By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Northeast Georgia Mountains > Hall County > Gainesville

Located to the Northeast Georgia History Center, the cabin where Cherokee Chief White Path was born and raised pays tribute to an Indian leader who was betrayed by his friend, President Andrew Jackson. 

The history of Native Americans who once roamed the rolling piedmont of Georgia is one that ends sorrowfully. One story that only adds to the poignancy is that of Cherokee Indian Chief White Path. White Path was born in 1761 near present day Ellijay and grew up in a cabin. His Cherokee name, Nunna-tsune-ga, translates literally as “I dwell on the peaceful (or white) path.”

In 1814, White Path joined General Andrew Jackson to fight the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama. It is said that White Path and Chief John Ross swam across the Tallapoosa River and stole the Creek canoes prior to the battle, cutting off their escape by water, and ensuring a victory for Andrew Jackson.

Over the next two decades, White Path, who was a skillful orator, protested the influence of white settlers and spoke out against it in fiery oratory at the Cherokee capitol of New Echota. A strict follower of the traditional ways, he railed against the new Cherokee constitution as well as the introduction of Christianity by the missionaries. Eventually, he had to yield to the new ways. His new focus became fighting the removal policies of his old comrade and now president, Andrew Jackson. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Northwest Georgia Mountains > Murray County > Chatsworth

The Chief Vann House in the Northwest Georgia Mountains was once owned by one of the wealthiest families in the Cherokee Indian Nation.

A “floating staircase,” 12-foot mantle, and fine antiques — somehow I never imagine something like this as the home of a Cherokee Indian leader. But the Chief Vann House Historic Site is just that. This two-and-a-half story brick home built in 1804 belonged to James Vann, a wealthy businessman whose 1,000-acre plantation near Chatsworth in what is now Murray County was the largest and most prosperous in the Cherokee nation.

Vann was murdered in 1809, but his son Joseph went on to inherit the property and add to the family fortune until the tragic Indian Removal of the 1830s. The family lost their home and was forced to move west to the Cherokee Territory of Oklahoma along with the rest of the Cherokees in the infamous Trail of Tears. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The home once belonging to Cherokee Indian leader Major Ridge is now a museum and a designated site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. 

The Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home is a museum that tells the story of Cherokee Indian leader Major Ridge as well as Cherokee history and culture. Designated as a National Historic Landmark, it is also a site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

Before white settlement, Georgia was home to the Cherokee and Creek Indians – the Cherokee basically living north of the Chattahoochee River and across North Georgia, the Creeks living south of this line. Living in a part of the state where the Creeks once lived, I am very familiar with the story of Creek Chief William McIntosh and how his own people murdered him after signing the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs, which ceded Creek land to the U.S. government. So it was very interesting to learn about Major Ridge and his rather parallel story as a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Sometime in the early 1800s, Ridge built a two-story dogtrot log cabin on the Oostanaula River near present day Rome. In 1828, the cabin was renovated into a white clapboard plantation home where Ridge and his family oversaw a ferry, trading post and a working plantation complete with numerous crops, orchards and slaves. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The removal of the Cherokee Indians from the North Georgia Mountain region is just one of the historical stories relayed at the Bartow History Museum.

If you want to get a glimpse into the history of Bartow County, the state of Georgia and the Southeastern United States, spend an afternoon at the Bartow History Museum. Located in Cartersville in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, this county museum tells the story of this historic and scenic area. The museum’s permanent, interactive exhibits span more than 200 years — Cherokee Indian life, the first white settlers, the establishment of Bartow County in 1832, Cherokee removal, Civil War, and the impact of national and global events on a northwest Georgia county and its people.

Hands-on history summer day camps for children are offered at the museum as well as lectures, featuring local and regional historians, authors and experts in various fields. The Lunch & Learn Lecture Series takes place the third Wednesday of each month while the Thursday Evening Lecture Series takes place the last Thursday of each month. (more…)