Tennessee Greenways and Trails MTSU Center for Historic Preservation Trail of Tears National Park Service Tennessee Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Toby Darden Road MTSU Center for Historic Preservation November 4,1838,to John Ross —Letter by George Hicks dated Majestic Mississippi. dear East of the Father ofWaters, the bid afinal farewell toit and allwehold stern necessity says wemust go, andwe to quit thescenes ofourchildhood, but forced ofthewhite bytheauthority man and itis(withsorrow) thatweare It isthelandofourfathers…our sons, that Countrygaveusbirth. Fathers, weare ontheeveofleaving country thattheGreat Spiritgaveour and kind farewell toournativelandthe We are nowabouttotake ourfinalleave Why did they LeaveWhy did they ? Cherokee culture. Even so,Tennessee’s legacytodayremains richin (present-day Oklahoma),ahometheyneverwanted. into “detachments”totakethemIndianTerritory in Tennessee, where theywaitedtobeorganized their homesinGeorgiaandNorthCarolina arrived camps anddetachmentroutes. Cherokee drivenfrom The Tennessee Trail ofTears storyisoneofremoval to unfamiliarland. and willofeachman,woman,childtravelingwest thatlayaheadofthemwouldtestthestrength journey separated, nevertoseetheirlovedonesagain.The militia. Duringtheprocess manyfamiliesbecame homes, manyatthehandsoffederaltroops andstate Tears, over15,000Cherokee were forced from their Treaty, butin1838,aneventknownastheTrail of relocate totheWest. MostCherokee protested the removal: Inexchangefor$5million,thetribewould Treaty ofNewEchota.Thistreaty settheconditionsfor the authorityofCherokeesigned government, In 1835,aminorityofCherokee leaders,actingoutside MTSU Centerfor HistoricPreservation Hair Conrad Cabin Chattanooga at Ross’s Landing, The “SunCircle”
as thesacred fire burns. Cherokee willsurviveaslong fire alive.Itissaidthatthe logs thatkeepthesacred central cross depictsthefour fire sentbytheCreator. The holy sunintheformofsacred to theleftsymbolizes The circular Cherokee design Cherokee Communities to Removal Camps church services.Inmanyrespects, Cherokee read andwriteinEnglishtoattendChristian provided aplaceforCherokee children to tolearn schools, suchasBrainerd, nearChattanooga, and ferries.Throughout theyears,severalmission owned prosperous plantations,stores, taverns, creeks. MostCherokee farmedthefertilesoils.Some across thehillsandvalleysalongrivers in Tennessee. Theylivedincommunitiesscattered Ross, andPrincipalChiefJohnRossallhadhomes warehouse, andferrylandingsite settlement ofRoss’s Landing.Itconsistedofaferry, In 1816,brothers JohnandLewisRossestablishedthe Ferry atChattanooga 1828-1866 Principal ChiefJohnRoss Jesse Bushyhead,Lewis Conrad, JamesBrown, Prominent leadersHair about 2,500Cherokee. but alsothehomeof inRedClay,government the seatofCherokee not onlythelocationof southeast Tennessee was New Echotawassigned, At thetimeTreaty of Artwork byDorthy Sullivan
Artwork by Harry Fenn loved onesbefore reaching theirnewhomes? began. Howmanymore familieswouldlosetheir of disease,andmanyperishedbefore thejourney poor conditionsatthecampsledtorapidoutbreaks camps priortotheirdeparture toIndianTerritory, but Approximately 7,000Cherokees were heldatthese 4-mile area, extendingfrom Charlestonsouthward. camps inthisarea were spread outovera12-by the centerforlargestemigratingdepot.Removal day Charleston.Duringremoval, FortCassservedas known asChattanooga,andFortCassinpresent- communities inTennessee: Ross’s Landing,now these campswere locatedinthevicinityofCherokee camps nearoneofthree emigratingdepots.Two of from theirhomesbytroops andheldatremoval enslaved AfricanAmericans,andCreek were taken Beginning inlateMay1838,thousandsofCherokee, was abouttochange. American neighbors.In1838,though,Cherokee life communities didnotdiffer muchfrom thoseoftheir 1838 historicmapoftheFortCassarea across thevalley. Highlighted inblueare theremoval campsthat were spread Indian landfor westward expansion. US presidents sought toacquire American and anincreasing American population, early With theestablishment oftheUnited States Fort Cass
Museum of the Cherokee Indian Traveling through Tennessee were organizedintodetachmentsofabout1,000each. Permission wasgrantedandtheremaining Cherokee Cherokee tocontrol theremainder oftheirremoval. toallowthe leaders petitionedtheUSgovernment result, PrincipalChiefJohnRossandotherCherokee disease, anddeathsplaguedthelasttwogroups. Asa toIndianTerritory.begin theirjourney Dire conditions, June, three groups ofCherokee leftRoss’s landingto new homeintheWest—most startedinTennessee. In The Cherokee usedmany different routes toreach their to anunknown region notdesired bythem. not surprised atthisbecause they are movingnotfrom choice unusually slowinpreparing for starting each morning. Iam The detachment ofthepeople are veryloth[sic] togoon, and around Murfreesboro toNashville. reason route whysomeofthedetachmentstookanalternate stopped andmadetopayafeeattollssuchasthisone, RoutewereMany ofthedetachmentstravelingNorthern Toll gates October 24,1838 —Detachment Conductor Elijah Hicks,
