The traces of the once powerful and mighty Chief Richardville can be found along the winding roads of Northern Indiana from South Bend to Fort Wayne.

It's a trail marked with three historic homes, two grand even by today's standards and particularly so back in the 1800s when Jean Baptiste de Richardville, principal chief of the Miami tribe from 1812 until his death in 1841, commanded the water passages and trading here.

The story of Chief Richardville (pronounced Roosheville) is one of fortunes made, shrewd business deals and the ability to adapt to a changing culture.

"His dad was a French trader and Ta-cum-wah, his mother, was the overseer of the trading at the portage sites,"; says Dani Tippman, who is a direct descendant of Chief Richardville. "Ta-cum-wah was the chief's sister and when he died without children, her eldest son became chief.";