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Here are historic sites and interpretive facilities on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail in Tennessee for you to visit:
Audubon Acres, Chattanooga
Location: This preserve is located at 900 North Sanctuary Road in East Brainerd, which is a suburb of Chattanooga. From I-75, take Exit 3A to E. Brainerd Road – East. At the second traffic light, turn right onto Gunbarrel Road. Follow Gunbarrel Road as it becomes North Sanctuary Road until it reaches the dead end at Audubon Acres – a distance of about two miles from E. Brainerd Road.
Phone: (423) 892-1499
Hours: 9 a.m. to dusk, Monday to Saturday; 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Available Facilities: Audubon Acres, also known as the Elise Chapin Wildlife Sanctuary, contains 120 acres of natural preserve along the Chickamauga Creek. A log cabin on the property known as "Spring Frog Cabin" is said to have been the home of Drowning Bear, a Cherokee full blood who was removed on the Trail of Tears. There is a staffed visitor center with exhibits. The sanctuary is owned and operated by the Chattanooga Audubon Society, Inc.
Exhibits: At Audubon Acres, visitors can learn about the typical agricultural life and level of acculturation experienced by the Cherokee at the time of removal. The visitor center has exhibits on the Trail of Tears Brainerd Mission site, and on Cherokee culture.
Special Programs: Schools and other groups can schedule programs and guided tours. Special events are periodically scheduled on the property.
To learn more: www.chattanoogaaudubon.org
Brainerd Mission Cemetery, Chattanooga
Location: The cemetery is just under an acre and is located off of Brainerd Road and Eastgate Loop Road in the Brainerd Village Shopping Center, in Chattanooga.
Hours: Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fence gates are locked each Sunday.
Historical Significance: The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions developed the site originally as a mission within the Cherokee Nation. The property, buildings, and improvements were purchased from John McDonald, the grandfather of Cherokee Chief John Ross. The mission was the principal mission among other, smaller ones within the Cherokee Nation, and served as a training ground for the American Board. At the height of its operation, the developed mission complex consisted of 50 acres, and contained some 40 buildings, including, among others, boarding houses, boys' and girls' schools and churches, houses, a mill, barns, warehouses, carpenters' and blacksmiths' shops, as well as extensive fields, gardens, and orchards. During removal, the missionaries sympathized with the Cherokee and most missionaries accompanied the Cherokee prior to forced removal on the Trail of Tears. On August 18, 1838, the last church service was held at the Brainerd Mission near the cemetery. The mission subsequently closed.
Available Facilities: Today, the site of the Brainerd Mission is mostly covered by the Brainerd Village shopping center. What remains is the cemetery, owned and managed since the 1930s by five local Chattanooga chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the one local Chattanooga chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Exhibits: To commemorate Brainerd Mission’s history, there is an exhibit signboard at the site.
To learn more: ftp.rootsweb.ancestry.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/hamilton/cemeteries/brainerdm.txt and www.palhbooks.com/danielnews
Browns Ferry Tavern, Chattanooga
Location: 703 Browns Ferry Road, Chattanooga. From downtown Chattanooga, drive south on U.S. 27, then go west on Interstate 24 to Browns Ferry Road (exit 175). Turn north on Browns Ferry Road and drive northeast 1.5 miles to the property.
Hours: private property, not open to the public
Historical Significance: Cherokee leader John Brown, who owned 640 acres in this area, ordered the construction of Browns Ferry Tavern in 1803. By the 1830s, Brown’s land formed the boundary of the Cherokee Nation. The road running past this structure was the route, in 1838, by which several Cherokee detachments were removed to present-day Oklahoma.
Exhibits: identifying NPS signpost at the property, plus Tennessee Historical Commission marker 3.3 miles south at corner of Cummings Highway (U.S. 11), Browns Ferry Road, and Kelly’s Ferry Road.
Website: none
Chattanooga Regional History Museum, Chattanooga
Location: The Chattanooga Regional History Museum is located in downtown Chattanooga, at 400 Chestnut Street, which is at the corner of 4th and Chestnut streets.
Phone: (423) 265-3247
Hours: Exhibits are temporarily closed; gift shop is open from 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Available Facilities: The museum has a gift shop, theater, and restrooms. It is certified on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and is operated by the Chattanooga Regional History Museum.
Exhibits: The museum offers permanent and changing exhibits related to Chattanooga and regional history. American Indians, Cherokee culture, and the Trail of Tears are topics featured in the facility's exhibits.
To learn more: www.chattanoogahistory.com
The Hermitage, near Nashville
Location: 4580 Rachel’s Lane, Hermitage. The site is located 12 miles east of downtown Nashville. Proceed east on Interstate 40 (Exit 221A) and head north.
Telephone: (615) 889-2941
Hours: Between April 1 and October 15, open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; during the off-season, daily hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Historical Significance: Andrew Jackson, who served as president from 1829 to 1837, lived at the Hermitage from 1804 until his death in 1845. Jackson’s policies toward Native Americans were instrumental in the forced removal of most of the Five Civilized Tribes from the southeastern United States to Indian Territory; although the Cherokee “Trail of Tears” took place during the Martin Van Buren administration, their migration was the result of actions begun during Jackson’s presidency. The Trail of Tears’ Northern Route passed within a few miles of Jackson’s home.
