Press Release 06/15/05
For Immediate Release Contact: Rose Szwed

Phone: (248) 542-5072

TAKE A WALK THROUGH THE PAST ON SOUTHERN MICHIGAN’S HISTORIC SAUK TRAIL

(Hillsdale County, Michigan)—The 24 Bed & Breakfast Inns in cooperation with the Bed & Breakfast Association of Southern Michigan are located near Michigan’s southern border, following the 1000-year-old historic Sauk Trail, now referred to as U.S. Highway 12.

The trail, originally blazed by Native Americans as a foot trail from Chicago Heights, connecting the villages of the tribes on the Mississippi with the trading posts of Detroit, Michigan and Fort Malden, Ontario, Canada, was the safest, shortest route, chosen as an easy trotting path already worn down by deer or buffalo.

In later years, the Potawatomi tribe pushed the Sauk Native Americans from Southern Michigan, and into central Wisconsin. But the legacy they left behind is hardly forgotten.

While the trail was originally used by Native American tribes, in later years, French explorers such as Robert Cavalier Lasalle came to travel the path in search of fur or missionary settlements.

Likewise in 1781, an expedition of Spanish soldiers traveled up the Illinois River, east on the Sauk Trail and settled there for 24 hours until retreating to St. Louis, Missouri.

Around that same time, the Sauk Native Americans sided with the British during the Seven Years’ War with France, continuing the alliance into the American Revolutionary War and War of 1812, helping to transport goods and soldiers along the trail.

In later years, the trail was widened and graveled and officially named as The Detroit-Chicago Turnpike, the shortest route between the two cities.

In the 1920’s, the wagon trial was paved and traveled by its first automobiles. Early on the trail became a state road and was designated as M-23, and later a federal highway, U.S. 112, later changed to U.S. 12 after the Interstate system was instituted by the Eisenhower administration.

The present-day 208.90 mile long Sauk Trail begins at the shores of Lake Michigan in the Southwest, continuing to Lake Erie in the East in a corridor North of the Indiana/Ohio border of Southern Michigan.

When you stay with one of the exclusive Bed & Breakfast Inns of Southern Michigan, not only are you sure to experience a relaxing getaway, but you can also take a walk along the Great Sauk Trail, and follow in the footsteps of American historic figures. Visit and explore the historic locations along the way- navigate through the same rivers once traveled by Native Americans and traders-or just stop to admire Michigan’s glorious landscapes. Wherever you choose to venture, our innkeepers will gladly advise you on your expeditions, helping to make your Michigan experience memorable.