New Echota, Cherokee Capital

New Echota Council House

In the late 1700s, Cherokee refugees of wars with European Americans from the Lower Towns in Tennessee and South Carolina moved the seat of their tribe to Oostanaula, or Ustanali, in what is now Northwest Georgia. Moravian missionaries describe attending councils there in the early 1800s at a town house consisting of an “open shed with scats of plank.” In 1803, they watched traditional Cherokee dances performed.

By 1819, the Cherokee Council began holding their annual meetings at New Town, a small community on the Oostanaula River. In November 1825, they adopted a resolution that established that location as the nation’s capital and named it New Echota. Every October, thirty-two delegates representing eight districts elected a dozen members of the National Committee. The quiet town of New Echota burgeoned to several hundred during council time.

By 1830, New Echota claimed seventy residents on a hundred one-acre town lots surrounding the Council House and Supreme Court building. The Cherokee Phoenix office used an altered form of Sequoyah’s (or George Gist’s) alphabet to publish a newspaper—as well as the Bible and hymns—in both English and Cherokee. European-educated, mixed-blood Cherokees worked alongside missionaries to make New Echota a town of renown.

Supreme Courthouse

All that ended when gold was discovered on Cherokee land in 1828. Georgia declared Cherokee laws void and annexed Cherokee land as Cherokee County, Georgia, divvying it up in the 1832 lottery.

On December 29, 1835, a small minority of Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota, giving the Cherokees five million and $300,000 for improvements on new land in Indian Territory in exchange for their Eastern ceded lands.

New Echota disappeared except for the Samuel Worcester missionary home. In the 1950s, archeologists excavated, reconstructed, and relocated Cherokee-style buildings. The New Echota Museum was dedicated in 1988, 150 years after the Trail of Tears.

Learn more about the Cherokees of Northwest Georgia in my upcoming novel, The Witness Tree, coming this September with Smitten Historical Romance. 

Represented by Hartline Literary Agency, Denise Weimer holds a journalism degree with a minor in history from Asbury University. She’s the managing editor for Smitten Historical Romance of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and the author of The Georgia Gold Series, The Restoration Trilogy, and a number of novellas, including Across Three Autumns of Barbour’s Colonial Backcountry Brides Collection. A wife and mother of two daughters, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses! Connect with Denise here:

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Amicalola Falls

 
By: Rebecca May Davie

"Tumbling Waters" is a rough translation of the Cherokee word for Amicalola Falls. The Cherokee Nation cared for and roamed the land where this 729-foot waterfall with its seven cascades exists. The tallest waterfall in Georgia changed hands after the signing of the *New Echota Treaty of 1832 as the Land lottery ensued. 

The first to write about this landmark was William Williamson who explored and searched for land of his own to claim in the lottery. He extolled both the beauty and the difficulty of ascent. At that time, he declared the falls “perhaps the greatest in the world, the most majestic scene.”

A hidden gem, Amicalola Falls was so remote that a member of the Cherokee Nation living nearby
evaded the Georgia Guard. In 1838 the Georgia Guard removed the Cherokee and forced them onto the Trail of Tears, yet she lived there undisturbed until the 1840s.

 
Later in 1852, Bartley Crane occupied the space at the base of the falls and ran a mill. He collected the falls and hundreds of surrounding acres. A Methodist-Episcopal campground began on his land at the base as well. This spot was used by both sides during the Civil War. After, John Crane, Bartley’s son, ran a general store through the Great Depression. In 1940, the State of Georgia bought Crane’s lands for a state park.

 

Today, there are 829 acres to explore. Stairs and roads offer opportunities to view the falls for people on foot or on wheels. There are trails for beginners and advanced hikers to traverse. The trails vary in flora, fauna, and a bit of memorabilia. Notice the photo at left with the old truck stuck in the trees. It must have plummeted from above with no way for recovery from the steep terrain. 

Register at the visitor center before 2:00 pm to attempt the five miles up to the remote Hike Inn for a meal or to stay. The lodge at the top of the falls, accessible by car, also offers accommodation.

