Dennis Downes, artist, author and expert on trail marker trees, dies at 72

When Dennis Downes was 12, he was inspired by the sight of a “trail marker tree,” which Native Americans are believed to have used to designate trails and other points of interest.

That led to his lifelong pastimes as a national expert on trail marker trees, as an author and as an artist whose work included the George Wellington “Cap’n” Streeter sculpture in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood.

“He dedicated his life to researching Native American history and Native American trail marker trees,” said Liz Fox, who worked for Mr. Downes for many years and edited his 2011 book, “Native American Trail Marker Trees: Marking Paths Through the Wilderness.”

Mr. Downes died Sunday at his home in Antioch after an eight-year battle with colon cancer and a stroke in January. He was 72.

Trail marker trees were created by bending the tip of a sapling. As the tree continued to grow, the trunk would resume growing upright, creating a distinctive zigzag shape. Downes pored over historical accounts, old photos and other data to separate true trail marker trees from those misshapen by natural forces.

“His research and artwork became intertwined,” Fox said. “He had so much passion, and he was really one of a kind.”

Much of Mr. Downes’ art, often completed at his studio in Antioch, was inspired by numerous trips to ancient and natural sites in the United States and Canada, Fox said. He used natural items, such as walnuts he collected, to create his own paint and made his own frames, which themselves were works of art, she said.

In 2018, Antioch installed in the village’s downtown a 6-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a trail marker tree created by Mr. Downes.

For 20 years, interrupted only by the pandemic, Mr. Downes presented a solo art show in Glenview at the nature preserve called The Grove, for which he did research that helped the site qualify as a National Historic Landmark in 1976, Fox said. Part of the proceeds were given to The Grove to help continue its preservation. A 16-foot-tall steel-and-resin sculpture of a trail maker tree created by Mr. Downes is on permanent display at The Grove.

“As the story goes, many decades earlier in Dennis’ life, he actually resided in the area that became The Grove before it was turned into a landmark,” said his sister Maryann Downes-Coste.

Because of his research on trail marker trees and other historical information he brought to light about Native Americans, the Ojibwe gave him the name Mayaagaabaw, which translates to “he stands foremost among others,” Downes-Coste said.

Mr. Downes also was the founder of and served as president of the Great Lakes Trail Marker Tree Society.

“People would contact him and tell him when they thought they had spotted a trail marker tree, and he would go and check it out,” said Hilda Williams, who worked with Mr. Downes.

A favorite saying of Mr. Downes was, “Don’t be afraid of doing something, be afraid of never doing anything,” Downes-Coste said.

“He always did everything with dignity and purpose,” she added.

Mr. Downes grew up in Northbrook in a home that backed up to a forest preserve, and he attended Glenbrook North High School. He also took classes at Southern Illinois University.

In his later years, he and his wife, Gail Spreen, built a cabin on a 157-acre island they bought in Canada. Sometimes, Mr. Downes straddled atop logs and paddled them across the lake to use for his cabin, Fox said.

He is also survived by three brothers, Patrick, Harold and Lou; nine nephews and nieces; and 14 great nieces and nephews.

Services were held Saturday (March 2) in Highland Park.