Visiting New Echota State Historic Site in Calhoun, Georgia: An Interesting Historic Site for the Entire Family

Located near Calhoun, Georgia, just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the New Echota State Historic Site. The New Echota State Historic Site is located on highway 225 less than a mile east of Interstate 75 off of exit 317. The New Echota State Historic Site is a collection of period buildings and a museum honoring the Cherokee History of the region. The Cherokee Indian Nation settled its capital surrounding a council house here. At the time the Cherokee Nation's vast land holdings consisted of parts of four states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee).

Remarkably, the Cherokee's even printed a newspaper here beginning in 1828 in their relatively new written language. The Cherokee Phoenix was published in both Cherokee and English until its demise in 1834.

The Cherokee flourished in this region until gold was found on the Indian lands. After a long legal battle, the Cherokee were forced to sell their lands and to move to Oklahoma. Their trek across the nation is familiar to many as the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears marks the movement of the Cherokee during the winter of 1838 / 1839 in which over a quarter of the population died along the route in which is undoubtedly one of the most shameful moments in American History. Some of the Cherokee did successfully escape this mass exodus into the Great Smoky Mountains. Today these descendents exact a small revenge by extracting gold from the white man's pockets in their casinos.

The New Echota State Historic Site today contains one original building (a house built by Samuel Worcester, an early missionary to the region). The Vann Tavern is a period building built by the Cherokee at another location and moved to the historic site. The Legislative Hall, Supreme Court House, and other original Cherokee buildings no longer exist. The buildings that are present are furnished with period items and provide a unique and interesting look into this era of American History.