Old Sac Trail - Valparaiso, IN
N 41° 28.079 W 087° 03.781
16T E 494737 N 4590711
This marker is located in front of the Valparaiso City Hall in Valparaiso, IN
Waymark Code: WM2K2C
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 11/13/2007
Views: 43
The marker reads:
"Trod first by the Indians later by the explorers and in early days the pathway of important military expeditions.
Erected by the William Henry Harrison chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1916."
From the History of Center Township:
"A Spaniard named Don Eugenio Pierre came from sty. Louis early in 1781 with a force of sixty Indians from the West, intending to seize the lake region for Spain. It is thought he followed the Old Sac Trail through the location where Valparaiso now stands."
From the History of Washington Township:
"In 1834, James Baun came into the township and purchased a farm, paying $450 for 160 acres of land. At this early date no roads were found in the township; these pioneers were compelled to follow the old Sac trail, which passed near the present site of Valparaiso."
From the Lowell Biographies:
"The first white woman to set foot on Lake County soil was Mrs. Farrell, mother of Major C. Farrell, Lake County's first blacksmith.
Mrs. Farrell, her husband and family were endeavoring to follow the old Sac trail in the summer of 1833 from LaPorte to Hickory Creek, Ill., where a settlement was forming.
They got lost in the vicinity of what is now Crown Point and spent July 4, 1833, trying to find their way. They finally sent a messenger back to LaPorte to obtain a guide who could lead them out of the wilderness.
The elder Farrell eventually settled in West Creek three years later, only a short distance from where he, his wife, and their children had beaten about in vain, seeking the vague Sac trail on that hot July day in 1833.