"Now, the whole road-bed, of the lake shore Green bay road, from the north line of Evanston to the water tower in Winnetka more or less has been washed into lake Michigan. At Willow St in Winnetka two hundred feet is gone, just enough to take the road, for it was right along the edge and so on down through Wilmette." In Wilmette at about the Westerfield Place, Chas. McDaniel, son of Alexander says "you would have to go out about sixty or eighty rods into the lake to find the line of the road." (Pleistocene Features of Chicago, Bul. No. 2, 1897, p. 72, C. A. of S.)
The two springs in Winnetka, Mr Sherlock says, were in view of the trail, one on each side at Maple and Elm Streets and east of Elm St. The camp of Indians, 1840, in Winnetka Mr Sherlock says was between Willow and Elm Streets east of the present Sheridan road upon that part of the lake shore bluff which has been washed away. In the first season Mr Sherlock says "I raised grain, corn, and onions. When the Indians came along they hung around for a while admiring it. Finally, coming closer they made signs by holding up two fingers for corn and one for onion to each Indian and two ears of corn for each squaw, which I gave them. After that I was their friend.
The Indian cemetery in Winnetka Mr Sherlock says, "was found on the block of land which W. H. Garland bought from Chas. E. Peck. Mr Garland was the first man to plow it, 1872. This brought the Indian relics in view and also the graves. One day my son and an older boy went over to dig for relics. He found among other things a complete and well preserved bow and arrow. My son has grown to manhood since then but the bow and arrow is still in his possession." In the Gunther collection there are relics from Winnetka but "Mr Gunther says he cannot give any more definite account of them."
Jos. Sherlock says: "I saw the Indian cemetery. It was upon the crest of the Sandridge which runs west of and in line with Church St, that is the ridge road coming up from Gross Point. The graves were all from Winnetka Ave north. There were about two dozen in sight. The graves were made east and west and in rows north and south with the ridge." Indian bones were also dug up as late as 1902 by a plumber near Mrs Barbe's gate which is at the foot of the ridge and on the east side of the street.
The Green Bay road Indian trail on the Gross Point Ridge (Church St in Winnetka) led by the Indian cemetery, which was here on the ridge as well as an Indian camp. Winnetka Avenue today divides the Garland property on the north from the Dionys Klopfer (1840), property on the south. A son of Klopfer now called Anton Clifford still lives here. Mr Clifford says: "In the early days the road was through our land and the Garland property on the crest of the ridge about two hundred and fifty feet west of the present Church St and right through the Indian cemetery which extended from Winnetka Avenue north to the south line of the present Girton school property. This part of the ridge was covered with all kinds of stone implements and weapons. Many human bones were found here."
Mr Clifford says there was an old abandoned blacksmith shop here and when the road was moved eastward the shop stood in our yard until we tore it down. Back of this shop there was a great old oak tree, about 200 feet northwest of our house, which finally also was laid low. One day when I was clearing up the place I decided to remove this old decaying log (1895) when I found an old Kentucky rifle barrel hidden in its hollow part. It lay in the scrap pile for a while and was sold for old junk.
In the early days this sand ridge on the Garland property reached eastward across the present street and was part of Chas. E. Peck's land. When the embankment for the Northwestern Railroad was made in 1854, Mr Peck sold the sand to the company. A tramway was built and part of the ridge cut away and many of the Indian graves uncovered.