Council members unanimously voted to allocate $14,356 to purchase four signs.
In June, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure announced plans to create an African American Heritage Trail, meant to recognize and celebrate important landmarks in the city.
On Monday night, Springfield City Council moved forward with funding what will likely be some of the first historic markers installed along the trail.
The money will be coming from the 1/4-cent capital improvements sales tax, according to Public Works Director Dan Smith.
Smith called the trail a "wonderful project" and said a mix of private and public funding will be used to buy the signs.
Up to 20 sites could be recognized along the trail, which follows an existing greenway path, city documents indicate. Those include the Sherman Avenue Corridor, Jones Alley Business District, Historic Church Quadrangle and the former Lincoln High School, which was the city's black high school before integration.
An artistic mock-up of the first historic marker was unveiled in Silver Springs Park during August's 2018 Park Day Reunion.
Silver Springs Park, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, was the only public park open to black families during segregation.
City Councilman Matthew Simpson spoke before Monday night's vote.
"As we try to be a welcoming community in the future — an even more welcoming community — it's important to recognize the role diverse groups have played in our community's past and the role they continue to play," Simpson said. "I think this is a good step toward doing that."
The idea for a trail came out of a three-year research project called "The Journey Continues" by Missouri State University professors Lyle Foster and Tim Knapp.
"The more we understand, the more I think we can work towards what we call equity and justice today," Foster said in a previous interview with the News-Leader.