IF YOU GO
What: Unveiling of Trail of Tears National Historic Trail When: 2 p.m. today Where: Ross's Landing, 100 Riverfront Parkway
Tracing local roots of the historic Trail of Tears will be a little easier thanks to nearly 100 new markers across Hamilton County.
Local and federal officials will unveil dozens of Trail of Tears signs today at Ross's Landing, which was a major departure point during the Cherokee removal. After that riverside ceremony, the National Park Service will host a guided hike at Browns Ferry Federal Road, at 701 Moccasin Bend Road.
In 1838 and 1939, the federal government forced thousands of Cherokees to leave Eastern states, sending them through Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee before ending in Oklahoma. And Chattanooga -- formerly known as Ross's Landing -- played a central point in the journey as it was home to then-Cherokee Chief John Ross.
But even with the city's direct ties to the Trail of Tears, the casual observer may not have known exactly where it traced through the city.
"There was nothing here before this," said Ben Taylor, assistant transportation engineer in Chattanooga's transportation department.
With these new markers, Taylor said spots along the trail's many offshoots will be much easier to find.
"We want to have people walking and biking these routes, visiting and touring around the city," he said.
The placement of the signs around Chattanooga is part of a much larger effort to better preserve and commemorate the congressionally designated Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
Steve Burns, a landscape architect at the National Trails Intermountain Region of the National Parks Service, said the designation and preservation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is still very much a work in progress. The program is heavily dependent on partnerships with local groups and governments. The nonprofit Trail of Tears Association is footing the $10,000 bill for the 92 signs around Chattanooga, while local governments are covering other costs associated with installation.
Burns said the National Park Service is mostly commemorating the trail along major roadways, but hopes to one day mark pieces of the trail off the beaten track. In Chattanooga, he said, the new signs will help visitors walk the same path that the Cherokee traveled in 1838.
"I think it's fair to say the Trail of Tears is so significant that it literally changed the landscape of the Southeastern United States," Burns said, "because that was all the Cherokee Nation. It is a tragic part of our history."
Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.