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Introduction
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The
Chicago Road is the name of a road from running Detroit,
Michigan, to
Chicago,
Illinois. It
follows the general route of the Old Sauk Trail, an important Native American trail. In 1680, the explorer Robert La Salle was probably the first European to
travel along it. The disasters suffered in the War of 1812 taught the Government that |
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it could not defend the western
country without roads over which to move its armies and their supplies. In
1824, the United
States Congress
appropriated money for the survey of roads of national importance (General
Survey Act of 1824), and the U.S. President allocated one third the entire sum
to surveying a military highway connecting Detroit with Fort Dearborn at Chicago. From about 1830 on, an
ever-increasing flood of settlers poured into the Old
Northwest
and thousands of them traveled the new highway leading to Chicago, which has
ever since been called the Chicago Road. In 1833, the Detroit Arsenal was
constructed near the eastern end of the road and its water connection to
the East Coast. By |
Click
on the map to view a full-sized image |
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1835, daily stagecoaches ran between Detroit and
Chicago. Its route is approximately
represented by the former route of US 112 (now US 12). From Detroit to Ypsilanti, the road is known as Michigan Avenue. |
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Road Trip
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If you have traced your 18th
or 19th century ancestors to any of the counties listed below it
is quite possible that they traveled to that location along this migration
route. Therefore you may find
additional relevant information about your ancestral lineages by taking the
following road trip through these localities. |
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COUNTY (Road
Trip Segment) |
COUNTY (Road
Trip Segment) |
COUNTY (Road
Trip Segment) |
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Berrien,
County, MI (4) Branch
County, MI (2,3) Calhoun
County, MI (2) Cass
County, MI (3,4) Cook
County, IL (5) DuPage County, IL (5) Elkhart
County, IN (3) |
Hillsdale
County, MI (2) Jackson
County, MI (2) LaGrange
County, IN (3) Lake,
County, IN (5) LaPorte County, IN (4) Lenawee
County, MI (2) Monroe County, MI (1) |
Porter
County, IN (5) St.
Joseph County, MI (3) St.
Joseph County, IN (4) Steuben
County, IN (2,3) Washtenaw
County, MI (1) Wayne
County, MI (1) Will
County, IL (5) |
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Genealogy Road Trip
This “Family History Road Trip” is divided
into segments that require between 1 and 2 hours of driving time. The entire 272 mile journey should take approximately 6.25 hours to
drive at 45 miles per hour. Within each segment you will find links to
resources* that will assist you in planning a successful and enjoyable
experience. The following maps are
designed to show a close-up view of the counties and communities along this
migration route. Relevant county seats
are designated with a |
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From: Detroit, MI To: Clinton, MI |
From: Clinton, MI To: Coldwater, MI |
From: Coldwater, MI To: Adamsville, MI |
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From: Adamsville, MI To: Town of Pines, IN |
From: Town of Pines, IN To: Chicago, IL |
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Segment 1
From: Detroit,
MI To: Clinton, MI |
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Driving
Distance = 53 miles; Driving Time =
approximately 1.25 hours |
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Your trip along the Chicago Road begins at the Detroit Historical Museum, located at 5401 Woodward Avenue in the city's Cultural Center Historic District in Midtown Detroit. It chronicles the history of the Detroit area from cobblestone streets, 19th century stores, the auto assembly line, toy trains, fur trading from the 18th century. From here proceed north about four blocks and follow the signs to I 94 West to the Exit for Michigan Avenue (U.S. Route 12) at Dearborn. Dearborn contains The Henry Ford, America's largest indoor-outdoor museum complex and Metro Detroit's leading tourist attraction. Continue out of Dearborn on US Route 12 (Michigan Ave.) which follows the Lower Rouge River. Along this part of the trip you will pass through Inkster and on to Ypsilanti where you may want to stop and visit the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum. If you wish to go through Ypsilanti follow US 12 Business Route otherwise by-pass the city via US 12 and I 94. Follow the US 12 signs to exit back onto W. Michigan Ave. Continue of US 12 through Saline . You will leave Wayne
County just before you enter
the village of Clinton. Here you will end the first segment of your trip. |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Use the following LINKS to find
information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the
Route. |
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Segment 2
From: Clinton,
MI To: Coldwater,
MI |
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Driving Distance = 57 miles; Driving Time = approximately 1.50 hours |
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Clinton
is located
in Lenawee
County, Michigan. This County
was organized in 1826. From here follow
signs for U.S.
Route 12 west. The county seat, Adrian,
is located about 13 miles south of US 12 on MI Route 52. A few miles before Somerset you will enter
Hillsdale
County. The county seat is Hillsdale
located about 5 miles south of the village of Jonesville
founded in 1828 at a stop along the old Sauk
Trail.
Continue on US 12, now named Chicago Road, through Jonesville to Quincy,
a village in Branch County. Proceed into the city of Coldwater
which is the county seat of Branch County.
