Commemoration for Trail of Death in Quincy Wednesday

QUINCY (WGEM) - Everyone in Quincy is welcome to attend a community picnic Wednesday evening as part of a Native American memorial.

A caravan of Potawatomi Indians and their friends will arrive in Quincy as part of a journey from Indiana to Kansas.

The group is reenacting the 1838 “Trail of Death,” which saw nearly 1,000 Indians forced to march across the Midwest to be relocated to reservations.

Friends of the Log Cabins President John Gebhardt said dozens of Indians died during the journey.

“They call it the trail of death because they lost of 40 people during that trek. In fact, they lost three kids while they were traversing through Quincy,” Gebhardt said.

He said the march through Quincy would have been a significant event for the city back in that time.

“They camped on the East side of Quincy, they had church at St. Boniface, and then they traversed the Mississippi River over to the West side of Quincy. And of course, with that many people, that would have doubled the size of Quincy at that time in 1838,” Gebhardt said.

The commemoration on Wednesday is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the shelter house on Quinsippi Island, in front of the log cabins.

Gebhardt said Mayor Troup will read a proclamation to welcome the caravan to Quincy.

Those who want to attend the picnic are asked to bring a dish to share, and RSVP by emailing logcabinvillagequincyil@gmail.com

The following morning, the caravan will make a stop at St. Boniface church at 8:05 a.m. before heading across the river.

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