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March 25, 2008 04:56 pm
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Cities at both ends of Trail of Tears may seek 'sister' status
“It’s appropriate that this part of Georgia is now embracing its native heritage. It’s become very much a point of pride in this part of the country.”
By Betty Smith
CNHI News Service
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — All roads may not lead to Rome, Ga., but a path important to Cherokee history began in that vicinity and ended in this area.
During the 1830s, some Cherokees left their homes in Georgia and surrounding states to begin a new life in Indian Territory, while others were forcibly removed from the land they had occupied for lifetimes.
The two most prominent Cherokee leaders of the period, John Ross and Major Ridge, first worked as allies to institute the Cherokee constitution and government, then split over whether to move westward. The Trail of Tears symbolizes perhaps the greatest tragedy in recorded Cherokee history.
Today, Tahlequah, which lies at the end of the Trail of Tears, may become a sister city with Rome, a leading community at its beginning. While the two city councils have taken no official action to become sister cites, people in both communities have expressed support for the idea.
The idea began circulating about a month ago.
“It was an interesting contact, and I’m excited about the possibilities,” Tahlequah Mayor Ken Purdy said. “There’s a strong interest on both ends, and we are openly interest in exploring the possibility.”
The sister city concept would increase the emphasis on the importance of that period in history, and its effect on people at both ends of the trail. People answering surveys by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation have expressed the most interest in the state’s western and Native American heritage.
And many Georgians are not aware of the extent of Cherokee contributions to their area.
“You look at the names of the Indians who have a common history in both areas,” Purdy said. “They [Rome] were, in essence, the entry point to the Trail of Tears, and we were the terminus, or one of them. Heritage tourism continues to be a major factor.”
Purdy hasn’t yet visited Rome but said it appears to have a topography and character with much in common to Tahlequah.
Although many historic buildings have been destroyed in both communities, two outstanding homes survive: the George Murrell Home in Park Hill and the Major Ridge Home/Chieftains Museum in Rome.
Ross owned fine homes in both towns, but both are long gone. He lost his house and property at the confluence of three rivers shortly before Rome was established in 1834, and his Rose Cottage at Park Hill was burned by Confederate troops during the Civil War.
And although Murrell was a Confederate, he was married to a Ross, and members of the Ross family occupied the antebellum mansion for much of its history.
Rome has a population of about 36,000. It also is a college town: Rome boasts two private four-year colleges, two two-year colleges, and Darlington Boarding School, which has an international reputation, said Claudia Oakes, director of Chieftains Museum.
Both communities are Main Street downtown revitalization cities. And while Rome is at the confluence of three rivers, Tahlequah is close to the confluence of three other rivers, east of Muskogee, that were important early trade routes in the area.
And both are convenient to a major city. Rome is about the same proximity to Atlanta as Tahlequah is to Tulsa – “just close enough and just far enough,” Oakes said.
She said Rome also has an excellent health care system and is a haven for retirees, as is Tahlequah.
Purdy thinks a partnership between the two cities would be a natural. He said he will keep city councilors apprised of the process and bring it to a vote when he knows more about it.
He believes Tahlequah city administrators can share ideas with their counterparts in Rome and learn how the larger city has handled similar issues.
Oakes said many people in her area are not as aware of the Trail of Tears and its impact as are the people of northeastern Oklahoma, whose ancestors made the journey.
“It’s appropriate that this part of Georgia is now embracing its native heritage,” she said. “It’s become very much a point of pride in this part of the country.”
She said one of her friends who works at the Rome library receives constant inquiries from people wanting to trace their Indian heritage, as do researchers at the Cherokee Heritage Center and Cherokee Nation here.
And her museum hosts many visitors from Oklahoma.
“We [at Chieftains Museum] certainly have contact with the Eastern Band of Cherokees, but we know the people in your area more than the folks in Cherokee, N.C.,” she said. “I think you could say that, if not physically, then emotionally the Trail of Tears began in Rome because of the decisions made by Major Ridge and John Ross.”
She said Rome city officials recently named a new pedestrian bridge for Ross, and another bridge has been named for Ridge. A scenic river pathway leads between Chieftains Museum and Rome.
The Ridge family occupied the Rome property between 1819 and 1837.
“In the core of the house, which has been added onto a number of times since 1837, is the original dogtrot (breezeway),” Oakes said. “This is the last remaining piece of land you can define in Northwest Georgia as being owned by Major Ridge.”
Carey Tilley finds himself in a unique position. He came to his post as director of the Cherokee Heritage Center in 2006 from the Chieftains Museum, where he was Oakes’ predecessor.
He knows Rome well, having lived there five years during his youth and another five years as director of Chieftains Museum. His 4-year-old twins were born in a Rome hospital now occupying property once owned by Ross.
Tilley also expressed enthusiasm for the sister city concept.
“Clearly, both places are significant to the Cherokee people and Cherokee history,” he said. “I think for Rome, the benefit is the increased awareness that the Cherokees were a huge part of the city’s history and that important things happened there which influenced the Cherokee legend.”
He said the popular story in Rome does not mention Ross, and the tale goes that four or five people gathered at the confluence of the rivers to select a name for the new community they were founding. They pulled the name “Rome” out of a hat, and thus it was named.
Probably most people in Rome are more aware of Ridge because his home has survived.
Tilley believes it is interesting to note the cooperation between Ridge and Ross in developing the Cherokee constitution and the Cherokee Nation. Ridge served as speaker when Ross was elected the principal chief, before the rift developed over the Treaty of 1835.
Ridge believed that with the proliferation of the white population in Georgia and the inability to do anything about it, the move westward was inevitable. Ross stood his ground in hopes that a succeeding United States regime would recognize the Cherokees’ right to their hereditary lands.
After both sides had moved to Indian Territory, Major Ridge, his son John, and nephew Elias Boudinot (brother of Confederate Gen. Stand Watie) were assassinated June 22, 1839. Ross supporters were credited with the deed because they believed the men had broken Cherokee law by signing the treaty.
“It’s not coincidental that they were both in Rome,” Tilley said. “Their split started while they were in Rome. They both had supported forming the Cherokee constitution and a strong government. It [Rome] is a significant place to the story of the Cherokees forming a constitutional government and also for the rift between the Ross and Ridge families.”
Betty Smith writes for Tahlequah (Okla.) Daily Press.
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