What is the history of Ina, Illinois?
Many Cherokee families settled in Ina around 1840. They were apparently refugees from the Trail of Tears. In the 1800s Ina was jokingly referred to as “the Cherokee Reservation.” The main settlement in this area was Spring Garden, about three miles northeast of Ina. Spring Garden prospered from 1848 until the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was built in 1905. After that, the population and business shifted over to the depots at Ina and Bonnie, IllinoisBonnie. Ina is the home of the Big Muddy River Correctional Center and Rend Lake Community College. Source: http://en.wikipedia.
