Signs marking the Bell Route of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail have gone up in Monteagle and Sewanee in recent weeks.

The Tennessee Trail of Tears Association (TNTOTA) worked for more than 20 years to get signs marking a section of the Bell Route on the Trail of Tears, as reported by the Sewanee Mountain Messenger on June 9, 2017.

According to the <tn.gov> website, feasibility of the addition of this lesser known trail to the Historic National Trail was previously directed by Congress to the National Park Service (NPS) National Scenic and Historic Trails in 2006. The Bell Route was designated part of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail in 2007.

Floyd Ayers, a TNTOTA charter member, and David Moore of the Franklin County Historical Society, spearheaded the local effort for recognition of this section of the trail, along with members of the TNTOTA.

The Bell Route began in Charleston, Tenn., at Fort Cass, an internment camp for native Cherokee, on Oct. 11, 1838, and reached Evansville, Ark. (then the border to Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma) on Jan. 7, 1839. Nearly 700 Cherokee were taken along this route led by John A. Bell, a Cherokee leader and signee of the Treaty of New Echota. More than 20 died along this route.

Bell’s group, joined by a military escort led by Lt. Edward Deas, under the wider supervision of Gen. Winfield Scott, crossed from Battle Creek northwest of Jasper towards Memphis, through Winchester and Savannah. This route can be confirmed because of vouchers used to pay for supplies along the path of the Bell detachment. These vouchers, made by Lt. Edward Deas, helped the the NPS to track the Bell detachment’s route.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was written to legitimize the forceful relocation of native tribes to the Indian Territory over the Mississippi River and away from their ancestral lands.

The Treaty of New Echota was signed on Dec. 29, 1835, promising land west of the Mississippi to the Cherokee. Although this treaty was not signed by John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee National Conference at the time, it was ratified and passed by the U.S. Senate in March 1836.

Signs signifying the trail on the Mountain can be found in Monteagle and Sewanee, along the the Mountain Goat Trail. “The plan is for signs to go as far as Templeton Library on St. Mary’s Lane, where the trail then descends the Mountain,” said Moore.

“Three signs have been erected in Cowan. The Winchester signs will start on Williams Cove Road and end on the old David Crockett Highway.”

“All signs in Franklin County are being supplied by the National Park Service. However, the park service has yet to order the signs for the state roads. All the county and city signs have already been received. Timing for the erection of these signs remains the discretion of the county and the cities, as will also be the case when TDOT receives the state highway signs. The Historical Society also intends to erect ‘Interpretive’ signs, possibly as early as next calendar year.”