Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is approximately 2,200 miles long, over land and water routes in nine states. Besides Georgia, it passes through the present-day states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Search for: TrailofTears
Contact: National Trails System - Santa Fe
P.O. Box 728
Santa Fe NM 87504
Phone: 505-988-6888
Web: Visit Site
Description:
In 1838, the United States government forcibly removed more than 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, and sent them to Indian Territory (today known as Oklahoma).
The impact to the Cherokee was devastating. Hundreds of Cherokee died during their trip west, and thousands more perished from the consequences of relocation. This tragic chapter in American and Cherokee history became known as the Trail of Tears, and culminated the implementation of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which mandated the removal of all American Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to lands in the West.
There are many historic sites, museums, and parks (federal, state, and local) along the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Operating hours vary from site to site. Contact individual site owners/managers for more information.
For trail brochures, contact the National Park Service National Trails System-Santa Fe.