Comprehensive Management and Use Plan TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL

Alabama • Arkansas • Georgia • Illinois • Kentucky • Missouri • North Carolina • Oklahoma • Tennessee /

Recommended: > Joel V. Kussman May 21, 1992 Manager, Central Team, Denver Service Center

Approved:

John E. Cook June 11, 1992 < Regional Director, Southwest Region

Concurred:

James W. Coleman, Jr. April 13, 1992 Regional Director, Southeast Region I Don H. Castleberry April 20, 1992 Regional Director, Midwest Region

Í

Printed on Recycled Paper Comprehensive Management and Use Plan

September 1992

TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL Alabama • Arkansas • Georgia • Illinois • Kentucky Missouri • North Carolina • Oklahoma • Tennessee

United States Department of the Intenor • National Park Service • Denver Service Center Cover painting: Leaving the Smokies, by Donald Vann, full-blood Cherokee, © 1992 and published by Native American Images, P.O. Box 746, Austin, Texas 78767.

11 SUMMARY

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail potential to provide opportunities to interpret commemorates the tragic experience of the the trail’s historical significance and to pro­ Cherokee people, who were forcibly removed vide high-quality visitor experiences. Criteria by the U.S. government in 1838-39 from for determining high-potential sites and seg­ their homelands in the southeastern United ments include historical significance, the States to new homes hundreds of miles to presence of visible historic remains, scenic the west. The journey was made under quality, and relative freedom from intrusion. adverse conditions, and some 8,000 Cher­ A certification process will determine which okees died as a result of the removal. significant sites and route segments may be eligible for inclusion as official components of The national historic trail, which was desig­ the national historic trail. This process, which nated by Congress in 1987, encompasses will be administered by the National Park approximately 2,200 miles along the main Service, will help maintain standards of land and water routes that the Cherokees significance for historic sites, trail segments, followed. Two additional routes traveled by and interpretive programs. Property owners large Cherokee detachments are also recog­ or appropriate sponsors who want to have nized in this plan as historically significant. certain sites designated as part of the Trail Although the government forced several of Tears must document the history of the southeastern Indian tribes to move during site, permit appropriate access for visitors, the 1820s and 1830s, the designated nation­ and protect the resources. al historic trail is specific to the Cherokee experience. The protection of significant resources along the trail routes will be a shared responsibility This Comprehensive Management and Use between private landowners, local govern­ Plan presents the proposed plan for adminis­ ments, and the National Park Service. To tering the Trail of Tears National Historic help protect significant resources on nonfed- Trail, as required by the National Trails eral land, the Park Service will offer technical System Act. The trail will be administered by assistance, as requested. This will include the National Park Service (NPS), in coop­ assistance under the national historic land­ eration with local, state, and other federal marks program and the NPS long-distance agencies, jurisdictions, interested groups, trails program, as well as grants through the and private landowners, and the plan will Historic Preservation Fund. Preservation provide a framework for these entities to efforts by commercial operations will be cooperatively manage and protect resources encouraged through local tax incentives. and to provide for appropriate visitor use of Local and state governments will be encour­ sites that are certified or federal components aged to draw up protection plans to preserve of the trail. The plan also outlines an inter­ the integrity of high-potential route segments pretive program that will communicate to from unplanned development. The Park visitors the story of the Cherokee removal, Service will inventory historic sites and com­ will foster a sensitivity to that experience, plete a historic resource study (including and will convey the impact of the U.S. national register forms), and it will encourage government’s policy on other Indian tribes other research efforts. during the 19th century. Programs to tell the public about the Trail of Some 46 historic sites and six route seg­ Tears will use brochures, interpretive pro­ ments have been identified that have the grams, and exhibits. Cherokee culture before

iii SUMMARY and after the removal, in addition to the As discussed in the Draft Comprehensive journey itself, will define the historical setting Management and Use Plan and Environmen­ for the story. The context for the Cherokee tal Assessment, the overall impacts of imple­ removal in relation to the forced removal of menting the proposed plan will be relatively other eastern Indian tribes will also be ex­ minor with regard to natural resources. plained. While this story will only be a portion Significant historic resources will receive of the visitor experience, it will be significant long-term protection, and segments of the in terms of conveying the impact of the historic trail routes will be preserved by policy to relocate American Indian tribes. marking and certifying them. Public use over the long-term may result in the deterioration Another aspect of the visitor use program will of historic sites and segments. be the designation of an automobile tour route on or near one of the routes followed Providing interpretive exhibits and publica­ by the Cherokees. Highway markers will be tions, marking the historic trail route, and posted to identify the route. designating an auto tour route will increase public sensitivity to the experiences of the Along all certified trail routes and at specific Cherokees. Interpretive programs will also historic sites, the National Park Service will foster a better understanding of the develop­ encourage state and local governments to ment and implementation of the govern­ erect and maintain signs displaying the ment’s Indian policy and how that policy official Trail of Tears logo. Signs will be affected westward expansion and official placed on private property only with the relations with American Indian tribes up to consent of the landowners. The signs will be the present day. provided by the Park Service. Impacts on private landowners will be mini­ Locations have been identified for interpre­ mal because lands can only be acquired with tive facilities that will orient visitors to the trail the consent of the owner. Increased land use and will provide interpretive information controls may be enacted by local govern­ about the historical event. State and local ments to protect significant resources. There governments, in conjunction with local or will be minor benefits to local economies trail-wide organizations, will be responsible along the trail. Traffic volumes on auto tour for constructing and operating such facilities. routes and near historic sites and segments will probably increase slightly.

iv CONTENTS

Introduction Purpose of and Need for the Plan 3 Purpose of the Plan 3 Need for the Plan 4 Management Objectives 4 Planning Review 6 History and Significance of the Trail of Tears 7 Cherokee Relations with the U.S. Government 8 States’ Rights Issue 8 Supreme Court Cases 8 Treaty of New Echota 9 The Roundup 9 Nunahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i: Trail Where They Cried 10 Water Route 10 Land Routes 10 Aftermath 11

Comprehensive Management and Use Plan Introduction 15 Historic Routes and Significant Resources 16 Legislatively Designated Routes 16 Water Route 16 Land Route 19 Other Major Routes 20 Benge’s Route 20 Bell’s Route 20 Trail Route Identification 20 High-Potential Historic Sites and Route Segments 21 Federal Protection Components 22 National Park System Area 22 National Forest System Areas 22 Other Federal Government Areas 22 Nonfederal Sites and Segments 22 Resource Protection and Management 25 Resource Protection 25 NPS Assistance Programs 25 Resource Protection Techniques 26 Cooperative Agreements 26 Easements 26 Local Land Protection and Regulatory Processes 29 Fee-Simple Ownership 30 Indian Burials and Sacred Objects 31 Research 31

v CONTENTS

Visitor Use 33 Interpretation 33 Interpretive Theme and Subthemes 33 Trailwide Theme 33 Subthemes and Interpretive Regions 33 Interpretive Programs 36 Programs at National Park System Units 36 Certified Interpretive Facility Programs 36 Interpretive Media and Outreach Activities 39 Wayside Exhibits 39 Publications 39 Audiovisual Media 39 Traveling Exhibits 40 Outreach Activities 40 Visitor Uses along the Trail 40 Walking/Hiking and Horseback-Riding Trails 40 Auto Tour Route 41 Liability 42 Management and Cooperation 45 Site/Segment Certification Procedures 45 Trail Marking Procedures 47 Cooperative Management System 48 Management Agreements 48 Trail of Tears Association 49 Funding 50 Compliance 51 Consultation and Coordination 52

Appendixes I Selected Bibliography / Planning Team Appendix A: National Trails System Act 55 Appendix B: High-Potential Historic Sites and Route Segments along the Trail of Tears 71 Appendix C: Trail Use Guidelines 76 Appendix D: Recommended Signs 78 Appendix E: Request Form for Site/Segment Certification 83 Appendix F: Provisions for Cooperative Management 85 Appendix G: Sample Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of the Interior and the State of______Concerning the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail 89 Appendix H: Natural Environment along the Trail of Tears 93 Appendix I: Threatened or Endangered Animal and Plant Species Possibly Occurring along the Trail of Tears 96 Appendix J: Counties along the Main Land and Water Routes of the Trail of Tears 102 Glossary 103 Selected Bibliography 104 Planning Team and Consultants 106

vi Contents

MAPS

National Trails System 5 Historic Routes 17 Historic Sites 23 Potential Resource Protection Areas 27 Interpretive Themes 35 Auto Tour Route 43

TABLES

Table 1: Trail Route Mileages 21 Table 2: Trail Route Mileages by State 21 Table 3: High-Potential Historic Sites and Route Segments 21 Table 4: Interpretive Subthemes for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail 34 Lewis Ross Home, Charleston. Tennessee Residence during 1838 39 of Lewis Ross, brother ol Principal Chief John Ross

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The National Park Service thanks the many individuals who. in the interest of historical accuracy, generously shared their knowl­ edge of trail history and resources during the course of planning for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. The participation of these people has improved the plan and will serve the Trail of Tears and future generations well. TRAIL OF TEARS

INTRODUCTION Rattlesnake Spnng Bradley County, Tennessee Site of 1838 Cherokee internment camp in Dry Creek Valley

on the water route m 1838 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE PLAN

In 1838 the U.S. Army began to implement a 1. It was established by historic use and federal government policy to remove Ameri­ is historically significant as a result of can Indians from their homelands in the that use. southern Appalachian Mountains in order to facilitate settlement by whites. The Chero­ 2. It is nationally significant with respect kees were driven from their homes into to American history. stockades scattered throughout Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, 3. It has significant potential for historical and then moved to internment camps in interest based on historic interpreta­ southeastern Tennessee. From that point tion and appreciation. detachments of Cherokees were forcibly moved over water and land routes to Indian The feasibility and desirability of adding the Territory (in what is now Oklahoma). Approx­ Trail of Tears to the national trails system imately 16,000 men, women, and children was determined in the Final National Trail made the sorrowful journey — a journey Study, which was published by the National made under adverse conditions and accom­ Park Service in June 1986. That study panied by a high rate of illness and death. formed the basis for congressional author­ ization and subsequent planning for the To commemorate that tragic event, Congress management and use of the trail. designated the Trail of Tears National Histor­ ic Trail in December 1987 (Public Law 100- 192; see appendix A). The legislated trail PURPOSE OF THE PLAN encompasses approximately 2,200 miles of land and water routes (see the National The National Trails System Act requires a Trails System map). Even though the gov­ comprehensive plan to be prepared for the ernment forced several southeastern tribes management and use of each trail. The plan to move during the 1820s and 1830s, the is to include the following items: congressionally designated trail is specific to the Cherokee experience. • specific objectives and practices to be observed in managing the trail As defined in the National Trails System Act, as amended, national historic trails are • identification of significant natural, histor­ "extended trails which follow as closely as ic, and cultural resources that are to be possible and practicable the original trails or preserved routes of travel of national historical signif­ icance." Such trails have as their purpose • a protection plan for any high-potential "the identification and protection of the histor­ historic sites or route segments ic route and its historic remnants and arti­ facts for public use and enjoyment" (see • details of anticipated cooperative agree­ appendix A). Each historic trail may accom­ ments with federal, state, and local plish this in different ways. organizations and private interests

