The Old Chicago Trail extended from Fort Dearborn to Galena. A government mail route was established along this Indian Trail in 1829. The Potawatomi ceded their territory to the government in 1833. This route became the first east-west stagecoach trail across northern Illinois. Paw Paw Grove was a midway haven between Chicago and Galena. Poetess Margaret Fuller traveled over this trail in 1843 and wrote, "We traveled the blooming plain unmarked by any road, only the friendly track of the wheels which beat, not broke the grass. Our stations were not from town to town, but from grove to grove."