USA TOURIST ATTRACTIONS : ILLINOIS

Illinois Tourist Attractions

National Historic Trails in Illinois :

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail - Illinois Visitor Center

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, a Illinois attraction, follows the Columbia & Missouri rivers through 11 states. The Corps of Discovery , the name given to a group some 33 persons set out May 1804 from the Mid West to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean.

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Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail

From 1846 to 1869, some 70,000 Mormons led Brigham Young blazed a trail from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah. This 1,300 mile Mormon necessitated the building of new ferries and bridges. Markers were placed to guide others following later. Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, a major Illinois attraction , is another example of the way America has accommodated all religions, faiths & beliefs.

Persecution of the Mormons led to many moves westward - Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Mormon practices such as polygamy angered the locals & in June 27, 1844 precipitated the murder of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum by an lynch mob whilst in jail.

Brigham Young succeeded Smith and after more violence in Nauvoo they decided to relocate to Salt Lake in Utah thus triggering the amazing trek.

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is well named. In 1830, the Indian Removal Act required the forced removal of all American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to Oklahoma in the West. In 1838, some 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia were forced out. Thousands perished. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail wends its way through Illinois. It was set up as an act of atonement to commemorate the survival of this proud Cherokee nation.