CLEVELAND, Tenn. — If time usually marches on, there’s a bend in Red Hill Valley Road where it marches in place.

A Tennessee historic marker just a few miles from the Georgia state line notes hat this spot is where Chief John Ross built a small cabin after his Georgia exile. It was here that Chief Ross and Howard Payne, the man who wrote “No Place Like Home,” were arrested by Georgia militia and held at Spring Place, Ga.

There are accounts of Bradley Countians playing amid the decaying logs of the old cabin, long after the Trail of Tears.

In the 1980s, a Civil War-era cabin was moved to the same site from Apison in Hamilton County. There are records of people at the cabin in its original spot watching troops go by.

Michael Willis, a professional grant writer and editor, wants to save this old cabin and make it part of a national Civil War preservation program or the Trail of Tears.

Mr. Willis said he became interested in the site when he was working as an assistant to the county mayor and saw an inventory of county property that included a log cabin.

“It’s significant historically in the same way Red Clay is historic,” Mr. Willis told members of the Bradley County Commission’s Finance Committee on Wednesday.

GEORGIA CONNECTION

He hopes to find grants that can pay for preservatives and developing the small site through the National Park Service or the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Association.

John Ross, chief of the Cherokees during the 1838 removal to Oklahoma, moved to Flint Springs after he left his home in Rossville, Ga. That structure attracts tourists each year.

“We had a group here from Rome (Ga.) today,” Larry Rose, a member of the board of directors that oversees the John Ross House, said Thursday.

The house is closed for the winter except for scheduled tours. It is open daily to the public later in the year.

The John Ross House has been part of the National Trail of Tears route for more than two years, Mr. Rose said.

He said some history buffs attracted to the Civil War may become interested in the earlier Cherokee era, he said. Rossville, after all, is very near the Chickamauga Battlefield.

“We do get some spill-over. But the John Ross House doesn’t advertise as much as maybe we should,” he said.

But with the number of Cherokee history sites in the region, from Red Clay to Chatsworth, he said there is room for heritage tourism to grow.

Preserving an old log structure is a constant challenge, Mr. Rose said.

Where the old Bradley County cabin was once enclosed in a farmhouse, the John Ross House was once covered in siding, Mr. Rose said. Now the protective structures are gone and the house is at the mercy of the elements.

When the John Ross House roof needed replacing three years ago, the $30,000 cost was a big challenge, he said.

“We have an open membership and the board meets four times a year,” Mr. Rose said. “The memberships and donations are used for maintenance and hiring summer help.”

In Bradley County, Mr. Willis wants to stop the cabin from deteriorating further and maintain the grounds.

He said preservationists from Middle Tennessee State University recognized the logs of the cabin as coming from the 1830s, Mr. Willis said.

He agrees with Mr. Rose that there’s potential for a Cherokee heritage route in the Tennessee-Georgia region.

To show local support to any potential grant agencies, Mr. Willis has asked the Bradley County Commission to approve a resolution of support at its next voting session in two weeks.

ABOUT THE SITE

* A pre-Civil War cabin from Apison in Hamilton County was dismantled, moved and rebuilt on the site of the John Ross cabin on Red Hill Valley Road in Flint Springs.

* The rebuilt cabin was dedicated Oct., 3, 1981 on property donated by R.B. and Gaynelle Brown.

* Historic sites nearby include Red Clay Council Grounds, the site of an 1835 Cherokee mission and the site of Cherokee treasurer John Martin’s home.

Source: Compiled by Michael Willis from local historic documents.