 
Amicalola offers an approach trail for the Appalachian Trail (AT). Hikers can make the eight-mile trek to the southern terminus at Springer Mountain. From that point they begin their northbound 2,190 mile journey to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

My favorite time to see Amicalola is in the fall. The changing and falling leaves add to the experience. Peaceful, awe-inspiring vistas inspire us to take a deep breath, slow down, and enjoy. If you haven’t seen this wonder in person, consider a trip today. Would you like to watch videos of the falls in action? Check out this reel on Instagram.

*Read more about New Echota in Denise Weimer's post New Echota Treaty 

                      

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 75 Plans on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives in the mountains with her husband, the youngest of their two sons, and a rescued dog named Ranger. If it were up to her, she would be traveling - right now. As a member of ACFW, FHLCW, and Hope*Writers, Rebecca learns the craft of fiction while networking with a host of generous writers. She is working on her first fiction novel. This story unfolds from the 1830s in Northern Georgia.

Connect with Rebecca: Clubhouse Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest Twitter Website

In the Shadow of the Trail of Tears: The Love Story of John and Elizabeth Ridge

by Martha Hutchens

Major John Ridge, Father of John Rollins Ridge
Image from Smithsonian Open Access

John Rollins Ridge had a difficult start in life. He was born in 1827 to a Cherokee father and a white mother. His father, Major Ridge, was among the tribal leaders who signed the Treaty of New Echota—an agreement that ceded ancestral Cherokee lands and led to the Trail of Tears. Though Major Ridge opposed removal, he likely signed the treaty only when he believed it was inevitable and hoped that negotiation might secure better terms for his people. He moved his family to Oklahoma in 1837, two years before the forced removal.

Members of the Cherokee Nation levied a death sentence against Major Ridge, largely in response to his role in signing the treaty—a treaty many viewed as a betrayal. The forced removal, known as the Trail of Tears, resulted in the deaths of thousands of Cherokee people due to disease, starvation, and exposure. Though the Ridge family had already relocated voluntarily, many still held Major Ridge responsible for the suffering. The legal authority of the death sentence—even under tribal law—remains questionable. But on June 22, 1839, assailants dragged Major Ridge from his bed and killed him in front of his family. John, only twelve years old, witnessed his father’s death and was deeply traumatized. He suffered nightmares for the rest of his life. Soon after that night, his mother moved the family to northwestern Arkansas.

John met Elizabeth Wilson in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she worked for a missionary who was teaching him Greek and Latin. He fell in love with her beautiful features, brilliant mind, and noble character. They married in May of 1847. Throughout their marriage, she frequently comforted him after nightmares. She accompanied him to Oklahoma.

While John had been away in Arkansas, many of the men who had participated in his father’s killing were themselves killed. When he returned, only four remained. One of them, David Kell, mutilated John’s stallion in a supposed attempt to provoke a fight. The two men confronted each other, and when Kell advanced, John killed him. It was ruled self-defense, but John no longer felt safe in Oklahoma. He and Elizabeth relocated to Springfield, Missouri, where they welcomed their daughter, Alice.

Image by Luftklick, Deposit Photos

John held several jobs as a clerk, but when news of the 1849 gold rush in California reached Missouri, he decided to head west. Knowing conditions would be rough, he left Elizabeth and Alice behind.

He found little success in the gold fields, but he began publishing articles in a local newspaper under the name “Yellow Bird,” a name given to him in youth by his Cherokee peers.

In 1853, John sent word to his mother that he was very ill. When Elizabeth learned of this, she left Alice with John’s mother and traveled west by stagecoach. Though John was near death when she arrived, her comforting presence and constant care helped him recover. Once he had regained his health, she returned east to bring Alice to California.

Image by ronstik, deposit photos

Elizabeth encouraged John’s writing, especially his poetry, which she noticed helped him cope with the lingering trauma of his past. In 1854, John was inspired by the story of a Mexican bandit who had turned to crime after the murder of his fiancée and the seizure of his land. Perhaps John’s own losses gave him a deep empathy for the outlaw. His resulting book, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit, became a literary success. John Rollin Ridge is now recognized as the first Native American novelist. Unfortunately, he never profited from the book, as his publisher went bankrupt. However, the book’s popularity helped him secure editorial positions at several newspapers.

John and Elizabeth lived in Grass Valley, California, for fifteen years before John’s health declined. He died in 1867 at the age of forty. In 1868, Elizabeth published a collection of his poetry—including several written for her, the woman whose love and strength helped him endure the lifelong trauma of witnessing his father’s death.

