TRAARVTEL
CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE
A Home of the Cherokee Nation
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Photography by Gram and Noraa
The charming, historic town of Cleveland, Tennessee,
dates back to 1838 and is situated close to the Ocoee and
Hiwassee rivers. It is also near Charleston’s former Fort
Cass, where the U.S. military carried out an 1836 treaty
that forced the Cherokee Nation to move from the area that
had been its homeland to Oklahoma, hence the Trail of Tears.
Although nothing remains of the U.S. military headquarters that
operated the removal program, tours by National Park Service
rangers at the Hiwassee River Heritage Center in Charleston now
serve to tell the history of what occurred during that dark period.
Likewise, at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park in Birchwood
at the convergence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee rivers, there
is a visitors’ center and a memorial wall to the Cherokee people
in remembrance of the shameful Cherokee removal.
In downtown Cleveland, the Museum Center at 5ive Points
gives an overview of the Ocoee region’s cultural history through
its permanent “River of Time” exhibit and other changing exhibits.
The museum’s store sells works by local artists.
At the Red Clay State Historic Park, the site of the last council
156 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2018
grounds of the Cherokee Nation before the removal, you can learn
about how the discovery of gold in Georgia led to the signing
of the 1830 Indian Removal Act that resulted in the 1836 treaty
that required the Native Americans to move to Oklahoma. The
Cleveland park features an interpretive center, plus replicas of
a Cherokee farmhouse, cabins and council house.
Cleveland, Tennessee, has become a popular vacation spot,
and in addition to learning about the area’s tragically compelling
history, we enjoyed dining at restaurants such as Café Roma,
which specializes in fine Italian cuisine created by Shannon
Ritzhaupt, its chef/owner, and Jenkins Restaurant and Deli, where
Don and Kay Cowen have been serving old-fashioned Americanstyle
food since 1976. We also enjoyed the wines produced at
Morris Vineyard and Winery in Charleston, Tennessee. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information about southeastern Tennessee,
call the Cleveland Convention & Visitor’s Bureau at (800) 472-6588,
or contact VisitClevelandTn.com or SoutheastTennessee.com.
A proud Cherokee
chieftain carved from
a tree trunk stands
on the front lawn
of Museum Center
at 5ive Points in
Cleveland, Tennessee.
The Memorial Wall at Cherokee
Removal Memorial Park in
Birchwood, Tennessee, memorializes
the 1835 Census of the Cherokee.