As a national historic trail, the Trail of Tears • procedures for marking the trail with has been determined to meet the following signs, and proposals to foster public criteria of the National Trails System Act: knowledge of the trail and help visitors understand the importance of sites along the trail

3 INTRODUCTION

• identification of at least one site in each and use, and to promote cooperative man­ of the nine states that will provide public agement of trail resources and programs. information about the trail

• provisions for appropriate public use, Resource Protection including opportunities to retrace the trail routes • Protect significant trail segments and historic sites from overuse, inappropriate In accordance with the legislative direction, use, and vandalism. the goal of this plan is to provide a frame­ work for federal, state, and local govern­ • Encourage uses of adjacent lands that ments, as well as private interests, to coop­ complement the protection and interpre­ eratively manage and protect resources and tation of trail resources. to provide for appropriate visitor use of sites that are certified or federal components of • Establish guidelines for the protection of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. A Indian burials and sacred objects. second goal is to outline an interpretive program that will communicate to visitors the • Promote and support ongoing research story of the Cherokee removal, foster a to increase knowledge, understanding, sensitivity to that experience, and convey the and appreciation of remaining trail seg­ impact of the U.S. government’s policy on ments and resources and their signifi­ other Indian tribes during the 19th century. cance in history. Visitors will be given the opportunity to un­ derstand the significance of the Cherokee removal in its historic and geographic con­ Visitor Use text, regardless of the type of interpretive program offered. • Ensure safe and informative experiences for all visitors.

NEED FOR THE PLAN • Provide interpretive activities and ser­ vices, including publications, that are The need for this plan is to help meet man­ based on historical and archeological agement objectives for the trail. Roles and examination and documentation. responsibilities are also defined for the agen­ cies, organizations, and local interests that • Interpret the historical events related to will help to create the visitor experience the Trail of Tears story in a manner that through marking, interpreting, and preserving is historically accurate and that fosters a significant resources associated with the trail. sensitivity in visitors to the events.

• Develop a thematic framework to allow MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES for consistent and coordinated interpre­ tation by various managing entities The following management objectives de­ along the trail, and promote coordinated scribe the desired ends to be achieved to interpretive efforts along the trail. protect cultural and scenic resources along the Trail of Tears, to foster public apprecia­ • Provide visitors with opportunities to see tion and understanding of the Cherokee and appreciate historic trail segments experience and the removal of other Indian and related sites; improve access to trail tribes, to encourage the provision of facilities sites where appropriate. for resource protection and public information

4 NATIONAL TRAILS SYSTEM ON MICROFILM TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL UNITED STATES DEPARTMFNT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICK 610 20002A DSC FEB 92 INTRODUCTION

• Provide programs and access to facili­ • Encourage trail-related visitation along ties for special populations (people with the entire trail. disabilities, non-English speaking visi­ tors, and others). • In conjunction with the Cherokees, pro­ mote the organization and development • Ensure public understanding of the roles of a Trail of Tears association. of the various managing entities, and foster respect for the rights of land- owners. PLANNING REVIEW

During the course of developing the Compre­ Development hensive Management and Use Plan, the National Park Service has sought the views • Mark the trail routes with standardized of the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of and recognizable markers. Cherokees, organizations and individuals, as well as federal, state, and local agencies. • Encourage a unified design theme for Most of the meetings occurred in 1989. In signs, exhibits, and public use facilities. November 1989 a planning newsletter was sent to interested parties requesting input on issues that should be addressed in the Management and Cooperation planning document. A followup newsletter in June 1990 reported responses and informa­ • Coordinate efforts at all levels to fulfill tion about the plan. the purposes of the trail, as defined in the National Trails System Act, as A contractor and NPS staff mapped the trail amended. routes and identified the significant historic sites in 1989-90. The secretary of the interi­ • Define roles and responsibilities and or appointed members of an advisory council develop effective partnerships between for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail in federal, state, and local agencies, other December 1989. managing entities, private landowners, and organizations and individuals sup­ Review copies of the Draft Comprehensive porting the trail; consult with the trail’s Management and Use Plan and Environmen­ advisory council on matters related to tal Assessment and the Map Supplement trail management. were mailed out to Indian tribes, individuals, organizations, and governmental agencies in • Certify trail segments and sites that September 1991. The comment period lasted meet the criteria for qualification, consis­ from September 9 to November 4, 1991. tent with the purposes of the National Trails System Act, as amended. The National Park Service held public meet­ ings about the draft plan in September 1991 • Use the official national historic trail with Cherokees and other interested individu­ symbol and logo in connection with als in Cherokee, North Carolina, and Tahle­ authorized interpretive activities, pro­ quah, Oklahoma. The Trail Advisory Council grams, information materials, and fund­ also reviewed the draft plan and map supple­ raising activities. ment at its initial meeting on September 14-15, 1991, and at a subsequent meeting • Promote fund-raising and donation pro­ on April 9-10, 1992. grams to further trail purposes.

6 HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRAIL OF TEARS

The discovery of the New World by Euro­ them to Christianity and turning them into pean explorers caused endless problems for farmers. Many other whites agreed, and American Indians, whose homelands were missionaries were sent among the tribes. But gradually taken from them and whose cul­ when the transformation did not happen tures were dramatically altered, and in some quickly enough, views changed about the cases destroyed, by the invasion. Indian people’s ability to be assimilated into white culture. The first contact between southeastern American Indians and Europeans was the National policy to move Indians west of the expedition of Hernando de Soto in 1540. De Mississippi developed after the Louisiana Soto took captives for use as slave labor, Territory was purchased from the French in while others were abused because the Euro­ 1803. Whites moving onto these lands peans deemed them savages. Epidemic pressed the U.S. government to do some­ diseases brought by the Europeans spread thing about the Indian presence. In 1825 the through the Indian villages, decimating native U.S. government formally adopted a removal populations. policy, which was 'We the great mass of the people think carried out extensive­ Over the next two only of the love we have to our land for ly in the 1830s by centuries more and ... we do love the land where we were Presidents Andrew more white settlers brought up. We will never let our hold to Jackson and Martin arrived, and the na­ this land go ... to let it go it will be like Van Buren. The result tive cultures respond­ throwing away . . . [our] mother that was particularly over­ ed to pressures to gave . . . [us] birth." whelming for the Indi­ adopt the foreign -Letter from Aitooweyah, the Stud, ans of the southeast­ ways, leading to the and Knock Down to John Ross, ern United States — deterioration of their principal chief of the Cherokees primarily the Chero­ own culture. During kees, Chickasaws, the colonial period Indian tribes often be­ Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminóles — who came embroiled in European colonial wars. were finally removed hundreds of miles to a If they were on the losing side, they fre­ new home. quently had to give up parts of their home­ lands. Perhaps the most culturally devastating episode of this era is that concerning the After the American.Revolution the Indians removal of the Cherokee Indians, who called faced another set of problems. Even though themselves Ani’-Yun’ wiya (the Principal it took time for the new government to estab­ People). Traditionally the Cherokees had lish a policy for dealing with the Indians, the lived in villages in the southern Appalachians precedent had been set during the colonial — present-day Virginia, West Virginia, Ken­ period. The insatiable desire of white settlers tucky, Tennessee, western North Carolina for lands occupied by Indian people inevi­ and South Carolina, northern Georgia, and tably led to the formulation of a general northeastern Alabama. Here in a land of policy of removing the unwanted inhabitants. valleys, ridges, mountains, and streams they developed a culture based on farming, hunt­ Political leaders including President Thomas ing, and fishing. Jefferson believed that the Indians should be civilized, which to him meant converting

7 INTRODUCTION

The Cherokees took on some of the ways of doing so, Georgia expected all titles to land white society. They built European-style held by Indians to be extinguished. However, homes and farmsteads, laid out European- that did not happen, and the Principal People style fields and farms, developed a written continued to occupy their ancestral home­ language, established a newspaper, and lands, which had been guaranteed to them wrote a constitution. But they found that they by treaty. were not guaranteed equal protection under the law and that they could not prevent Georgia residents resented the Cherokees’ whites from seizing their lands. They were success in holding onto their tribal lands and driven from their homes, herded into intern­ governing themselves. Settlers continued to ment camps, and moved by force to a encroach on Cherokee lands, as well as strange land. those belonging to the neighboring Creek Indians. In 1828 Georgia passed a law pronouncing all laws of the Cherokee Nation CHEROKEE RELATIONS to be null and void after June 1, 1830, forc­ WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ing the issue of states’ rights with the federal government. Because the state no longer Beginning in 1791 a series of treaties be­ recognized the rights of the Cherokees, tribal tween the United States and the Cherokees meetings had to be held just across the state living in Georgia gave recognition to the line at Red Clay, Tennessee. Cherokees as a na­ tion with their own "It is evident that the Gov’mt is deter­ When gold was dis­ laws and customs. mined to move us at all hazzards and it covered on Cherokee Nevertheless, treaties only remains for us to do the best we land in northern and agreements can." Georgia in 1829, gradually whittled -Lewis Ross to his brother John efforts to dislodge the away at this land April 12, 1838 Principal People from base, and in the late their lands were in­ 1700s some Cherokees sought refuge from tensified. At the same time President Andrew white interference by moving to northwestern Jackson began to aggressively implement a Arkansas between the White and Arkansas broad policy of extinguishing Indian land rivers. As more and more land cessions titles in affected states and relocating the were forced on the Cherokees during the Indian population. first two decades of the 1800s, the number moving to Arkansas increased. Then in 1819 the Cherokee National Council notified the Supreme Court Cases federal government that it would no longer cede land, thus hardening their resolve to In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Remov­ remain on their traditional homelands. al Act, which directed the executive branch to negotiate for Indian lands. This act, in combination with the discovery of gold and States’ Rights Issue an increasingly untenable position with the state of Georgia, prompted the Cherokee The Cherokee situation was further compli­ Nation to bring suit in the U.S. Supreme cated by the issue of states’ rights and a Court. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) prolonged dispute between Georgia and the Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for the federal government. In 1802 Georgia was majority, held that the Cherokee nation was the last of the original colonies to cede its a "domestic dependent nation," and therefore western lands to the federal government. In Georgia state law applied to them.

