CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Before there was a Chattanooga and the cities around it, there was a network of Indian trails crisscrossing the region, linking to trade routes further west.
Lamar Marshall’s self-assigned job is to find those lost highways.
Mr. Marshall, 61, will be the speaker Sunday at the Charleston/Calhoun/Hiwassee Historical Society’s monthly meeting.
He said many trails were never unmapped, but still can be found.
“There’s still plenty of evidence, mostly within the national forests. You just have to look for it,” Mr. Marshall said. “And a lot of old-timers knew about trails that became logging roads. People come up to me and say their grandparents told them about a trail that used to go across their land.”
IF YOU GO* What: Charleston/Calhoun/Hiwassee Historical Society* When: 3 p.m. Sunday at Charleston First Baptist Church Activities Center, 338 Market St. N.W., Charleston, Tenn.* Admission: FreeMore information: www.wildsouth.org
Mr. Marshall hopes people with those kinds of stories to share come to the historical society meeting.
Faye Callaway, historical society president, said she believes there “are trails in the Charleston area that we don’t know about.”
“That’s because the Indian agency was here and it was a collection point for the Trail of Tears,” she said.