The County Clerk’s office is located at 31 Division Street. |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Use the following LINKS to find
information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the
Route. |
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Segment 3
From: Coldwater,
MI To: Adamsville,
MI |
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Driving Distance = 57 miles; Driving Time = approximately 1.50 hours |
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Leave Coldwater via on
West Chicago Street (U.S. Route 12) towards Bronson
which is located 12 miles southwest of Coldwater. Proceed through
Bronson to Sturgis a city in St. Joseph County. In 1827, Judge John Sturgis came to the St.
Joseph Valley area in southern Michigan territory
and settled in what is now Sturgis. The original site of his home can be seen
at Pioneer Park, maintained by the City of Sturgis. From Sturgis continue on US 12 to White
Pigeon. White Pigeon was incorporated
in 1837. the
United States Land Office, which is the oldest surviving U.S. Land office in
the state of Michigan, is found in the downtown area Out of this office the U.S. government sold
land in Michigan for $1.25 an acre in the 1830s to settlers of Western
Michigan. This segment ends at Adamsville,
a community located in Cass
County, Michigan. |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Use the following LINKS to find
information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the
Route. |
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Segment 4
From:
Adamsville, MI To: Town of
Pines, IN |
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Driving Distance = 55 miles; Driving Time =
approximately 1.25 hours |
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From Adamsville
proceed west on U.S. Route 12 towards Edwardsburg. Cassopolis,
the seat of Cass County, is located about 9 miles north of Edwardsburg. The Cass District Library's
Main Library is located in Cassopolis.
A branch of the Library is located in Edwardsburg. Leave Edwardsburg via US 12 towards Niles,
a city in both Berrien and Cass counties.
Located primarily in Berrien
County, Niles lies on the banks of the St.
Joseph River, at the site of the French
Fort St. Joseph,
first established in 1691. Take
Business Route 12 (East Main Street) if you choose to explore the Niles
otherwise stay on the U.S. Route 12 (Pulaski Highway)
by-pass. From Niles continue on
US 12 through Gallin
and Three
Oaks to the city of New
Buffalo which is located in the extreme
southwest corner of Michigan. From
here travel a few miles through Michigan
City located in LaPorte
County, Indiana then into nearby Town
of Pines, Indiana. |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Use the following LINKS to find
information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the
Route. |
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Segment 5
From: Town of
Pines, IN To: Chicago, IL |
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Driving Distance = 50 miles; Driving Time =
approximately 1.25 hours |
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Town
of Pines, Indiana is noted for both its
proximity to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
and for bordering Lake
Michigan.
Leave Town of Pines via West Dunes Highway, (U.S. Route 12) to where
it intersects with Interstate 90. It
is here that you will enter the Gary
a city in Lake County,
Indiana that is best known for its large steel
mills, now mostly in the past. At this point you may choose to take I 90
into Chicago or stay on US 12 through Whiting
and on into the South Side of Chicago,
Illinois. End
your journey on the Chicago Road at Calumet Park. The 198 acre park is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places, and the fieldhouse located therein was
erected in 1924 is a Chicago
Landmark. |
Click on the map to view a full-sized image |
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Use the following LINKS to find
information about the counties and localities found along this segment of the
Route. |
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Internet Resources
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The Google search engine button and following web sites
may provide you |
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with additional information to assist with your research about this topic.
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·
Migration Routes,
Roads & Trails ·
Historical
U.S. roads and trails - Wikipedia ·
U.S. Historical Maps -
Perry-Castañeda Collection ·
Early
American Roads and Trails |
·
American
Migration Fact Sheets ·
Map guide to American
migration routes,1735-1815 ·
The Overland Trail
Links--Ancient Indian Trails ·
Migration
Message Boards – Ancestry.com ·
The
African-American Migration Experience ·
Migration
Trails – map of many U.S. trails |
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·
Branch
Co., MI, Historical Marker (Chicago Rd.) ·
Wayne Co., MI, Historical Marker
(Chicago Rd.) ·
The Old Sauk Trail in Illinois
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·
Michigan's US 12 Heritage Trail ·
Press Release announcing US 12 as
Historic Route |
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Download a free 2-page Fact Sheet |
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about American migration routes |
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The
following Link
will take you to our library of genealogy reference books. Here you will find books about historic American roads, trails, and paths. In addition, there are texts that pertain
to ethnic and religion groups, history, geography as well as other books that will
assist you with your research. |
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This Link will take you to our |
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collection of reference books. |
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Image Gallery
During our research we have collected images and
photographs that are of general interest to a variety of historic American
roads, trails and migration. Some of
them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide
the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of
this topic as well as our ancestors past lives. |
Chicago Road at Saline, Michigan,
1916 |
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Use this LINK to see the “Image |
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Gallery” that
pertains to this topic. |
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Use
the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. This
button will link you to the Google Images Search page.
Enter the topic
you are |
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searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images”
display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it
is associated. |
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About this webpage
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CONTACT INFORMATION
We do
like to hear from others who are researching the same people and surnames. We
need your help to keep growing! So
please Email
photos, stories, and other
appropriate information about this topic. RULES OF USE We only ask that if you have a personal website
please create a link to our Home Page. -- This
webpage was last updated on -- 01 July 2013 |
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