Last updated: May 3, 2021
Article
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Spring Newsletter 2021
Read the latest project updates and completions from the National Trails Office of the National Park Service (NPS).
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Cherokee Youth Fellowship
The National Trails Office (NTIR) is partnering with American Conservation Experience (ACE) to hire a Cherokee Youth Fellow for an 18 month term position. The fellow will assist with developing web media components and videos about traveling the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, taking into account the many meanings of the trail and sharing its relevance to a variety of audiences from a Cherokee and youth perspective. ACE will begin recruiting in May with a target date of September to fill the position.
Blythe Ferry
The retracement trail from The Cherokee Removal Memorial Park to the Historic Blythe Ferry site in Tennessee has been completed! This project was funded jointly by NPS through Connect Trails to Parks (CTTP) funds and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Check out the listing below to see the transformation! The newly constructed trail is approximately ¼ mile long and includes a beautiful section of puncheon bridge to keep it above the waterline and accessible to visitors in the summer months. The next phase of this project will include the development of interpretive exhibits to be placed at the trailhead and historic ferry landing site, and the installation of pedestrian signs to mark the trail as the “Historic Route” and guide visitors to both the landing site and Cherokee Removal Park. TVA is also planning to hold a volunteer trail building day this summer to complete the trailhead area at the parking lot.
Tuscumbia Landing
The development of construction documents for a trail system and trailhead at Tuscumbia Landing in Alabama have been funded through NPS CTTP. Working with the City of Sheffield and TVA, the architectural and engineering firm Alta Planning was selected and recently awarded the contract. Alta planning has begun work on the project and hopes to conduct an in person site visit this summer. The construction documents are scheduled to be completed by this December 2021.
Middle Tennessee State University, Center for Historic Preservation Update
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Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) submitted the booklet, “Rivers, Rails & Roads: Transportation During the Cherokee Removal 1837 – 1839,” which is now available online at Trailwide Research (or through the listing below). MTSU is also preparing printed copies of the booklet which will be shared with TOTA and other trail partners.
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In early April, MTSU also submitted a draft of the Georgetown Road Segment National Register nomination; this segment is on Greg Vital's property. They are currently working on revising the Brown's Ferry Tavern updated nomination.
- This agreement will end in June 2021.
Partnership Certification
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In January 2021, NTIR signed an agreement with Manitou Cave of Alabama, recognizing this site as an important site on the Trail of Tears. Manitou Cave of Alabama is hosting a dedication and Sequoyah 200 event on Saturday, September 18th.
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NTIR has also been in discussion with several trail partners about potential partnership certifications opportunities (trail partners Sandra Smith, North Little Rock History Commission; Shirley Lawrence in Tennessee; Pam Mathews on the behalf of Charles Hall Museum & Heritage Center and the Coker Creek Welcome Center).
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NTIR received and is reviewing certification documentation for the Trail of Tears site, Pack-Allen-Stanley Homeplace in Fort Payne, Alabama.
Signing Updates
Alabama
Sign plans in progress in Alabama this year include Lawrence County.
Georgia
Funk Heritage Center:
Ordered for replacement SiteID sign on 4/26/21.
Kentucky
Hill Cemetery:
Ordered pedestrian and private property signs to mark the historic swale that runs though the site on 2/4/21.
Missouri
Pending route refinements, sign plans in progress in Missouri this year include St. Francois County and Pulaski County.
Tennessee
Sequoya Birthplace Museum:
Ordered a replacement site id sign on 10/22/20.
Blythe Ferry Retracement Trail:
Ordered pedestrian signs to mark the trail on 4/19/2021
Other Tennessee Sign Plans:
OtherTennessee sign plans that are in progress this year include, The City of Memphis, Sequatchie County, Cannon County, and Port Royal State Park.
External Projects on the Trail
A project is proposed in Columbus, Hickman County, Kentucky, for the construction of a 199' monopole telecommunications structure within a quarter-mile of the Benge Route of the designated alignment of the Trail of Tears NHT, which crosses through Columbus-Belmont Battlefield State Park in the project area. The Water Route of the Trail of Tears NHT also follows the Mississippi River to the west of the project area. A balloon test has been requested, in which a balloon will be flown at the height and location of the proposed tower, and an analysis will be completed as to where the balloon is visible from to understand the impacts of the proposed monopole on the viewshed and setting of the trail. The balloon test was scheduled for April 20 and results are forthcoming.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) published a draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the North Alabama Utility-Scale Solar Facility, a proposed 2896-acre solar facility (of which 1459 acres would be developed) in Lawrence County, AL, on either side of Joe Wheeler Hwy/Rt 20. The Deas (June 11, 1838) and Whiteley (July 21, 1838) detachments used the railroad to transport the Cherokee from Decatur to Tuscumbia Landing through the project area. Today the railroad parallels Joe Wheeler Hwy/Rt 20. TVA finds a segment of the former Tuscumbia, Courtland, and Decatur Railroad eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for its association with the Trail of Tears. TVA completed a viewshed analysis of the proposed solar array, which was designed to minimize viewshed effects to the historic properties, and concluded that the project would introduce a visual effect to the trail alignment, but the effect would not be adverse. TVA held a public meeting on February 11, 2021.
A Programmatic Agreement for a Federal Highways project in Graham County, NC, was executed in March 2021. The project entails road improvements to US 129, NC 143, and NC 28 from Robbinsville to Stecoah. The designated alignment of the Trail of Tears NHT intersects with one section of the project area. NTIR is part of the Cultural Resources Task Force for the project, which met for the first time in early April. The Cultural Resources Task Force has been established to address known effects to historic properties and possible future effects on cultural resources and will meet every other month.
A bi-annual signatories meeting was held in December 2020 regarding the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Remediation of Damage to a 1.05-mile Segment of the Unicoi Turnpike / Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (40MR408) on the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, Monroe County, Tennessee. The meeting reported accomplishments on activities associated with the MOA. An MOA amendment was signed in April 2021 to extend the timeframe on nine stipulations within the MOA by two years due to the pandemic.
Virtual Trail Stories & Experiences
Have you been following the trails on social media? You may have noticed an increase in articles, virtual visits, and virtual kids' activities. People can't travel to experience the trails in person, so the national trails' staff has been working to bring the trails to your house. You can check out recent and past articles, become a junior ranger, take virtual visits to learn more about trail sites, and more - click the links below!