Brief Historical Overview
U S I di R l A t d i 1830
• U. S. Indian Removal Act passed in 1830
• Gold found on Cherokee land in Georgia same year • Georgia passed law that no Cherokee business
could be conducted in the state Cherokee Council could be conducted in the state. Cherokee Council grounds moved to Red Clay, TN.
• The Treaty of New Echota was passed by a small
minority of Cherokee tribe. 15,000 Cherokees minority of Cherokee tribe. 15,000 Cherokees protested the Treaty.
Brief Historical Overview
• May 1838, Federal troops and state militias began the
round up of the Cherokees into stockades.
• 3 groups of 1,000 left in summer by water, land and rail • 12 groups left in by November, 1838 traveling overland • By March 1839, all the survivors reached Oklahoma,
but an estimated 4,000 Cherokees, old and young, died making the journey.
A t 1839 J h R l t d P i i l Chi f
• August 1839, John Ross was elected Principal Chief
In 1987, Congress designated the Trail of Tears a National Historic Trail with three routes identified.
A t T
R t
o
Auto Tour Route
oNorthern Route
oWater Route
The federal legislation directed the National The federal legislation directed the National
Park Service to create a Comprehensive Management Plan for the TOT which was completed in 1992.
The National Trail of Tears Association was formed with chapters in each state to work on the development of the TOT.
5 M d f U d di
5 year Memorandums of Understanding
(MOU) were developed and implemented with all nine states
The Trail of Tears is managed from the Long The Trail of Tears is managed from the Long
Distance Trails Unit of the Intermountain Region of the NPS based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The FOCUS is partnerships! The FOCUS is partnerships!
Working with other NPS units, state and local governments and non profit agencies are all players in the development of the TOT.
Auto Route Tour
Auto Route Tour
(follows the Trail of Tears Northern Route)
Starts at Red Clay State Park, follows State Route(SR) 60 though Cleveland to Dayton,
f ll SR 30 h h Pik ill SR 284 h h F ll follows SR 30 though Pikeville, SR 284 through Fall Creek Falls State Park , to SR 111 to SR 8 to McMinnville. Follows US 70S though Woodbury,g y Murfreesboro and then US 41 to Nashville, then US 431 to SR 76 to Port Royal State Park, then SR 238 to Kentucky
The Water Route
The Water Route
Officially starts at Ross’s Landing in Officially starts at Ross s Landing in
Chattanooga, follows the Tennessee River through Alabama and back through
through Alabama and back through
Tennessee to the Ohio River. Down the Ohio to the Mississippi River and then up the Arkansas River to Fort Smith, AK. The Cherokee detachments then walked
o erland to Oklahoma overland to Oklahoma.
The National Park Service has certified ten Trail of Tears sites in Tennessee. They are:
• Red Clay State Park – Bradley County, TN
James Brown Cherokee Plantation Ooltewah TN
• James Brown Cherokee Plantation - Ooltewah, TN • Audubon Acres – Chattanooga, TN
• Brainerd Mission Cemetery - Chattanooga, TN • Chattanooga Regional Museum
• Brown’s Ferry Tavern, Chattanooga, TN • Sequoyah Museum – Vonore, TNq y ,
• The Hermitage – Nashville, TN
• Port Royal State Park – Montgomery County, TN
Tennessee River Museum Savannah TN
d d h l k In 2006, Congress directed the National Park Service (NPS), National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHT) office to study the feasibility Trails (NSHT) office to study the feasibility of adding the Bell and Benge routes to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail as Trail of Tears National Historic Trail as officially designated trail routes.
This feasibility study is due in a largey y g measure to the support of U.S. Representative Zach Wamp.
P id Ob i d f d l l i l i
President Obama signed new federal legislation on March 31, 2009 adding the following:
Bell Route, Bell Route,
Benge Route,
the collection routes
and another water route.
For more information go to the National Park Service website:
htt // /t t /
In February 2007, representatives of TDEC, NPS and the National Trail of Tears Association meet with Tennessee First Lady, Andrea Conte. She had expressed an interest in the Trail of Tears to C i i F k d th ti d
Commissioner Fyke and the meeting was arranged.
In May 2007, a new 5 year MOU was signed by the State of Tennessee and the NPS for cooperative efforts on the Trail of Tears
the Trail of Tears.
In October 2007, representatives of TDEC, Trust for Public Lands, Huber Company, the Tennessee Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association and Van Buren County of the Trail of Tears Association and Van Buren County officials provided a tour for the First Lady of Tennessee of the original route of the TOTNHT in Van Buren County at the Rocky River crossing
Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here?
• Tennessee has received a $80,000 TDOT
Transportation Enhancements grant for p g replacement of the
Auto Tour Route signs.
D l TOT b h f i
• Develop a new TOT brochure focusing on
Tennessee certified sites and all the routes.
• Cooperating with the NPS to certify additional TOTCooperating with the NPS to certify additional TOT
sites on public lands especially in TN State Parks.
• Working with the TN Chapter of the Trail of Tears
A i i (TNTOTA) id if l i d Association(TNTOTA) to identify locations and information for interpretive signage.