8 History and Significance of the Trail of Tears

That decision, however, was reversed the agreed to move beyond the Mississippi River following year in Worcester v. Georgia. to Indian Territory. The Senate ratified the Under an 1830 law Georgia required all treaty despite knowledge that only a minority white residents in Cherokee country to se­ of Cherokees had accepted it. Within two cure a license from the governor and to take years the Principal People were to move an oath of allegiance to the state. Missionar­ from their ancestral homelands. ies Samuel A. Worcester and Elizur Butler refused and were convicted and imprisoned. Worcester appealed to the Supreme Court. THE ROUNDUP This time the court found that Indian nations are capable of making treaties, that under President Martin Van Buren ordered the the Constitution treaties are the supreme law implementation of the Treaty of New Echota of the land, that the federal government had in 1838, and U.S. Army troops under the exclusive jurisdiction within the boundaries of command of Gen. Winfield Scott began the Cherokee Nation, and that state law had rounding up the Cherokees and moving them no force within the Cherokee boundaries. into stockades in North Carolina, Georgia, Worcester was ordered released from jail. Alabama, and Tennessee. Altogether 31 forts were construct­ President Jackson "[I] witnessed the execution of the most ed for this purpose — refused to enforce brutal order in the history of American 13 in Georgia, five in the court’s decision, warfare. I saw the helpless Cherokees North Carolina, eight and along with legal arrested and dragged from their homes, in Tennessee, and technicalities, the fate and driven at the bayonet point into the five in Alabama. All of of the Principal Peo­ stockades. And in the chill of a drizzling the posts were near ple seemed to be in rain on an October morning I saw them Cherokee towns, and the hands of the loaded like cattle or sheep into six hun­ they served only as federal government. dred and forty-five wagons and headed temporary housing for Even though the for the West." the Cherokees. Cherokee people had -Pvt. John G. Burnett adopted many prac­ 1838 As soon as practical, tices of the white the Indians were culture, and had used the court system in transferred from the removal r forts to 11 two major Supreme Court cases, they were internment camps that were more centrally unable to halt the removal process. located — 10 in Tennessee and one in Ala­ bama. In North Carolina, for example, Chero­ kees at the removal forts were sent to Fort Treaty of New Echota Butler, and by the second week in July on to the principal agency at Fort Cass. By late The state of Georgia continued to press for July 1838, with the exception of the Ocona- Indian lands, and a group of Cherokees luftee Citizen Indians, the fugitives hiding in known as the Treaty Party began negotiating the mountains, and some scattered families, a treaty with the federal government. The virtually all other Cherokees remaining in the group, led by Major Ridge and including his East were in the internment camps. son John, Elias Boudinot, and his brother Stand Watie, signed a treaty at New Echota According to a military report for July 1838, in 1835. Despite the majority opposition to the seven camps in and around Charleston, this treaty — opposition that was led by Prin­ Tennessee, contained more than 4,800 cipal Chief John Ross — the eastern lands Cherokees: 700 at the agency post, 600 at were sold for $5 million, and the Cherokees Rattlesnake Spring, 870 at the first encamp-

9 introduction ment on Mouse Creek, 1,600 at the second ed, and Ross and his brother Lewis adminis­ encampment on Mouse Creek, 900 at Bed- tered the effort. The Cherokees were divided well Springs, 1,300 on Chestooee, 700 on into 16 detachments of about 1,000 each. the ridge east of the agency, and 600 on the Upper Chatate. Some 2,000 Cherokees were camped at Gunstocker Spring 13 miles from Water Route Calhoun, Tennessee. Three detachments of Cherokees, totaling One group of Cherokees did not leave the about 2,800 persons, traveled by river to mountains of North Carolina. This group Indian Territory. The first of these groups left traced their origin to an 1819 treaty that gave on June 6 by steamboat and barge from them an allotment of land and American Ross’s Landing on the Tennessee River citizenship on lands not belonging to the (present-day Chattanooga). They followed Cherokee Nation. When the forced removal the Tennessee as it wound across northern came in 1838, this group — now called the Alabama, including a short railroad detour Oconaluftee Cherokees — claimed the 1835 around the shoals between Decatur and Tus­ treaty did not apply to cumbia Landing. The them as they no route then headed "At noon all was in readiness for longer lived on Cher­ north through central moving, the teams were stretched out in okee lands. Tsali and Tennessee and Ken­ a line along the road through a heavy his sons were in­ tucky to the Ohio forest, groups of persons formed about volved in raids on the River. The Ohio took each wagon. . . . Going Snake, an aged U.S. soldiers who them to the Mississip­ and respected chief whose head eighty were sent to drive the pi River, which they summers had whitened, mounted on his Cherokees to the followed to the mouth favorite pony, passed before me in stockades. The re­ of the Arkansas Riv­ silence, followed by a number of sponsible Indians er. The Arkansas led younger men on horseback." were punished by the northwest to Indian -William Shorey Coodey, a contractor, army, but the rest of Territory, and they in a letter to a friend the group gained per­ arrived aboard a August 13, 1840 mission to stay, and steamboat at the North Carolina ulti­ mouth of Sallisaw mately recognized their rights. Fugitive Cher­ Creek near Fort Coffee on June 19, 1838. okees from the nation also joined the Ocona­ The other two groups suffered more because luftee Cherokees, and in time this group of a severe drought and disease (especially became the Eastern Band of Cherokees, among the children), and they did not arrive who still reside in North Carolina. in Indian Territory until the end of the sum­ mer.

NUNAHI-DUNA-DLO-HILU-I: TRAIL WHERE THEY CRIED Land Routes

During the roundup intimidation and acts of The rest of the Principal People traveled to cruelty at the hands of the troops, along with Indian Territory overland on existing roads. the theft and destruction of property by local They were organized into detachments residents, further alienated the Cherokees. ranging in size from 700 to 1,600, with each Finally, Chief Ross appealed to President detachment headed by a conductor and an Van Buren to permit the Cherokees to over­ assistant conductor appointed by John Ross. see their own removal. Van Buren consent­ The Cherokees who had signed the treaty of

10 History and Significance of the Trail of Tears

New Echota were moved in a separate River and its tributaries east of present-day detachment conducted by John Bell and Tahlequah. administered by U.S. Army Lt. Edward Deas. A physician, and perhaps a clergyman, usually accompanied each detachment. Sup­ AFTERMATH plies of flour and corn, and occasionally salt pork, coffee, and sugar, were obtained in In the Indian Territory problems quickly advance, but were generally of poor quality. developed among the new arrivals and Cher­ Drought and the number of people being okees who had already settled, especially as moved reduced forage for draft animals, reprisals were taken against the contingent which often were used to haul possessions, who had signed the Treaty of New Echota. while the people routinely walked. As these problems were resolved, the Cher­ okees proceeded .to adapt to their new The most commonly used overland route homeland, and they reestablished their own followed a northern alignment, while other system of government, which was modeled detachments (notably those led by John on that of the United States. Benge and John Bell) followed more south­ ern routes, and some followed slight varia­ Tribal government was headquartered in tions. The northern Tahlequah and ad­ route started at Cal­ hered to a constitu­ Dec. 13, "During the night a Cherokee houn, Tennessee, tion that divided re­ woman died in the camps. Though she and crossed central sponsibilities among had given birth to a child but a few days Tennessee, south­ an elected principal before, yet last evening she was up and western Kentucky, chief, an elected no danger was apprehended, but in the and southern Illinois. legislature known as morning she was found dead, with the After crossing the the National Council, infant in her arms." Mississippi River and a supreme court -The Reverend Daniel S. Buttrick, north of Cape Girar­ with lesser courts. diary entry, 1838 deau, Missouri, these Local districts with detachments trekked elected officials, simi­ across southern Missouri and the northwest lar to counties, formed the basis of the na­ corner of Arkansas. tion. The Cherokees maintained a bilingual school system, and missionaries from the Road conditions, illness, and the distress of American Board of Commissioners for For­ winter, particularly in southern Illinois while eign Missions were active in the nation. detachments waited to cross the ice-choked Mississippi, made death a daily occurrence. This autonomy remained reasonably strong Mortality rates for the entire removal and its until the Civil War, when a faction of the aftermath were substantial, totaling approxi­ Cherokees sided with the Confederacy. mately 8,000. During Reconstruction they suffered a loss of self-government and, more importantly, their Most of the land route detachments entered land base. Government annuities were re­ present-day Oklahoma near Westville and duced, and lands were sold to newly arrived were often met by a detachment of U.S. tribes. Cessions of land continued during the troops from Fort Gibson on the Arkansas later 19th century, and the federal govern­ River. The army officially received the Chero­ ment emerged as the major force for land kees, who generally went to live with those cession under the Dawes Act of 1887, which who had already arrived, or awaited land divided up tribal lands. The establishment of assignments while camped along the Illinois the state of Oklahoma in 1907 increased

11 INTRODUCTION pressure for land cessions. Many people of emerged between traditionalists and those questionable Cherokee ancestry managed to who adapted to mainstream society. During get on the tribal rolls and participate in the the 1970s and after, however, the Chero­ allotment of these lands to individuals. By kees’ situation improved because of self rule the early 1970s the western Cherokees had and economic programs. lost title to over 19 million acres of land. Throughout the years, the Cherokees have Difficult times continued because of the sought to maintain much of their cultural effects of the 1930s depression and the identity. To increase public awareness of government policy to relocate Indians from their heritage, many of them have advocated tribal areas to urban America. Many Cher­ the designation of the Trail of Tears as a okees found themselves in urban slums with national historic trail. a lack of basic needs. Differences also

J

12 TRAIL OF TEARS

COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN Trail of Tears land route Washington County. Missoun A portion of the northern route followed by

Trail of Tears land route. Webster County. Missouri A portion of the northern route followed by detachments of Cherokees m 1838 39 (northeast of Springfield. Missoun) Historic Routes and Significant Resources

