across southern Illinois, normally a nine-day hike, took several months.
Arriving at Hamburg Hill, they followed a steep-sided, thickly wooded hollow four miles to the Mississippi River. At the river’s edge, tremendous blocks and walls of ice reared and crashed, preventing eight of the Cherokee detachments from any attempt to cross.
Trapped in freezing temperatures, they made makeshift tent structures with board floors to escape the cold, muddy ground. Some waited over a month before they could span the river into Missouri---one more nightmare endured during the brutal removal of the Cherokee people.
Today, visitors can retrace a one-mile segment of the same roadbed traveled by the detachments, on an out-and-back trail. The trailhead features a gravel parking area, informational wayside exhibits, and a vault toilet. Reaching the trailhead requires travel on gravel roads. The area is managed by Shawnee National Forest.
Site Information
Location (Water Plant Ln, Jonesboro, IL 62952 - The trailhead is 5 miles east of Jonesboro, Illinois. Turn onto Berryville Road from Il-146 West. Turn onto Water Plant Lane (Gravel) and drive 1 mile to the parking area.)
More Site Information
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.
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- Duration:
- 1 minute, 37 seconds
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.