The Hall Museum and Heritage Center is an interpretative center, designated by the National Park Service/National Trails Office as a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. With a focus on Monroe and McMinn counties, interpretative panels, brochures, and relics regarding the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears. It provides information and education about this dark era in American history.
Spanning nine states, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail traces the steps of the Cherokee people during the Forced Removal of 1838. The United States Army removed more than 16,000 Cherokee from their homes in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee and forced them to travel by foot, horse, wagon, or boat to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Approximately 4,000 died on the journey due to rampant disease, exposure from the harsh winter conditions, drownings during river crossings, and starvation due to lack of food.
Over 3,000 North Carolina Cherokee in separate detachments passed through and camped at Tellico Plains and Fort Armistead, a deportation fort in Coker Creek, on the roundup trail from Fort Butler (Murphy, North Carolina) to Fort Cass (Charleston, Tennessee). Fort Cass was the United States military headquarters for the entire Cherokee Trail of Tears removal.
A testament to great survival skills and resilience, the Cherokee people soon rebuilt their lives in the new territory.
“We were eight days in making the journey (80 miles from Fort Butler to Fort Cass) and it was pitiful to behold the women and children, who suffered exceedingly, as they were all obliged to walk.” ~Diary of Lt. John Phelps, June 22, 1838
For more information, visit: nationaltota.com
For an interactive map and guide to visiting sites along the National Trail of Tears Historic Trail, download the app, NPS.gov. Choose the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and zoom in to find the details you need for trip planning. Learn more about the trail and historic sites you can visit along the trail from museums, interpretive centers and historic sites that provide information and interpretation, The trail traversed through nine states.
M-F 10:00 AM -5:00 PM
