Parc aux Vaches, meaning “cow pasture,” was named by the French for the wild buffalo that once grazed there. Two major Indian trails crossed at this place: the Sauk Trail, also called the old Chicago Trail, linking Detroit and Chicago, and the Miami Trail, linking the Grand and Wabash rivers. About 1808, French fur trader Joseph Bertrand established a post there and married Madeline, said to be the daughter of Potawatomi Chief Topenebee. Under the 1821 Treaty of Chicago, which ceded much of the lower southwest corner of Michigan to the United States, the site was deeded to Madeline Bertrand. Parc aux Vaches is now part of Niles Township.