The Arkansas River is perhaps the most Two detachments followed short alternate dramatically changed of the rivers because routes along the northern route. A detach­ of the McClellan-Kerr navigation system, ment of 1,029 Cherokees led by Richard which stretches from the mouth of the river Taylor left Ross’s Landing, headed north, all the way to Catoosa (Tulsa), Oklahoma. A and joined the northern route in the Sequat­ series of dams, locks, and impoundments chie Valley in Bledsoe County, Tennessee. make the river navigational far into the interi­ Peter Hildebrand’s detachment of 1,766 or of Oklahoma. As with the other rivers, Cherokees separated from the main route in there is a considerable amount of develop­ Crawford County, Missouri, and traveled ment along the banks of the Arkansas across Dent, Texas, Wright, and Webster counties before rejoining the main trail at Vistas along a few less developed and popu­ Marshfield. The Reverend Daniel Buttrick lated areas of the water route give an indica­ reported in March 1839 that Hildebrand was tion of how the river corridors looked at the trying to pass the other detachments. time of the removal. Another minor variation on the northern route was used by the Reverend Evan Jones, who Land Route accompanied a detachment led by Situ- wakee. He sought to avoid several tollgates Groups began traveling on the northern route southeast of Nashville by going through in September 1838, following existing roads Readyville and Old Jefferson. Detachments and moving south of the Hiwassee River to conducted by Old Fields, Moses Daniel, and Blythe’s Ferry on the Tennessee River, then Jesse Bushyhead did the same. northwest across the Sequatchie Valley onto the Cumberland Plateau past McMinnville. Like those who traveled by water, those From there detachments moved past Mur­ making the journey overland passed through freesboro to Nashville, Port Royal, and into a changing landscape. The northern land Kentucky at Gray’s Inn. Hopkinsville was the route crossed Tennessee and entered Ken­ next point before proceeding to Mantle Rock, tucky in an area of gently sloping terrain and across the Ohio River at Berry’s Ferry to punctuated by steeper bluffs that had been Golconda, Illinois. Crossing Illinois took the cut by the Mississippi River. After crossing groups past Vienna and to the area west of the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois Jonesboro, where they had to endure an the terrain flattened into bottomland, rising to extremely severe winter awaiting the pas­ a hilly, rolling landscape in the southern part sage of ice in the Mississippi River before of the state. West of the Mississippi most crossing at Green’s Ferry. detachments passed around the northeast­ ern edge of the Ozark Mountains, while Beyond the Mississippi the route swung some skirted the southeastern edge to follow through Jackson, Missouri, then through the White River into the mountains. Most Farmington, Caledonia, and Rolla. Continu­ then traveled southwesterly over the Spring- ing west by south, the groups moved toward field Plateau before entering the wooded Marshfield, Springfield, and to the Delaware western section of the Ozarks in northwest­ villages on the James River before striking ern Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. westerly to Flat Creek through Cassville and across the Arkansas state line along Sugar The 19th century road system that was used Creek. From there the road went south past during the removal is overlain by present-day Rogers to Fayetteville and then west-south­ roads. A complex network of county, state, west to Westville and Indian Territory. and federal roads stretches from the mouth of the Hiwassee River all the way to West-

19 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN ville, Oklahoma. These roads wind through northwest to the Natchitoches Trace, which large areas of countryside and a few major they followed southwest to Hix’s Ferry on the urban areas (notably Nashville, Tennessee, Current River, but used the Indian Ford and Springfield, Missouri). Scattered along instead to save costs. Continuing southward, the roads are numerous communities, agri­ the group entered Arkansas, camped at cultural areas, and rural landscapes that Fouche Dumas, and turned west near Bates­ have grown up since the removal. ville to follow the White River drainage to­ ward Melbourne, Cotter, Yellville, and A few route segments remain basically Alpena. From there the route turned south­ undeveloped and provide a feeling of the west to Huntsville and Fayetteville, where it countryside through which the detachments joined the northern route. passed.

Bell’s Route OTHER MAJOR ROUTES A detachment of 600-700 Treaty Party Cher­ Two historic routes used by large detach­ okees, led by John A. Bell, followed a south­ ments of Cherokees were not congressional- ern route across Tennessee and central ly designated as part of the Trail of Tears — Arkansas. Accompanied by Lt. Edward Deas, the route taken by the Benge detachment, this group sought to interfere with and dis­ which traveled some 734 miles across Ten­ rupt the other 12 detachments by means of nessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, and Ar­ emissaries sent to those camps to spread kansas, and the route traveled by the Bell discord. detachment (Treaty Party), which covered 765 miles across Tennessee and Arkansas. Their route took them from Calhoun in Octo­ Because these routes were not evaluated ber 1838 toward Cleveland, Winchester, under the National Trails System Act criteria Pulaski, Savannah, and Bolivar. They in the 1986 Final National Trail Study for the crossed the Mississippi River at Memphis. Trail of Tears, the National Park Service From there the route extended west toward proposes to study them to determine their Little Rock, then up the north side of the feasibility and desirability for inclusion in the Arkansas River past Conway, Russellville, national trails system. Until that determina­ and Fort Smith to Indian Territory. tion is made, the Park Service proposes to interpret the Benge and Bell routes along the existing designated national historic trail. TRAIL ROUTE IDENTIFICATION

The maps in the Map Supplement constitute Benge’s Route the official route map required by the Nation­ al Trails System Act, and its description will A detachment of 1,090 Cherokees conducted be published in the Federal Register. If new by John Benge departed Fort Payne, Ala­ research identifies additional routes or more bama, in late September 1838 and followed accurate trail locations, then an official notice a central route. They crossed the Tennessee of correction will be published in the Federal River at Gunter’s Landing, went through Register. Huntsville, and on into Tennessee. At Rey­ noldsburg they once again crossed the Mileages for the trail routes are shown in Tennessee River and then the Mississippi table 1. Table 2 illustrates the miles of the River at Iron Banks south of Cape Girar­ trail in each state. deau, Missouri. The group moved west-

20 LEGISLATIVELY DESIGNATED ROUTES NORTHERN - LAND (including Taylor's and Hildebrand's routes) WATER

OTHER MAJOR ROUTES BENGE BELL

NORTH

0 10 20 30 40 SO MILES-APPROXIMATE

HISTORIC ROUTES TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 610/40000 -DSC-FEB 92 PUBLISHED AS 610/400004 Historic Routes and Significant Resources

Table 1: Trail Route Mileages In conjunction with trail route mapping in 1989 and 1990, high-potential historic sites Miles and route segments were also inventoried. Water Route 1,226 This helped determine the historical signifi­ Land Route cance of sites and segments, existing condi­ Northern Route 826 • Taylor’s Detachment 45 tions, and the existence of critical archival • Hildebrand’s Detachment 122 information. A total of 46 historic sites and six route segments were identified (see table Total - Designated National Historic Trail 2,219 3 and the Historic Sites map); additional sites and segments may be identified in the Other Major Routes future. (The historic sites are described in Benge’s Detachment 734 appendix B, and the route segments are Bell's Detachment 765 listed in table B-1.) Total - Other Major Routes 1,499 Table 3: High-Potential Historic Sites and Route Segments

Sites Segments Table 2: Trail Route Mileages by State Georgia 7 Water Northern Other Alabama 5 Route Route Routes North Carolina 4 Tennessee 198 285 545 Tennessee 12 1 Alabama 190 107 Kentucky 3 Kentucky 88 93 30 Illinois 2 Illinois 66 Missouri 7 4 Missouri 461 167 Arkansas 1 1 Arkansas 337 59 584 Oklahoma 5 Oklahoma 29 66 Total 46 6 State Lines* 413 —

Selected high-potential sites are directly associated with the historic event, they have *The 413 miles along state lines include Kentucky- few intrusions, the setting retains its histori­ Illinois, Kentucky-Missouri, Tennessee-Missouri, Tennessee-Arkansas, and Mississippi-Arkansas. cal integrity, and the potential for interpreta­ tion is high. The sites include fords, ferries, structures, natural landmarks, marked grave- HIGH-POTENTIAL HISTORIC SITES sites, campsites, and rural landscapes. AND ROUTE SEGMENTS Route segments exhibit the same qualities.

High-potential sites and segments along the Among the historic sites and route segments Trail of Tears will be identified in accordance selected are trail-related resources that are with the National Trails System Act. Each within present national park system units, site or segment must have the potential to that are designated as national historic interpret the trail’s historical significance, as landmarks, or that are listed on the National determined by the official certification pro­ Register of Historic Places. Those resources cess, and to provide opportunities for high- within national park system units are fully quality recreation. Criteria include historical protected and interpreted according to NPS significance, the presence of visible historic management policies and guidelines. In remains, scenic quality, and few intrusions. accordance with the National Trails System Act, resources on federal lands are desig­ nated as federal protection components.

21 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

Sites designated as national historic land­ Mark Twain National Forest — Some 60 marks by the secretary of the interior are, by miles of the Trail of Tears cross portions definition, nationally significant. Landmarks of Mark Twain National Forest between are eligible for NPS technical assistance pro­ Jackson and Farmington and between grams. They are also subject to periodic Caledonia and Steelville, Missouri. monitoring for threats to their integrity. Other Federal Government Areas. The Trail resources on the National Register of Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Historic Places are listed as being of local, Army Corps of Engineers both manage rivers state, or national significance. They are that were used by the Cherokees who made afforded recognition and some protection the journey to Indian Territory by water. when directly or indirectly affected by federal projects through compliance with provisions Tennessee Valley Authority — The Ten­ of the National Historic Preservation Act of nessee Valley Authority manages ap­ 1966, as amended. proximately 422 miles of the water route along the Tennessee River from Chatta­ nooga, Tennessee, to Paducah, Ken­ Federal Protection Components tucky.

