Butterfield Trail

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 northeast of Buckley along an old Indian trail. It remained west of the creek, continued northward, and passed this point. It avoided the Iroquois River, forded the Kankakee west of Bourbonnais, and then ran to Hickory Creek and the Des Plaines River. Near Joliet, it forked, and both branches led to Chicago.

Illinois · United States