MTSU Center for Historic Preservation today liveonasarenewed, invigoratednation. people whotraveledthistrail,theCherokee people Despite thegreat losssuffered bythethousandsof of Cherokee liveswere lostalongtheTrail ofTears. detachment arrivingonMarch 24,1839.Hundreds to travel800milesIndianTerritory, withthelast It tookuptosixandahalfmonthsfortheCherokee buried alongtheroutes. perished whiletravelingthrough Tennessee andwere some children inthePulaskiarea. OtherCherokee also heartbreak. ThedetachmentledbyJohnBengelost The tripthrough Tennessee wasnotwithout of thejourney. Royal, topurchase forthenextportion flourandcorn along theway, stoppingatmills,suchasthosePort traverse. Detachmentsresupplied atvariouspoints Tennessee, foundtheroads equallydifficult to The Belldetachment,whichtraveledthrough southern traveling anaverageof10-12milesaday. the steeproad overtheCumberlandMountains, River atBlytheFerry. Onthisroute, theyhadtotravel Route,crossingand tooktheNorthern theTennessee led oneofthesedetachments.Mostleftfrom FortCass Hair Conrad,JamesBrown, andJesseBushyheadeach —Daniel S.Butrick traveling with the alarmed, fearing Icould scarecely get down... mountain steep, andthedescent very long, so thatIbecame We descended themountain. The ground was frozen andthe Taylor detachment, November 1838 Middle Tennessee StateUniversity does notdiscriminateonthebasis of race,color, nationalorigin,sex, or disability. Seeourfullpolicy at mtsu.edu/titleix. 0517-4219
CHATTANOOGA CHATTANOOGA CLEVELAND CLEVELAND BIRCHWOOD CHATTANOOGA CHARLESTON CHEROKEE REMOVAL MEMORIAL HIWASSEE RIVER HERITAGE CENTER AUDUBON ACRES ROSS’S LANDING & THE PASSAGE BRAINERD MISSION CEMETERY HAIR CONRAD CABIN RED CLAY STATE HISTORIC PARK PARK: BLYTHE FERRY 8746 Hiwassee Street, Charleston, TN 37310 900 North Sanctuary Road, Chattanooga, TN 100 Riverfront Pkwy, Chattanooga, TN 37402 5700 Eastgate Loop, Chattanooga, TN 37066 433 Blythewood Road SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 1140 Red Clay Park Road, SW Cleveland, TN (423) 413-8284 37421 (423) 892-1499 (423) 476-8942 (by appointment only) 37311 (423) 478-0339 6630 Blythe Ferry Lane, Birchwood, TN 37308 Site Information: Ross’s Landing was one of three Site Information: Brainerd Mission once consisted of (423) 339-2769 Site Information: Charleston was the site of the Indian Site Information: Audubon Acres contains the Spring emigrating depots for thousands of Cherokee on some 40 buildings, including boarding houses, schools, Site Information: Hair Conrad lived in this cabin for Site Information: Red Clay served as the seat of the Agency and later Fort Cass, the military operational Frog Cabin, a pre-removal Cherokee home, and the their way to the Indian Territory. The park contains a and churches. During removal, the mission was a over 30 years. In 1838 he was selected to lead the Site Information: The park contains a visitor center, Cherokee government from 1832 until the forced headquarters for the entire Trail of Tears removal. visitor center has exhibits on the Brainerd Mission site historical marker and various memorials dedicated to stopping point and hospital. Evidence suggests that first Ross-managed detachment, which traveled walking trails, and outdoor interpretive exhibits that removal in 1838. The park contains replicas of 19th- This and other stories, including pivotal Civil War and on Cherokee culture. At Audubon Acres, visitors Cherokee history and culture. the mission’s cemetery is the final resting place for the Northern Route from Rattlesnake Springs (near explain the history of the Trail of Tears. The park is century Cherokee buildings and an interpretive visitor positioning and the filming of Wild River involving can learn about the typical Cherokee agricultural life some Cherokee who died at the removal camps. Charleston) to Indian Territory. located on a bluff that overlooks Blythe Ferry, where center, which features exhibits on Cherokee life in the TVA damming, are told at the center. and their level of acculturation at the time of removal. Other Sites to Visit: 9,000 Cherokee and Creek were encamped while early 1800s and on the removal from their homelands. JOHN ROSS HOME (Northern Georgia) Other Sites to Visit: waiting to cross the Tennessee River on their way to Other Sites to Visit: BROWN’S FERRY TAVERN (Restricted, private property) JOHN MARTIN HOUSE (Private property. View from street) Indian Territory. WILSON-ERWIN HOUSE (Private property. View from street)
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Gray's Inn