National Park System Area. Parts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — The Trail of Tears are included within Pea Ridge Corps of Engineers administers 804 National Military Park. The trail’s northern miles of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Ar­ route followed the main road between kansas rivers from Paducah, Kentucky, Fayetteville and St. Louis, which became to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. known as Telegraph Road once a telegraph line was strung along it in 1860. Pea Ridge was the site of a Union victory on March Nonfederal Sites and Segments 7-8, 1862, which allowed the Union to con­ trol Missouri. This was one of the major en­ Historic sites and segments that are not gagements of the Civil War west of the federally owned may be suitable for inclusion Mississippi River, and 1,000 Cherokee sol­ in the trail. These sites and segments will diers from Indian Territory and under the have to be certified as to their historical command of Stand Watie participated as significance and potential for use before they Confederates in this battle. The park is in can be designated as official components of Benton County, Arkansas, northeast of the national historic trail. Appropriate means Rogers. of protection and opportunities for public appreciation will be provided for certified trail National Forest System Areas. A few trail components. To retain certification, manag­ portions pass through areas administered by ers will have to show that the interpretation, the U.S. Forest Service. preservation, and recreation objectives of the National Trails System Act and the plan are Shawnee National Forest — Approxi­ being met. The criteria and procedures for mately 17 miles of the Trail of Tears certification are described in the "Manage­ route passes through sections of Shaw­ ment and Cooperation" section (see page nee National Forest between Golconda 45). and Ware in southern Illinois.

22 Naw Echola 24 Spring Fiog Cabin 2 - Fort Wool 25 Shellsford Baptist Church Site - Vann House 26 Nashville Toll Bridge Site - Fort GUmer 27 Reynoldsburg Ferry Site - John Ross House 28 Hallway House Fort Cumming 29 Gray s Inn 7 Major Ridge Home 30 - Whitepath and Fly Smith Graves Fort Lovell 31 - Mantle Rock Fort Payne 32 - Berry Ferry Site 10 - Andrew Ross Home 33 - Buel House 11 - Gunter s Landing 34 - Green a Ferry Site 12 - Tuscumbia Landing 35 - Olnhki Bushyhead Hildebrand Grave 13 - Fort Montgomery 36 Bunker House 14 - Fort Delaney 37 Massey Ironworks 15 - Fort Hembree 38 Danforth Farm 16 Fori Bullor 39 Bell Tavern Site 17 Fori Cass 40 McMurtry Spring 18 Lewis Ross Home 41 Fon Smith 19 Rattlesnake Spring 42 - Woodhaii Homepiace 20 Blythe Ferry Site 43 - Fort Gibson 21 Ha«r Conrad Cabm 44 - Tahlequah 22 - Red Clay 45 - Park H.ll 23 - Ross's Landing 46 Ross Ceinolery

■ ■ ------NORTHERN (LAND) ROUTE - WATER ROUTE ------OTHER ROUTES

NORTH ' : i------!----- :1 0 10 20 30 40 50 MILES APPROXIMATE

HISTORIC SITES TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ON MICROFILM sw ^a dscfeb^ RESOURCE PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT

RESOURCE PROTECTION sider acquiring interests in property through easements or fee acquisition. Such interests The intent of resource protection is to ensure may be acquired by donation, exchange, or that sites related to the trail (such as land­ purchase, depending on the significance and scapes, landmarks, ruts, gravesites and other values of the site. The Park Service sacred objects, and structures) will be pre­ will seek local managers for the acquired served in an unimpaired condition and that sites to help protect the resources and to sections of the trail will be maintained as provide for appropriate visitor use. cultural landscapes. The historic routes will be managed so as to preserve scenic values and qualities, thereby ensuring high-quality NPS Assistance Programs interpretive experiences. Efforts will be made to protect the remaining historical settings The National Park Service can also foster where the landscape is reminiscent of what trail-related preservation efforts by establish­ the Cherokees saw over 150 years ago (see ing assistance programs. A technical assis­ the Potential Resource Protection Areas map tance program for planning and design could and table B-1 in appendix B). Cooperative be established to stabilize, and where appro­ agreements between the National Park priate, restore significant resources for pro­ Service and state, federal, and local interests tection and interpretive purposes. Through will emphasize resource protection. technical assistance programs, private land- owners can request information and help All related cultural and natural resources with preservation activities, including sound along the trail route will be inventoried by the stewardship practices and new resource National Park Service and analyzed to deter­ protection concepts. Through its national mine appropriate preservation techniques historic landmark program, the Park Service and the potential to accommodate visitor use assesses the significance of sites important or interpretation. Priorities will be established in American history, and through the Historic to preserve sites and segments according to American Buildings Survey and the Historic their significance, potential for visitor use, American Engineering Record it documents and interpretive value. In addition, a research historic structures. The Park Service also program will be undertaken to ensure that reports annually to Congress about endan­ resources are correctly identified and proper­ gered national historic landmarks along the ly managed, as well as to improve overall trail. knowledge and appreciation of trail remnants and related resources. Funding can also be provided for the preser­ vation of historic resources. The Land and The National Park Service will encourage Water Conservation Fund can be used to local, state, and federal agencies, and others assist in preservation efforts on publicly (including private landowners) to enter into owned lands. Grants from the NPS Historic cooperative agreements to protect significant Preservation Fund will be used as fully as sites. If this means of protection is inade­ possible to help protect, in cooperation with quate, then local, state, or federal agencies the states, qualifying historic sites along the and others, including conservation organiza­ trail. Where applicable, the Park Service will tions, will be encouraged to protect the sites encourage the preservation of historic prop­ by using fee or less-than-fee means. If land- erties by owners who might be able to bene­ owners desire, the Park Service may con- fit through local tax incentives.

25 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

To make the most efficient use of NPS lishing the trail specifically states that no resource preservation funds, the highest lands outside federally administered areas priority will be the funding of cooperative may be acquired for the Trail of Tears except preservation efforts for certified sites and with the consent of the owner. segments. Funds will be used for three purposes: (1) to supplement existing data Cooperative Agreements. Cooperative about the site, (2) to stabilize or otherwise agreements may be the most useful means conduct physical activities to conserve re­ for protecting trail-related resources and sources, and (3) to acquire interests in prop­ providing for visitor use. They can help foster erties to ensure long-term protective man­ landowner trust and support for trail pro­ agement. grams while protecting the landowner’s basic property rights, providing them with pride and The National Park Service may provide di­ satisfaction in sharing their resources for rect financial assistance if all other private, public benefit, and helping the public appre­ local, and state funding sources are exhaust­ ciate private contributions in commemorating ed. Projects that combine funding from the Trail of Tears. several sources will be encouraged, in accor­ dance with the intent of the National Trails A cooperative agreement is a clearly defined, System Act to limit federal financial assis­ written arrangement between two or more tance and to provide incentives for coopera­ parties that allows some specific action to be tive partnerships. taken — for example, to allow access for resource protection and management, inter­ pretation, or recreation; to allow the posting Resource Protection Techniques of markers or signs; or to allow others to manage activities or developments, while at Because the Trail of Tears follows a long, the same time protecting landowner inter­ narrow route and crosses numerous political ests. Cooperative agreements allow lands to jurisdictions in both rural and urban areas, be kept on local tax rolls and the land title techniques that can be used to protect trail- and rights to be retained by the owner. A related resources will likely vary from area to cooperative agreement is not binding and area and from state to state. Among the can be terminated by either party at any time specific resource protection issues for the with proper notification. Trail of Tears are the following: Used in concert with state recreational liabili­ • providing public access to historic sites ty statutes and/or the provisions of the Vol­ unteers in the Parks Act of 1969, cooperative • protecting sites from changes that would agreements can protect landowners from diminish the trail’s historical integrity liability claims arising from trail-related uses of their lands. Property damage arising from • protecting landscapes along the trail such use cannot be compensated by the routes from development and uses that National Park Service. would detract from the experiences of visitors Easements. An easement conveys a specif­ ic right in a property — for example, the right Several resource protection techniques may to limit access, or to construct or not to be effective for preserving trail resources, construct buildings — from one party to an­ including cooperative agreements, ease­ other; the owner, however, retains underlying ments, local regulations, and fee-simple title to the property. An easement can either purchases (as a last resort). The act estab­ be purchased or donated.

26 POTENTIAL RESOURCE PROTECTION AREA

______NORTHERN (LAND) ROUTE ______WATER ROUTE ------OTHER ROUTES

NORTH

10 20 30 40 50 WILES APPROXIMATE

POTENTIAL RESOURCE PROTECTION AREAS TRAIL OF TEAR NATIONA HISTORI TRAIL UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 610-20004A-DSC FEB 92 ON MICROFILM Resource Protection and Management

Generally, easements along the Trail of The preservation of undeveloped lands will Tears may be used to ensure that private rely heavily on local initiatives. Individual landowners do not damage or destroy spe­ citizens or organized groups could encour­ cific resources. An easement may also be age local planning and zoning boards to used to guarantee public and agency access create and enforce rural/agricultural zones in to trail sites, as well as to allow the explora­ order to prevent inappropriate development. tion of historic and archeological resources Land preservation tools available to local under NPS or another agency’s supervision. land use preservation groups include restrict­ ing the buildable density per acre, requiring Local Land Protection and Regulatory development setbacks from the street or Processes. Federal, state, and local govern­ river frontage, and limiting height and/or the ments may have a variety of legal or statu­ color of buildings to blend with the existing tory provisions that can be used to protect surroundings. These techniques can be trail-related resources by regulating or guid­ incorporated into local development guide­ ing development. These processes include lines and enforced through local planning zoning regulations and subdivision ordi­ and zoning boards. Citizens can monitor nances in cities, utility licensing, surface and development proposals to ensure that the subsurface mineral extraction permits in rural guidelines are followed and that no variances areas, cultural resource preservation laws are granted. Zoning ordinances can also and ordinances, and natural resource protec­ help keep large contiguous areas open by tion laws. All these processes can be used requiring large lots (for example, 10-20 acre as tools to protect trail resources. plots) in residential or agricultural areas.

The present landscape character along the Farmland and forested areas along the Trail routes followed by the Cherokees in the late of Tears may meet the requirements for 1830s varies greatly with locale. To preserve agricultural preservation zones established areas where the landscape probably resem­ under state or county regulations to keep bles its appearance 150 years ago, this plan prime farmland in active agricultural produc­ proposes a cooperative effort by concerned tion. citizens, county and state planning and zoning offices, and local parks. Such involve­ The transfer of development rights is another ment by local governments and private method for maintaining open land areas. interests will be vital to maintaining such This technique has generally been used areas because, in accordance with the Na­ more in urban areas, but it has also been tional Trails System Act, the National Park employed in rural Virginia and Massachu­ Service will limit its acquisition of land for this setts as a way to aggregate new develop­ trail. ment around existing villages, thus leaving the surrounding countryside open to contin­ Many portions of the trail pass through urban ued farming. or recreation areas where there is little or no / semblance of how the landscape looked Land preservation groups can also help during the Cherokee removal, but other conserve open agricultural areas and expan­ areas still closely resemble the historical sive scenic landscapes. In pursuing such setting. Between these extremes are many goals, local land trusts or conservation orga­ miles of riverside and roadside where rural nizations can seek guidance from national scenery prevails. Concern for these rural organizations such as the Land Trust Ex­ stretches is where local interest and action change and the Trust for Public Land. These will be critical. national organizations can provide insight on the use, development, and maintenance of

29 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN easements, as well as information about resources will be continuously preserved and organizing local land preservation groups. opportunities for visitor use allowed.

