Last updated: January 12, 2026
Place
Steelville
Photo/Jennifer Whitson
Quick Facts
Location:
101 E. Highway 8, Steelville, Missouri
Significance:
Most Cherokee detachments on the Trail of Tears followed the Northern Route, moving by foot, wagon, and horseback along roads and trails. Tired, hungry, and cold, thousands passed what is now State Route 8 through the town of Steelville, Missouri.
Designation:
Certified Site
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
In the 1830s, the United States forcibly removed thousands of Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole people from their homelands. These tribes relocated to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Men, women, and children traveled in large groups, or detachments, that stretched for miles, taking hours to pass towns and residents homes. Most Cherokee detachments followed the Northern Route, moving by foot, wagon, and horseback along roads and trails. Tired, hungry, and cold, thousands passed this location traveling what is now State Route 8 through the town of Steelville, Missouri. Despite facing heavy losses, they persevered and rebuilt their cultures and lives. Today, visitors can explore their stories at sites along the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
The rain had ceased and weather soon became pleasant and we proceeded seven miles where we stopped for the night, the detachment having to draw fodder, corn, etc.
-Reverand Daniel S Butrick, Taylor Detachment, March 5, 1839
This land belonged to Henry E Davis. On December 4, 1837, approximately 350 Cherokee gathered wood and set up camp here for the night. They were led by US Army Lieutenant B B Cannon. Davis sold them beef and cornmeal for food, along with fodder and corn for their horses. From 1838-1839, ten additional detachments largely followed Cannon's route to the West, which later became known as the Northern Route. Thousands of Cherokee in these detachments - alongside free and enslaved African Americans, hundreds of Muscogee (Creek) refugees, white individuals married to Cherokee, missionaries, and physicians - were forced to journey west, with some pausing here to rest and resupply. Enslaved People. When the U.S. government forcibly removed the Cherokee Nation, an estimated 1,500-2,000 enslaved African Americans also were taken west. As enslaved people, they had no choice but to accompany them on the journey.
Muscogee Refugees. Muscogee refugees fled to the Cherokee Nation to avoid their tribe's removal and were given asylum by the Cherokee General Council in August 1837. They stayed there until the fall of 1838, when they were removed to the West with the Cherokee. Missionaries. Reverand Daniel S Butrick was one of a number of missionaries who traveled west with the Cherokee. He passed through here in 1839 with the Richard Taylor detachment and remained with the Cherokee in present-day Oklahoma until his death in 1851.
Site Information
Location (101 MO-Hwy 8, Steelville, Missouri, 65565)
Safety Considerations
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