Trail of Tears - Park Hill, OK - Trail of Tears on Waymarking.com

Located on the grounds of the Cherokee Heritage Center, this historic marker was placed by the Alabama-Tennessee Trail of Tears Corridor Commission. The Center is an historical and cultural museum documenting the rich history of the Cherokee Nation. They have a six-part exhibit on the Trail of Tears, which includes:

* Pre-Removal: Cherokee life before the Trail of Tears
* Court Battles: Events and legal issues leading up to forced removal
* Prisoners With No Crime: Imprisoned in Stockades before the Trail
* Many Tribes, Many Trails: The USA’s forced removal of other indigenous tribes
* Removal: Geographical route of and events along the Trail of Tears
* Starting Over: Rebuilding our Nation from scratch: our ability to adapt, thrive and excel

This historical marker reads:

"TRAIL OF TEARS / The United States Government, unable to conclude an agreement with the duly authorized leaders of the Cherokee Nation, signed a treaty with a minority faction willing to cede the last remaining portion of the original Cherokee homeland on December 29, 1835. Despite the protests of the overwhelming majority of Cherokee people, the fraudulent "Treaty of New Echota" was ratified by the U.S. Senate by only a single vote on May 23, 1836. The Cherokees were given two years from that date to remove to the Indian Territory. When the time had expired only 2,000 of the nearly 17,000 in the east had departed their ancestral homeland.

"In May, 1838 General Winfield Scott and 7,000 federal and state troops arrived in the Cherokee Nation to enforce the removal. Cherokee families were forced from comfortable homes into 31 stockades and open military stations scattered throughout the Cherokee Nation in southeast Tennessee, western North Carolina, northwest Georgia, and northeast Alabama. From the stockades the Cherokee were sent to the principal emigrating depots near Ross's Landing at Chattanooga, Tennessee, Fort Cass, near Calhoun, Tennessee, and a camp eight miles south of Fort Payne, Alabama.
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"(Continued from other side)
In June 1838 the first three detachments of Cherokee captured by the Georgia Guard were forced to depart from Ross's Landing, Tennessee. Because of the high casualties of these first groups, permission was given to delay the removal of the other groups until fall when it would be cooler. Also, the Cherokee leaders petitioned General Scott that they be allowed to conduct their own removal. Permission was granted.

"The remainder of the Cherokees began their trek west in the fall of 1838 in 13 detachments. After enduring and extremely severe winter, they arrived in the West in the late winter and early spring of 1839. It has been estimated that between 2,000 and 4,000 of the 16,000 Cherokees died as a direct result of the forced removal.

"The true story of the forced removal for the Cherokee people is one of survival. In spite of their hardships, they adapted and rebuilt their homes and government. Only 12 years after removal, the Cherokee Female Seminary opened on these grounds as the first institution of higher learning for females west of the Mississippi River."

Routes: Northern Route Address if available: 21192 S. Keeler Drivde Park Hill, OK US 74451 Marker Website: [Web Link] Additional Coordinates: Not Listed Additional Information: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/29/2019 The Snowdog visited it