National and local conservation groups fre­ The fee-simple purchase of properties along quently work closely with state and federal the Trail of Tears will be limited to those agencies to preserve undeveloped areas sites that are determined to be especially while maintaining such areas in private important for public interpretation and that ownership. Both owners and communities must be carefully managed to preserve can benefit from potential tax advantages resource integrity. Fee-simple purchase will available through collaborative efforts to also be considered for historically significant preserve open space. The land remains on sites or segments where the landowner does the local tax rolls, but it is taxed at the lower, not want to participate in a cooperative undeveloped parcel rate. Thus, the owner is agreement and the resources are deterio­ not forced by rising taxable property values rating. In such cases other state and local to sell to developers or to subdivide and agencies will be encouraged to acquire an develop land suitable for farming. appropriate interest.

In the case of mineral activity, the states can Any acquisition by the National Park Service help protect trail resources through the will have to be based on the willing consent regulation of subsurface activities or through of the landowner. Acquisition will not neces­ other compliance procedures. Fee-simple sarily mean that the Park Service will directly acquisition of a property does not necessarily manage the property. Where beneficial to the include subsurface interests (such as mineral cooperative spirit of the National Trails Sys­ rights), which can be retained by the previ­ tem Act, the Park Service will seek local ous owner. How the retention of subsurface sponsors, including governmental agencies interests might affect the character of trail or private groups, to manage the resources. resources must be carefully considered. In addition to acquisition from a willing seller Directional drilling and other techniques by purchase, the National Park Service has could be used to reach subsurface mineral two other methods to acquire interests in resources inside the trail boundary without land from consenting owners — a donation disturbing surface resources of historical or bargain sale of land, or an exchange. significance; however, some resources could still be affected by extraction activities. The Donation / Bargain Sale — With a dona­ possible impacts of mining or drilling opera­ tion or bargain sale, a full or partial inter­ tions include intrusions on scenic and historic est (that is, an easement) in a tract of vistas as a result of access road or pipeline land is transferred at less than full-mar­ construction across trail segments, increases ket value. Such a transfer can result in in ambient noise levels, and degradation of beneficial publicity for a project, as well air quality. Vibrations from extraction pro­ as some tax benefits for the donor or cesses might affect the physical integrity of seller (owners should consult a qualified historic structures. tax advisor for details). Because dona­ tions cost the recipient little or nothing, Fee-Simple Ownership. When all interests this technique is an economical means in a given tract of land are acquired, the to acquire appropriate interests in trail property is owned in fee simple. Even though resources. this type of ownership is the most expensive, it also provides the greatest guarantee that Exchange — A mutually beneficial land exchange between two or more parties

30 Resource Protection and Management

can be used to protect trail resources. RESEARCH The National Park Service has the au­ thority to acquire not only a trail corridor, A primary resource management objective is but the rest of the tract outside the area to encourage further research to improve of proposed acquisition. The interests in knowledge and appreciation of trail remnants the corridor, as well as the rest of the and related resources and to better com­ tract, can be acquired by exchanging memorate the trail’s national significance. suitable and available property that the Park Service administers within the In keeping with this objective, a historic same state. Excess lands acquired by resource study will be undertaken (1) to the Park Service can be banked for develop a comprehensive listing and evalu­ future exchange purposes or disposed ation of all significant resources along the of through sale. Other federal agencies trail, including the preparation of forms for (such as the U.S. Forest Service) can the National Register of Historic Places, as also employ such a technique for lands required by the NPS Cultural Resources they administer. Management Guideline (NPS-28); (2) to present historically accurate information to visitors; and (3) to ensure that resources are INDIAN BURIALS AND SACRED OBJECTS correctly identified and properly managed.

The National Park Service will establish The historic resource study will include guidelines to protect and care for Indian ethnographic and archeological sections, and burial sites and sacred objects associated it will identify additional historic sites and with the Trail of Tears. A system will be cross-country segments eligible for national established to promptly notify the Cherokees historic landmark status or for listing on the and other concerned groups regarding the national register. It will also summarize discovery of human remains, as well as archeological and historic sites listed on the procedures for ensuring that cultural items national register or determined eligible or are properly cared for and respected. Memo­ potentially eligible for listing. randums of agreement with the Cherokees, federal agencies, and state and local govern­ The National Park Service will strongly en­ ments and cooperative agreements with courage state and local governments, univer­ landowners will specifically address matters sities, and other qualified institutions and pertaining to burials and objects. individuals to initiate studies to gather data using NPS resources and technical assis­ Principles concerning burial sites and ob­ tance. The Park Service will provide limited jects, as noted in federal guidelines (NPS-28, funds for these endeavors and will aid in Technical Supplement 7; the 1988 NPS obtaining outside funding support. Management Policies 5:13; and PL 101 -601, the Native American Grave Protection and Research topics will include the following: Repatriation Act of 1990) will be adhered to in managing the trail. Applicable state guide­ Trail routes — Routes that need to be lines will also apply in managing the trail. further studied include those followed by Any discovery of such resources will be the Benge, Bell, and Hildebrand detach­ followed by protective measures and a con­ ments. Also a few segments of the certed effort to identify the cultural affiliation northern route have not been precisely of the human remains. located, and areas where the route became braided need to be more thor­ oughly documented. Besides traditional

31 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

archival sources, a valuable and virtually and internment camps. Sites in the Park untapped source of information is oral Hill area of Oklahoma that pertain to key tradition, both from Cherokee stories historic individuals also need to be lo­ about the removal and from residents cated, as do campsites, especially along along the trail routes that may have the Mississippi River in southern Illinois. family stories about the event. Historic trails perspective — A historical Trail experiences — The perspective of context will be developed for the forced the Cherokees during events leading to removal of the Cherokees, including the forced removal is extremely sketchy, relationships to the other groups that beginning with their relocation first to were forcibly removed. The focus of this military stockades and then to intern­ perspective could be expanded to in­ ment camps. Oral tradition is the best clude tribes besides those in the South­ source for this information, especially east (for example, the "long walk" of the among the native speakers in and Navajo). A comparison with other histor­ around Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Docu­ ic trails used during the 19th century ments may exist among the Cherokees could further complement this research. that would provide more information about the removal. Also archives should Copies of archival documents examined in be thoroughly searched for any diaries the course of data gathering should be or journals kept during the journey. placed in the libraries of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Caroli­ Historic sites — A systematic archeo­ na, and at the Cherokee National Museum in logical survey of historic sites will be Tahlequah, Oklahoma. conducted to locate removal stockades

32 VISITOR USE

INTERPRETATION experiences of the other four of the Five Civilized Tribes (the Chickasaw, Choctaw, The goal of interpretation for the Trail of Creek, and Seminole tribes), as well as other Tears National Historic Trail is to instill an eastern tribes. understanding and sensitivity for the trail’s history and its resources, to develop public The Trail of Tears story consists of a number support for preserving the resources, and to of interrelated events. The interpretive theme provide the information necessary for appro­ and subthemes identified below provide a priate, safe, and minimum impact use of the framework for explaining how these events fit trail resources. into the country’s overall treatment of its native population, the evolution of U.S. In developing the interpretive program, the Indian policy, and the nation’s westward ex­ National Park Service will cooperate with pansion. These themes will be applicable federal, state, and local entities, especially regardless of which organization, agency, the Cherokee Nation, to interpret the trail group, or individual manages or interprets a and its resources. The extent to which the particular site or segment. A separate inter­ Park Service provides assistance will be pretive prospectus (media plan) will be pre­ determined in future interpretive planning. pared once the comprehensive management and use plan has been approved. As part of the overall interpretive program, states will be encouraged to interpret events Trailwide Theme. The proposed interpretive that-are related to the Trail of Tears but that theme is the story of the Cherokee relocation are not recognized as part of the designated and the context of this tragic event in relation routes. This includes the stockades used to the removal of other American Indians during the removal in North Carolina, Geor­ from their ancestral homelands during the gia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The National first half of the 19th century. Park Service will also recognize and discuss the routes taken by the Benge and Bell Subthemes and Interpretive Regions. The detachments as well as interrelated trails main trail theme will be supplemented by along the main route. It will also coordinate various subthemes (see table 4). These with local officials in matters relating to themes could be presented anywhere along interpretation and public information for these the trail or at nearby trail-related facilities. routes and trails. In addition, some technical planning assistance may be provided. Subthemes 1 and 2 deal generally with the Five Civilized Tribes and the Indians’ regard for the land. These themes will provide the Interpretive Theme and Subthemes foundation for telling the Trail of Tears story and how that story relates to the experiences The interpretive theme for the Trail of Tears of other Indian people. will relate broadly to the evolution and imple­ mentation of the U.S. government’s Indian The other subthemes correspond with geo­ removal policy, and specifically to the effect graphical aspects of the story, such as the that this policy had on the Cherokee Nation. ancestral homeland, the forced removal, and Even though the Trail of Tears commemo­ resettlement in Indian Territory (see the rates the tragic experience of the Cherokees, Interpretive Themes map). Appropriate sub­ it is also intended to commemorate similar themes for each region are identified below.