Available Facilities: The Hermitage, originally a 425-acre farm but later expanded, consists of Jackson’s home, the adjacent garden, Jackson’s tomb, and various sites related to slavery, farming, and the natural environment. There is also a modern visitor center.
Exhibits: The Andrew Jackson Visitor Center contains a number of exhibits related to Jackson’s life and accomplishments. Themes of these exhibits relate to his Indian policy and the forced removal of Cherokees and other tribes from the southeastern United States.
To learn more: www.thehermitage.com
James Brown Cherokee Plantation, Ooltewah
Location: 9521 Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd., northeast of Ooltewah, Hamilton County.
Hours: restricted – private property
Historical Significance: This property, and several of its improvements, is linked to tribal leader James Brown, who was one of the 13 detachment leaders who, in September 1838, moved a group of 850 Cherokees to Indian Territory.
Available Facilities: The property’s primary historic building is a modest Federal-style brick farmhouse that was built sometime between 1836 and 1841. Located nearby are the remains of a storehouse and springhouse historically associated with Brown. Some of Brown’s relatives are buried in a graveyard on the adjoining property.
Website: none
Port Royal State Park, Adams
Location: 3300 Old Clarksville Highway, Adams. The park, located in eastern Montgomery County, is just north of State Highway 76; it is 8 miles southwest of Adams and 15 miles east of Clarksville.
Telephone:(931) 358-9696
Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset, daily.
Historical Significance: Being situated at an important junction of roads and rivers, Port Royal became the only stop in Tennessee on the "Great Western Road" stagecoach line between Nashville, Tennessee, and Golconda, Illinois. Port Royal is designated as an official site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. During 1838 and 1839, Cherokees passed through the present-day park as part of the Trail of Tears’ Northern Route. Diary records of the removal mentioned Port Royal, the last stop before leaving Tennessee, as an encampment site where the Cherokee stayed overnight or longer to re-supply, grind corn and rest.
Available Facilities: boating, fishing, hiking, historical sites. Within the park are the remains of several old roadbeds, with one dating back to prehistoric times including the Trail of Tears site.
Website: www.tennessee.gov/environment/parks/PortRoyal
Red Clay State Historic Park, near Cleveland
Location: The park’s address is 1140 Red Clay Park Road SW near Cleveland in Bradley County. It is along the Tennessee-Georgia state line about 17 miles east of Chattanooga.
Phone: (423) 478-0339
Hours: From March to November, the park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset; shorter hours during the off-season.
Historical Significance: Blue Hole Spring, a natural landmark in the park, was used by the Cherokee for their water supply during council meetings.
Exhibits: Visitor center exhibits interpret day-to-day Cherokee life in the early 1800s, and the Cherokee removal. A video about the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears is shown. Artifacts are displayed, including prehistoric stone implements.
Available Facilities: The 260-acre park contains a visitor center (James F. Corn Interpretive Center), theater, library, amphitheater, picnic shelter, and hiking trails. Replicas of 19th-century Cherokee buildings include a council house, farmhouse, barn, corn crib, and three sleeping huts. Wheelchair-accessible parking, restrooms, trails, and other facilities are available. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Bureau of State Parks, manages the site.
To learn more: www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/RedClay/
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, Vonore
Location: The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum is located 576 State Highway 360, which is approximately 1 mile east of Vonore.
Phone: (423) 884-6246
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Historical Significance: Sequoyah (George Gist) was born circa 1776 at the village of Tuskegee, which was very near where the Museum is today. His father was Nathaniel Gist, a Virginia fur trader. His mother was Wut-teh, daughter of a Cherokee Chief.
Available Facilities: Facilities include a museum, gift shop, archives, amphitheater, and educational pavilion. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms are available. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (Tennessee Board Friends of Sequoyah) manages the museum and surrounding grounds.
Exhibits: Museum exhibits trace American Indian history in the region, beginning with the Paleo-Indian period. A video presentation, map, and pictorial display tell the Trail of Tears story. Artifacts related to the Trail of Tears, Cherokee history, and southeastern American Indian history are displayed.
Special Programs: An Appalachian and American Indian arts and crafts festival is held on the grounds every September.
To learn more: www.sequoyahmuseum.org
Tennessee River Museum, Savannah
Location: 495 Main St., Savannah. Museum is at the corner of Main St. (U.S. 64) and Adams St., just a few blocks east of the Tennessee River Bridge.
Telephone: (800) 552-3866
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 1-5 p.m.
Historical significance: The nearby Tennessee River was the primary “water route” for approximately 2,800 Cherokee during the summer of 1838 during their forced migration between Ross Landing (Chattanooga), Tennessee and the vicinity of Fort Coffee near present-day Sallisaw, Oklahoma.
Available Facilities: The museum interprets the length and breadth of the Tennessee River’s history: from Muscle Shoals to Paducah, from dinosaurs to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Exhibits: The museum contains exhibits about the Trail of Tears along with related historic and prehistoric themes.
To learn more: www.tourhardincounty.org/trm.htm
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