The Mystery of the Red Bank Cherokee Gold

by Denise Farnsworth

I first learned of the legend of the Red Bank Cherokee gold while working as a historical interpreter, preparing a county summer camp for kids called History Mysteries. Later, I lived in the area which serves as the setting for my novel releasing this month. The names of creeks, rivers, and long-vanished Indian towns showed up on road signs and swirled in my memory, and eventually, The Maiden and the Mountie wove that golden legend into the story of the Cherokee Removal during the Georgia Gold Rush.

In 1829, a resident of Red Bank, John Wright, told General John Coffee that his town had been founded around 1784 on both sides of the Etowah River (then called the Hightower), six miles above the Cherokee town and mine of Sixes and two miles below Hickory Log. This location differs significantly from the one provided by Forest C. Wade in his 1969 book, Cry of the Eagle. Wade was born in 1914 in Cherokee County and learned trail sign and lore from his grandfather, a part-Cherokee and gold miner from the gold rush boomtown of Auraria. Wade claimed the Red Bank tribe lived a mile north of Hightower along Red Bank Creek (later known as Bannister Creek). Maps in the Cherokee Footprints three-book series by Rev. Charles Walker clearly show Red Bank Village in the location John Wright testified, although Red Bank Creek detailed off the Alabama Road is of interest. For my novel, I went with the former location as best recorded by historical record.

So how did the tiny Cherokee village of Red Bank come to figure into North Georgia legend?

Rising Fawn

In 1835, after the Treaty of New Echota signed away Cherokee land, it was said that Hightower-area Chief Rising Fawn called a meeting of over a dozen lower chiefs. Since the Cherokees would not be allowed to take the gold they had mined for many years with them on their forced journey west, Rising Fawn crafted a plan to hide it until the families or their descendants could return. He asked Jacob Scudder, a local tavern and mill owner and blood brother to the Cherokees, to become guardian of the treasure.

A secret tunnel would be constructed at night, two hundred feet long, with slab doors to conceal the square vaults of depositors. An overhead deadfall was devised to release a large stone by a trigger. Each tribe was to create a network of sign trails using ancient symbols on trees and rocks. Pull trees, knee trees, saddle and humped trees were also formed.

In addition to personal deposits, it was rumored that in January 1838, a shipment of gold bullion coming from the U.S. Treasury to the new Dahlonega mint on the Federal Road was diverted by five masked riders. The cargo of seven gold bars weighing fifty pounds each was never found…and may have been added to Rising Fawn’s tunnel.

Scudder was to take a tenth toll when the Cherokees returned to fetch their treasure.

Only the Red Bank chief protested the plan, not trusting a white sub-chief. Instead, the thirty or so families buried their gold in 25 locations along the hillsides of Bannister and Bruton/Brewton Creek and in a smaller tunnel. The clay pots of gold dust varied from six to 40 pounds.

According to legend passed down by O.P. Orr of Cumming, who spent time with his grandfather in Cherokee County in the early 1900s, a caravan of Cherokes camped in the Heardsville and Frogtown areas for about a month in the summer of 1909. They were said to be descendants of the Red Bank Cherokees returned to recover their wealth. We can hope it was so.

However…an April 3, 1935 Georgia court case, Groover v. Tippins, gives the most credence to the fact that there indeed might have been Cherokee treasure left in North Georgia that was not recovered. The appeal records the fact that 37 pounds of gold dust and bullion with a value of $15,540 was found forty feet south of the public road leading from Frogtown to Silver City and 250 yards southeast of a large rock “containing various markings and circles.” It was otherwise said that three boys (presumably, including the plaintiff, Roy Tippins) found the treasure on Farmer F. R. Groover’s land. Groover was allowed to keep the prize.

What is legend? What is truth? Those questions are enough to inspire a unique twist to a story.

Book Two of The Twenty-Niners of the Georgia Gold Rush, The Maiden and the Mountie, releases February 17. A marriage of necessity. A secret buried deep. In Georgia’s gold country, love may be the most dangerous treasure of all. https://www.amazon.com/Maiden-Mountie-Twenty-Niners-Georgia-Gold-ebook/dp/B0FNYFLLJ3/

Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, writes historical and contemporary romance mostly set in Georgia and also serves as a freelance editor and the Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books. A wife and mother, she always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

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