33 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

Table 4: Interpretive Subthemes for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

1. The Five Civilized Tribes 7. Cherokee response to the re­ Hildebrand left the route in • Choctaw moval policy Crawford County, Missouri, Treaty of Dancing Rabbit, 1830 • Adopted white practices (agricul­ and rejoined it near Marshfield. Emigration, 1831-32 ture, education, Christianity, own­ • Two other detachments followed • Creek ing slaves) completely different routes: Treaty of Washington, 1832 • Spoke English, intermarried with ' Benge went from Fort Payne, Creek War. 1836 whites, invented a written lan­ Alabama, northwest across Forced removal, 1836 guage, published a newspaper. Tennessee and into western • Chickasaw • Adopted a written constitution Kentucky, then followed the Treaty of Pontotoc, 1832; Treaty based on the U.S. Constitution. Natchitoches Trace to north­ of Doakville, 1837 • Fought the removal policy through eastern Arkansas and up the Peaceful migration, 1837-38 Congress and the Supreme Court. White River drainage. • Seminole Bell went from Calhoun across Seminole War, 1835-42 8. People associated with removal southern Tennessee and cen­ Forced removal to Creek terri­ • Cherokees: Chief John Ross, tral Arkansas to Little Rock tory, 1836-43 Lewis Ross, Major Ridge, John and along the Arkansas River • Cherokee Ridge, Stan Watie, Elias Boudinot to Fort Gibson. Treaty of New Echota, 1835 • Whites: Presidents Andrew Jack- • Approximately 8,000 Cherokees Removal, 1838-39 son and Martin Van Buren, Chief died as a result of the removal. Justice John Marshall, Maj. Gen. 2. The Indians' regard for home­ Winfield Scott 12. Eastern Band lands vs. the Euro-Americans’ • Many Cherokees in North Carolina regard for land as property 9. The federal invasion resisted the roundup and stayed in • The native American viewpoint - • 31 stockade forts were built as col­ their homeland. Other Cherokees land belongs to the tribe and not to lection points and detention areas. legally entitled to lands by earlier any individual; individuals have the • In May 1838, 7,000 U S. troops treaties also remained. right to use the land, but they invaded the Cherokee nation and • Today 56,572 acres in five west­ could not sell or give it to another. made captives of the people. ern North Carolina counties are • The Euro-American viewpoint - held in trust by the U.S. govern­ land as a commodity to be owned 10. Water route and events ment for the Eastern Band of the by an individual, who could use or • The route began at Ross's and Cherokees. sell it as desired. Gunter’s Landings on the Tennes­ see River, down the Tennessee, 13. Life in Indian Territory 3. Cherokee history Ohio, and Mississippi rivers to the • Military protection, food, materials • An overview of Cherokee history Arkansas River, up the Arkansas. for shelter and schools, and medi­ and traditions. (This subject is well • A railroad detour was taken cine were not always provided. covered at both the Museum of the around shoals of the Tennessee • Interactions with "old settlers" and Cherokees in North Carolina and River in northern Alabama. factional disputes, the Cherokee National Museum in • Three detachments (about 2,800 • Interactions and reactions of the Tahlequah, Oklahoma.) Cherokees total) were moved Plains tribes to the west. during the summer of 1838. 4. Treaties with whites • Because of a soaring death rate 14. The Civil War and its aftermath • The oldest Cherokee treaty on and extreme suffering, the Chero­ • Treaty Party (Ridge-Watie faction) record was with the government of kees sought permission to direct favored secession, slavery, and South Carolina, signed in picture their own removal. the Confederate government. writing in 1684. • National Party (Ross faction) was • By 1835 the Cherokees had 11. Overland routes and events pro-Union. signed more treaties than any • Approximately 13,000 Cherokees, • Statehood and citizenship other tribe. divided into 13 detachments, • Dawes Act • Nearly every treaty stated that it moved overland during the fall and was to be the last. winter of 1838-39. 15. The Cherokee Nation today • The most used land route took a • Cherokee Nation - Oklahoma 5. Events leading to removal northern alignment from Charles­ • Eastern Band of the Cherokees - • Frontier conflict between Indians ton, Tennessee, to Nashville, into North Carolina and whites western Kentucky, across southern • Pressure for westward expansion Illinois, southern Missouri, and 16. Natural history (similarities and • Discovery of gold in Georgia northwestern Arkansas. differences) • States’ rights issue with Georgia wo routes took slight variations: • Environment of the ancestral Taylor headed north from Ross’s homelands 6. Removal policy Landing and joined the north­ • Environment along the Trail of • Evolution of the policy, from Jeffer­ ern route in the Sequatchie Tears son through Jackson Valley. • Environment in the new Indian • Constitutional issues Territory

34 ANCESTRAL HOMELANOS

THE TRAIL OF TEARS INTERPRETIVE THEMES

Land Routa TRAIL OF TEARS Water Route NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL i>«rrn states »pahtknt o tk wtetoor NAnrxAi w* scmncf THE JOURNEY S ENO eto ?oooaa oac F-ffi e? ON MICROFILM COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

Region 1, Ancestral homelands — This Fort Smith National Historic Site — Fort region includes Georgia, North Carolina, Smith, established in 1817, served as a northeastern Alabama, and eastern U.S. Army base to maintain peace be­ Tennessee, which were part of the tween the Osage and the incoming Cherokee people’s original homelands. Cherokees. Abandoned in 1824, it re­ The Cherokee homeland also included opened in 1838 as a supply depot and portions of Kentucky, Virginia, West helped protect settlers in the region. Virginia, and South Carolina. Interpreta­ When the army left in 1871, it became tion for this region will concentrate on the center of the Federal Court for the subthemes 3-9, along with subtheme Western District of Arkansas. Because 16. of its location on the water and land routes of the Trail of Tears and its his­ Region 2, Nunahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i, the torical role in Indian affairs, Fort Smith Trail of Tears: — Region 2 includes would be a complementary location for Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, interpreting the story of federal Indian Missouri, and Arkansas, the states tra­ policy. versed during the removal (both land and water routes). The interpretive story Pea Ridge National Military Park — The for this region will concentrate on sub­ Cherokee association with this area is themes 9-12, plus subtheme 16. twofold: (1) The major overland route during the removal followed the road Region 3, The journey’s end: Indian between St. Louis and Fayetteville, Territory (Oklahoma) — The interpretive which in time became the Butterfield emphasis for this region will concentrate Overland Stage Road, and later Tele­ on subthemes 3 and 13-16. graph Road; this road was subsequently included in the park. (2) Cherokee troops raised from Indian Territory and Interpretive Programs under the command of Stand Watie fought in a major Civil War battle on Various agencies and groups may provide March 7-8, 1862, (this was the only trail interpretive programs at facilities they major battle that involved Cherokee operate. The National Park Service has an troops). The route of the trail and the opportunity to help coordinate the overall Cherokee involvement in the war should interpretive program to encourage more continue to be part of the interpretation firsthand resource experiences and to help at this park area. maximize educational efforts. Other national park system units near the Programs at National Park System Units. trail but not directly associated with the Fort Smith National Historic Site and Pea removal (such as Great Smoky Mountains Ridge National Military Park in Arkansas are National Park, Wilson’s Creek National the two national park system areas most Battlefield, Arkansas Post National Memorial, closely associated with the trail. These areas Chickamauga and Chattanooga National are subject to the laws, policies, and regula­ Military Park, Shiloh National Military Park, tions governing the national park system. and Natchez Trace Parkway) may be willing However, because of their relationship to the to distribute information about the Trail of trail, the Southwest Regional Office will Tears. closely coordinate interpretive programs with these parks. Certified Interpretive Facility Programs. The Trail of Tears legislation calls for the

36 Visitor Use

establishment of appropriate interpretive Sites designated with an asterisk are de­ sites or facilities in the vicinity of Hopkins­ scribed as high-potential sites in appendix B. ville, Kentucky; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Trail of Tears State Park, Missouri; and Tahlequah, Georgia Oklahoma. The 1986 Final National Trail New Echota Historic Site* Study recommends the establishment of at least one interpretive facility in each of the North Carolina nine states through which the trail passes. Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Chero­ kee Site/Facility Identification — The primary Murphy (Fort Butler*) purpose of trail interpretive facilities will be to orient visitors to the trail routes and sites. Alabama Each will have a variety of displays and Fort Payne* exhibits focusing on the special and unique qualities of that particular site or area. The Tennessee two criteria used to determine appropriate Red Clay State Historical Area* locations for these facilities are Ross’s Landing, Chattanooga* Charleston • a direct and historically significant asso­ Port Royal State Historical Area ciation with the Cherokees’ forced re­ Nathan Bedford Forrest State Historical moval in 1838-39 Area

• a location near one of the trail routes Kentucky Trail of Tears Park, Hopkinsville The development and management of inter­ pretive facilities will be the responsibility of Illinois various federal, state, local, and tribal enti­ Buel House, Golconda* ties. The Park Service will not construct or Jonesboro operate such facilities, but it will provide technical assistance and limited financial Missouri assistance for resource protection and visitor Trail of Tears State Park (Green’s Ferry*) programs. Interpretation will also be the Caledonia responsibility of the managing entities. The Maramec Ironworks* Park Service may develop interpretive pro­ Springfield grams in its existing units along the trail, and it will help coordinate the overall interpretive Arkansas program to avoid repetition and to enhance Russellville the visitor experience of trail resources. Fayetteville Fort Smith National Historic Site* The nine states through which the trail pass­ es, along with various groups, can help Oklahoma identify the sites and provide the facilities for Sequoyah’s Home Site interpretive programs. The National Park Fort Gibson Military Park* Service will work with the states through Cherokee National Museum, Tahlequah memoranda of understanding (cooperative agreements) to help identify appropriate Well-developed interpretive facilities already sites. Based on the two criteria listed above, exist near both the eastern and western the following are examples of sites where ends of the Trail of Tears. Both centers are interpretive programs may be appropriate. operated by the Cherokees. The eastern

37 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN center is on the Cherokee Indian reservation • clean, well-maintained, and orderly in North Carolina. It consists of the Museum facilities of the Cherokee Indian, the Oconaluftee Indian Village, and an amphitheater present­ • facilities that do not impair the integrity ing an outdoor drama entitled Unto These of the resources Hills. The western facility is the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. It • new facilities (if proposed) with a harmo­ consists of the Cherokee National Museum, nious design theme the Tsa-La-Gi Ancient Cherokee Village, the Adams Corner Rural Cherokee Village (the • programs and facilities that meet local, final period of the old Cherokee nation), and state, and federal regulations for health an amphitheater presenting the outdoor and safety, equal employment opportu­ drama Trail of Tears. nity, and environmental compliance

Program Certification — Criteria have been • a defined system of financial account­ developed for the certification of facility ability if special publications or other programs to interpret the Trail of Tears. materials sponsored or provided by the Based on those criteria, the Park Service will Park Service are to be sold provide various levels of interpretive assis­ tance, including technical support and inter­ • operating staff that are familiar with trail pretive media. Programs that meet the crite­ history and, as appropriate, personal ria will be certified as official interpretive interpretation techniques components of the trail, and the use of the trail logo will be permitted on their signs and Once the certification criteria for comple­ approved materials. The Park Service will mentary interpretive programs have been work with potential applicants to ensure that met, the National Park Service can provide they understand the interpretive certification interpretive assistance according to the criteria early in their program development. categories described below. Applicants for NPS assistance and certifi­ cation will need to show that they can pro­ (1) Federal (non-NPS), state, or Cherokee vide the following: interpretive and educational facilities — Such facilities may include those con­ • accurate interpretive information for structed, operated, or substantially sup­ visitors ported by state or federal agencies other than the Park Service or by the Chero­ • appropriate exhibits, brochures, and kees. The Park Service can provide other interpretive materials technical assistance for interpretive planning, design, or curation; allow its • appropriate curation of artifacts publications to be sold; or provide exhib­ its or other media appropriate for the • programs and facilities that are fully site. accessible to and usable by disabled people and that meet or exceed federal The extent to which media can be pro­ standards and NPS compliance require­ vided will depend on future NPS inter­ ments pretive planning and consideration of the foiiowing factors: ine site’s historical • programs that are open daily according significance to the trail; its outdoor inter- to a regular schedule for at least a sea­ pretive/recreational values; its resource son integrity; its location relative to similar

38 Visitor Use

state or federal facilities and programs; Many fine publications already exist about its ability to convey trail themes and to the Trail of Tears, the Cherokees, the Five educate and reach the public; its proxim­ Civilized Tribes, and the overall history of ity to actual trail resources; and its abili­ Indian removal; however, two publications ty to contribute to interpretive program specific to the Trail of Tears will be devel­ balance between different sites. oped.

