The Curious Trail of Stone Markers from Cadillac to Traverse City

Are you familiar with the stone markers that dot the trail of the old Indian trail from Cadillac to Traverse City?

With the possibility of going back as far as 700 BC, this trail is recorded as being blazed by the Anishnaabe people beginning in the 1200s. It soon formed into the Three Fires, which combined three tribes: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi.

Now known as the Cadillac-Traverse City Old Indian Trail, it was a central part of the prehistoric Hopewell civilization. Believing it goes back further than the 1200s, archaeologists found artifacts and evidence that points to this prehistoric culture going back to 600-700 BC. Large burial mounds and numerous old trails and pathways have been cited as proof of the existence of the centuries-old civilization.

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People of the Three Fires camped and made the land around Lake Mitchell & Lake Cadillac their home grounds for many centuries. So what about the current markers?

The first person to take on the task of mapping this trail was Milo Petoskey Crosby. He came to Wexford County in the late 1800s and enjoyed hiking the trail so much, he thought he would mark it for all to enjoy. In the early 1900s, he began researching sketchy old documents, walking the trails, finding sections of the trail and began trying to piece them together.

It was in the 1940s when he began placing the stone markers that exist to this day. He started with 14 markers, from Lake Mitchell to the Manistee River near Sherman. For years afterward, many historians and ancestors of the original tribes visited the trail. 5 more markers were eventually placed and finally in 1987, markers 20 thru 33 were set, thanks to the former Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians chairman Frank Ettawagheshik.

Currently, the trail is somewhat easy to drive since most of the 33 markers are roadside. Walking is not advised anymore, since many of the markers cut through private property.

The gallery below has photos of many of these markers...thanks to Restless Viking for taking the time and effort to locate all these markers!