American Travel Journal: Red Clay State Historical Park

Red Clay State Historical Park is in the southwestern corner of Bradley County. I visited the site in early January 2013. After Georgia passed laws prohibiting the Cherokee from meeting for any purpose other than to sign a treaty giving up their land, this locale just across the state line became the final seat of the Cherokee government from 1832 until 1838 and their removal to Oklahoma on the infamous Trail of Tears. Due to a lack of staff, the visitor center was closed on the day of my visit. While the original council structures no longer exist, replicas have been constructed based on the limited information available. The park has a paved loop trail that allows visitors to view the the council house, sleeping huts and a Cherokee farmstead. In addition, the trail leads past the Blue Hole Spring. Additional trails lead down the creek formed by the spring and to the picnic area that includes a pavilion with seating for about one hundred people. Finally, a memorial eternal flame of the Cherokee Nation is on the site.