Editor Pick
New Echota State Historic Site
- November 18, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
willow from Nicholls, Georgia
New Echota was the capital of the Cherokee Nation from 1825 to the time of their forced removal in 1838. The site has several original and reconstructed buildings: the Council House, the Supreme Courthouse, the print shop and various cabins. Those of us who relish American History know that the Constitution and American Democracy was largely patterned after the Cherokee governmental system.
The Cherokee were the only American Indians who printed a bi-lingual newspaper. Their lifestyle more closely resembled that of the Anglo-Americans than any other tribe.
They called these gentle foothills and river valleys 'The Enchanted Land.' Unfortunately the discovery of gold in Georgia led to the confiscation of the Cherokee land by the U.S. Government. Their forced removal caused the demise of one-third of the Cherokee population and is known by the Cherokee as 'the trail where we cried.'
New Echota is a stop on The Cheiftain's Trail. The formal capital, as well as other sites in the former Cherokee lands, hold special significance to those of us who claim Cherokee heritage.
From journal Roman Holiday