County: Iroquis
Location: The marker is located 3 miles
east of Gilman and 4 miles west of Crescent City, on the
south side of US 24.
N 40o 46.079
W 087o 55.338
Erected: 01/01/1971 Erected by: Gilman Lions Club and The Illinois State Historical Society
For many years Butterfield Trail was one of the main routes from east-central Illinois to the Chicago area. In 1831 Ben Butterfield marked out the trail from Danville to Lockport, where he had settled the previous year. The trail crossed Spring Creek two miles northwest of Buckley. Following an old Indian trail, it stayed west of the creek, continuing northward and passing this point. It avoided the Iroquois River and forded the Kankakee west of Bourbonnais. Thence it ran to Hickory Creek and the Des Plaines River. At a point near Joliet it forked, both forks leading to Chicago.
Press Back button to return to Historical Markers list.