The Signal Tree

Trees with unusual shapes were often used by Indians as landmarks to identify important trails. This 300 year old Bur Oak (Guercus Macrocarpa) marked the northernmost point of the Portage Trail, which connected the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers, though the Cuyahoga's course was once much closer to the tree. The Erie, Seneca, Shawnee, Ottawa, Delaware and Mingo tribes traveled to the Ohio River by this route, removing their canoes from the Cuyahoga River here and carrying them overland for eight miles south to Summit Lake. Later, white settlers used the same signal tree to find their way between the rivers.

Akron, Ohio · United States