Drive to Chattanooga, TN

June 24, 2008

On our way to Chattanooga, we made one last trip into the Smoky Mountain National Park to drive the Cades Cove Loop. The loop includes buildings from the 1800's, including cabins, churches and a mill.




We stopped in Vonore, TN, to visit Fort Loudon. This fort was built in 1756 during the French and Indian War by the British before the American Revolution. This is when the Cherokees and the British were Allies, although this would not last long. The fort ended up being taken over by the Cherokees.






Also in Vonore is Sequoyah's Birthplace Museum.

Lookout Mountain - Chattanooga, TN

June 25, 2008

We started our day by going to Point Park on top of Lookout Mountain. This is also where the Visitor Center for the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Battlefield National Park (Civil War) is located. The views were amazing.

Reflection Riding - Chattanooga, TN

June 25, 2008

Reflection Riding is a nature center and garden at the base of Lookout Mountain. Our main reason for visiting is that Chief Walkingstick's Cabin is located in the garden. It was moved here from Cherokee, NC (most likely from Birdtown). I can't be sure which Walkingstick owned the cabin, but it was most likely Tesetuskey Walkingstick who remained in North Carolina and did not go west on the Trail of Tears. It was so incredible to be able to visit this cabin.

Red Clay State Park - Cleveland, TN

June 25, 2008

We made the trip out to Red Clay State Park, which served as the seat of Cherokee government from 1832 until the forced removal of the Cherokees in 1838. The park has replicas of a Cherokee farm, bunkhouses, and a council house.

Ross's Landing - Chattanooga, TN

June 25, 2008

We had one more site to see in Chattanooga along the river. Ross's Landing served as a departure point for many of the Cherokee detachments who were forced to move west. It is named for Principal Chief John Ross, who owned a ferry company in Chattanooga before the Trail of Tears.

Drive to Alpharetta, GA

June 26, 2008

We had two sites we wanted to see on our way south to Alpharetta (a suburb of Atlanta), Georgia: The James Vann House and New Echota State Park.

James Vann was one of the wealthiest Cherokees and he had this mansion built in the early 1800's. It is known as the "Showplace of the Cherokees" and many people of prominence stayed there, including James Monroe and Sequoyah.





New Echota was the capital of Cherokee Nation before Georgia forced the Cherokees out and they moved their council meetings to Red Clay in Tennessee. It is here that the Treaty of New Echota was signed in 1835, which started the Trail of Tears.

At the park we saw a number of buildings, including the Council House, Court House, Print Shop, Missionary Samuel Worcester's home, and an 1805 store.

Atlanta Area and Home

June 27, 2008
This was our last day and we still had two more things we wanted to see: the Etowah Indian Mounds and the Chieftain Museum/Major Ridge House. We had done so much driving over the last few days -- 2398 miles to be exact. But we had covered so much territory and learned so much history along the way.

The Etowah Mounds (in Cartersville, GA) date from 1000-1550 AD and are representative of the Mississippian Indians of the Southeast. The largest mound was used as a temple. In between and on top of the mounds would be family housing and there would be a large plaza-like section in the middle for ceremonial gatherings.

CHIEFTAIN MUSEUM/MAJOR RIDGE HOME

This site was the home of Major Ridge (in Rome, GA), an important figure in Cherokee history. Major Ridge was one of four signers of the Treaty of New Echota, which gave away the Cherokee land rights in the East for land in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Major Ridge was not an official representative of Cherokee Nation and Principal Chief John Ross tried to have the Treaty of New Echota revoked. He took his case to Congress and lost by one vote. This was the beginning of the Trail of Tears. Major Ridge moved to Indian Territory and was assassinated along with two other signers of the treaty, his son, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot. To this day there is a dissension among Cherokees between those who supported the Treaty Party and those who supported the Ross Party. At this museum the position of the Treaty Party is presented. It's pretty safe to say that there are more Ross Party supporters so it was interesting to see the other side of this important event in Cherokee history.




Our flight from Atlanta to San Jose was non-stop. Sam picked us up at the airport and we made it home by 10 PM.