To the Native First Americans every place has powerful sacred energy and every animal has a powerful spirit soul to teach and guide humans in the ways of nature. All one needs to do to recognize these lessons of nature is to visit and experience sacred places.

There is such a place here in Will County. Pilcher Park is a wondrous forest that was home to the Potawatomi Native Americans in Will County for hundreds of years before America became the United States.

To walk the beautiful trails throughout the park puts you among trees that are older than the founding of this country. The grounds are truly sacred as recognized by the Will County Historical Society that saw to the reinterment of eight Potawatomi Indians skeletal remains that were disturbed by the widening of Gougar Road directly through a sacred burial mound. A respectful grave stone and historical marker bears witness just inside the Gougar Road entry to the park.

The Joliet Park District does a fine job as caretaker of the park but rather than take my word for it, go there, spend time walking the trails and experience the sacredness of the forest and it’s animal kingdom.

David L Kump is a lifetime Illinois resident from Joliet to Chicago to Evanston and back to Joliet. Involved in photography throughout his varied careers from Real Estate management to the Rialto Square Theatre to the world of racing cars at the Autobahn Country Club, Kump has spend a lifetime devoted to photography, art, songwriting and all things creative. He wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps by contributing feature articles to The Joliet Herald News.