(2) Local and regional nonprofit interpretive The first publication is a trail brochure with a and educational facilities — This catego­ map of the designated trail route, including ry includes nonprofit facilities run by significant sites along it. The brochure will cities, counties, or regional entities. The give an overview of the trail story and will Park Service may provide technical provide some basic visitor use information. assistance or, on a cost-share basis, a modular exhibit with a trail overview and The second publication is a trail handbook local site information. If the site qualifies, that briefly describes Cherokee history and NPS-sponsored publications or materials events leading up to the removal. It will show could be sold. the trail route and will give detailed infor­ mation about historic sites, historical events The official certification of an interpretive associated with the trail, and finally a user’s facility program means that particular pro­ guide to points of interest, activities, and gram will be publicized through trail infor­ resources. mation programs. Certification will be subject to renewal on a three- to five-year basis, These publications may be developed by the dependent on the satisfactory performance National Park Service or by cooperating of the terms of the agreement. A program associations. They should be available at all that is not recertified will no longer be listed interpretive facilities along the trail, as well in trail information programs, and trail mark­ as directly from the various managing agen­ ers for the area will be removed. cies.

The National Park Service will encourage the Interpretive Media and Outreach Activities development of commercial publications and provide assistance where possible. Such The interpretive program will use a variety of publications will include an auto tour travel media to cover the essential elements for the guide and a history of the removal. Supple­ Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. mentary publications, as well as audio­ cassette tapes, compact discs, and video­ Wayside Exhibits. The National Park Ser­ tapes, will also be encouraged as the need vice will help develop an interpretive wayside arises. exhibit system at appropriate points along the trail. A standardized exhibit design will be Audiovisual Media. A major video produc­ used to reflect the essence of the Trail of tion will be undertaken and will orient visitors Tears and to help reinforce the public per­ to the trail. It will probably be shown at all ception of all sites being related to the re­ designated interpretive facilities and muse­ moval story. ums, as well as at schools and meetings of civic organizations. More site-specific audio­ Publications. A vital part of the interpretive visual programs may be produced for major program will be to provide visitors with useful sites along the trail (several already exist), and accurate publications about the Trail of and these could also be used for outreach Tears and this episode of American history. activities.

39 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

Traveling Exhibits. The National Park experience the conditions of the Cherokee Service will develop small, portable exhibits removal, modern-day visitors should approxi­ to tell the story of the Trail of Tears. They mate 19th century forms of travel (walking, will be available for display at appropriate horseback riding, wagons). However, this is locations along the trail, as well as for spe­ somewhat difficult to achieve because of the cial events connected with trail history. hazards of walking or riding along public roads. In addition, although the use of a Outreach Activities. Outreach activities will recreation trail paralleling the roads is a consist of programs given by qualified per­ possibility, approximately 98% of the land sonnel at local schools and civic organiza­ corridor on either side of the national historic tions, along with publications. These activi­ trail is privately owned, and agreements ties will supplement programs at interpretive would be needed with landowners to allow facilities and trail sites. Offsite educational this use. programs will be aimed at people living along the trail corridor, especially those whose A few scattered areas along the land route heritage has somehow been influenced by pass through national forest areas or state the historic events, as well as those who can parks and could provide a sense of the 19th help to further the purposes of the national century passage of the Cherokee people. historic trail. The National Park Service will One such example is Trail of Tears State encourage others to develop and sponsor Park, Missouri. special interpretive/educational programs for presentation along the trail. In cooperation with private landowners and state and local governments, the National Park Service will identify segments parallel­ VISITOR USES ALONG THE TRAIL ing the historic route where opportunities to retrace the Cherokees' journey can be of­ The Trail of Tears was established not only fered. Once the segments are identified, to commemorate the historical significance of arrangements will be discussed with private this tragic story, but also to give people an landowners to allow for use by walkers, opportunity to learn what happened and to hikers, wagons, and horseback riders. Tech­ visit important sites. Visitors should have niques could range from cooperative agree­ opportunities to hike, bicycle, ride horseback, ments for public access to the purchase of or tour by wagon or vehicle. rights for visitor use in fee or less-than-fee.

To make it easier for visitors to follow the Several segments along the northern route trail route, an auto tour route will be estab­ are reminiscent of what the Cherokees would lished, and appropriate visitor use facilities have seen in 1838-39 (see table B-1 in — perhaps including interpretive facilities, appendix B). All of the segments are public wayside exhibits, signs or markets, highway roads, but they are unimproved. Through pulloffs, comfort stations, and parking areas cooperative agreements with local authori­ — will be encouraged. ties, opportunities for visitors to walk, hike, ride horseback, or take wagons could be offered. Walking/Hiking and Horseback-Riding Trails Along the Trail of Tears water route there are many pubiiciy owned lands — Tennessee Unlike a number of trans-Mississippi trails, Valley Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engi­ which went overland, the Trail of Tears neers, and some state recreation areas — followed existing roads and river routes. To that resemble the 19th century landscape.

40 Visitor Use

Again through cooperative agreements with along the route (see "Trail Marking Proce­ land-managing agencies, the National Park dures," page 47). Occasionally the auto tour Service could arrange for public access so route will cross the historic route, but gener­ that visitors would have opportunities to ally users will need to rely on more detailed experience the setting along the water route maps to show the actual route. by walking, hiking, horseback riding, or taking wagons. Some areas, such as Nathan Each state tourism department will be en­ Bedford Forrest State Historical Area in couraged to publicize and show the historic Tennessee, Melton’s Bluff in Lawrence trail and the auto tour route on official state County Park, Alabama, and the Cadron highway maps. The National Park Service public use area managed by the Corps of will help define an effective relationship Engineers near Conway, Arkansas, may also between its interpretive and public informa­ lend themselves to wayside exhibits or facili­ tion responsibilities and the public relations ties noting the trail. activities that are beyond its authorities, but that are within the purview of state and local There is also the possibility of establishing governments, as well as business interests. commemorative trails in areas near the historic trail routes. The National Park Service will facilitate bringing together representatives of each of In cooperation with the Tennessee Valley the nine trail states for the purpose of coordi­ Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engi­ nating cooperative efforts to commemorate neers, the Park Service will also identify the Trail of Tears. The Park Service could stretches of river that resemble the river assist activities of this group by corridors of the 19th century. These stretch­ es will be marked for recreational boaters so • coordinating NPS interpretive efforts with they have the opportunity to experience a trail-marking programs part of the Cherokees’ journey. • providing assistance so that states have Where appropriate, accessible trails for accurate information about trail routes visitors with disabilities will be developed on and related sites both the land and water routes. ✓ • providing trail brochures or other ma­ Rules and other information will be provided terials on posted signs, at wayside exhibits, or in handouts along walking and riding trails. • informing states how to obtain NPS (General trail use guidelines are included in permission to use the official trail marker appendix C.) Landowners who are willing to symbol for appropriate purposes share their resources with the public will be given recognition for their generous contribu­ Actions undertaken by the states to assist tions. the National Park Service could include

• helping the Park Service and through it Auto Tour Route other site-managing entities to encour­ age appropriate visitor use of trail re­ The auto tour route, which will be designated sources, especially those on private along existing all-weather roads, will parallel property as closely as possible the northern route of the Trail of Tears. Signs displaying the trail • helping control public information about logo will be placed at appropriate locations the trail and related sites so as to pro-

41 COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT AND USE PLAN

tect less developed or fragile resources as 1-75 and U.S. 411 in Georgia and U.S. 74 from overuse and adverse impacts in North Carolina, were designated as Trail of Tears historic byways, then such designa­ • helping protect and enhance visual tions could be publicized with the auto tour quality along the trail route information.

The states could also provide for a coordi­ nated series of regionally oriented auto tour LIABILITY route brochures that give visitors more de­ tailed information about the route, as well as Recreational liability on private lands is nearby tourist support services. Other activi­ addressed in state legislation to protect ties could include walking or driving tours of landowners from liability due to the use of state and local areas of interest. their holdings by the public for camping, hiking, sight-seeing, or any other recreational The National Park Service will also assist activity. These provisions usually apply only states in identifying sites that are related to when the public uses private lands without events leading up to the removal but that are charge or other consideration. not actually on the route of the national historic trail or the auto tour route. To recog­ Also the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969 nize the significance of these sites, the Park provides a means for the federal government Service will encourage states to designate to protect cooperating landowners and others historic byways that connect with the auto who volunteer to help with trail management, tour route. For example, New Echota in use, and resource protection from liability Georgia and Fort Murphy in North Carolina claims. Any private property damage that is are associated with events leading up to the caused by trail users cannot be compen­ removal. If highways near these sites, such sated by the federal government.

42 AUTO TOUR ROUTE

NORTHERN (LAND) ROUTE WATER ROUTE OTHER ROUTES

■ HISTORIC SITE

NORTH r 0 10 20 30 40 50 MILES APPROXIMATE

AUTO TOUR ROUTE TRAIL OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ON MICROFILM to 20003A DSCFEB 92