The grueling 800-mile journey, from Georgia to eastern Oklahoma, took place during the winter of 1838-39. There were two main routes, both of which went through the Ozarks, to reach Oklahoma. The water route was the southern route and went through Arkansas. The land route, or northern route, went through the Ozarks of southern Missouri. This article traces that route in Missouri.
Events Prior to the Trail of Tears
Throughout the early to mid-1800s, Native American tribes between the eastern states and the Mississippi River had been signing treaties ceding their land and water rights to the United States. In exchange for their land, the government promised them land in Arkansas and Oklahoma. These tribes included the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole. Some relocated voluntarily but many were forced out by the U. S. Army. Out of the five tribes, the Cherokee owned the largest amount of land, reaching from the Gulf of Mexico northward to the Arkansas River, and eastward to the Carolinas and Georgia.
The quest for land by the white man was growing rapidly. By 1828, there were reports of gold in Georgia. As part of his inaugural address in 1829, President Andrew Jackson announced a policy to relocate the tribes still living in the eastern United States. The discovery of gold in Georgia was confirmed by 1830. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act that same year, 1830, which would force those remaining in the eastern states to move west of the Mississippi River.
For the next several years, there were various treaties and court cases regarding the rights of the Cherokee on their own land. The Cherokee challenged Georgia's ruling of preventing them from being allowed to conduct business or make any claims to the gold. They took their case to the U. S. Supreme Court and won. However, that was only a temporary victory. President Jackson enforced the Indian Removal Act. By May 1838, Federal troops began rounding up the Cherokee into internment camps and by November of that same year, the 800-mile long march began to what is now eastern Oklahoma.
The northern, or land, route went from northwestern Georgia near New Echota; through Charleston, Tennessee, continuing northwest near Nashville. From Nashville, the trail continued northwest through the western edge of Kentucky, crossed the southern tip of Illinois until it reached the Mississippi River. By the time the first groups of Cherokee reached the eastern bank of the Mississippi, it was December. The crossing of the Mississippi was hampered by freezing cold, rain, snow, and floating ice. Hunger and disease were rampant. Camps were set up on both sides of the Mississippi until the river crossing was possible.
The Northern Route in Missouri
Nine of the thirteen detachments entered Missouri at Mocassin Springs, in Cape Girardeau County, in what is now Jackson, Missouri. The Trail of Tears State Park is located there, directly on the river, with cliffs, bluffs, steep ravines, and forests. This state park is one of the certified sites of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trails.
The trail continued northwest to Fredricktown, an area that is surrounded on three sides by what is now the Mark Twain National Forest. The journey continued northwest through Farmington and Potosi, then turned west to Rolla, still in the Mark Twain National Forest.
From Rolla, the trail turned southwest to Waynesville which had a Cherokee encampment along the Roubidoux River. This is also one of the certified sites. From Waynesville, the Cherokee continued southwest to Lebanon, Springfield, Aurora and Monett before crossing into northern Arkansas and on to eastern Oklahoma. The elevations in Missouri alone ranged from roughly 460 feet above sea level, at Jackson, where they crossed the Mississippi, to 1400 feet at Aurora.
Sources:
- Pulaski County Tourism Bureau, St. Robert, Missouri
- Monett Historical Society, Monett, Missouri
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