Ross's Landing in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, is the last site of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

's 61-year occupation of Chattanooga and is considered to be the embarkation point of the

Cherokee removal The Cherokee removal (May 25, 18381839), part of the Indian removal, refers to the forced displacement of an estimated 15,500 Cherokees and 1,500 African-American slaves from the U.S. states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to ...

on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

. Ross's Landing Riverfront Park memorializes the location, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

The landing was named for John Ross, later principal chief of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

. In 1816 Ross settled at the site along the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

above Chattanooga Creek. There he established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

on the northern border of the Cherokee Nation, across the river from the United States of America. This area became known as "Ross's Warehouse," and "Ross's Ferry" (and alternatively, "Ross's

Landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

"). It was known to those passing through the area to have the best conditions for a river flatboat crossing. Ross operated a swing ferry across the river that was anchored on McClellan Island. In 1826 Ross sold his land to a Methodist minister, Nicholas Dalton Scales, in order to move to Georgia to be closer to the political center of the Cherokee Nation. When the United States government took over the

owned lands in 1837, the removal to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

began—known as the "Trail of Tears"—during which the Cherokee in several southeastern states were driven from their homes. Groups of the natives were staged at various camps, including east of Ross's Landing, for their coming expulsion west. On June 6, 1838, over 1500 Cherokee departed from Ross's Landing in steamboats and barges. A final group of Cherokee left in the Fall of 1838, forced to walk due to the falling levels of water in the river caused by a drought. The westward march of the Cherokee claimed several hundred lives, including Ross's wife, Quatie. The name Ross's Landing was changed to Chattanooga by American settlers who took over the land after the Removal.

Current landmark

Ross's Landing is memorialized at Ross's Landing Riverfront Park on the banks of the Tennessee River where the city of Chattanooga was established. That site was listed on the

in 1974. In the spring of 2005, a $61 million project to improve the Tennessee public parks was started, which included the redevelopment of Ross's Landing Park. A pedestrian path connects Ross's Landing Riverfront Park to the

Tennessee Aquarium The Tennessee Aquarium is a non-profit public aquarium located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It opened in 1992 on the banks of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga, with a major expansion added in 2005. The aquarium, which ha ...

. A wall along the walkway contains an art installation that symbolizes the path that Cherokee followed on their forced relocation to Oklahoma. Created by Gadugi, a group of five Cherokee artists from Oklahoma, the installation features seven large carved and glazed clay medallions set into the walkway wall. The medallions represent different aspects of

Cherokee history Cherokee history is the recorded history, written and oral tradition, oral lore, traditions, and historical record maintained by the living Cherokee people and their ancestors. In the 21st century, leaders of the Cherokee people define themselve ...

, religious beliefs, and struggles with white settlers.

References

External links

''The South – Chattanooga History''
city website
Ross's Landing - Chattanooga Pier
{{Cherokee Geography of Chattanooga, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Parks in Tennessee Protected areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee Trail of Tears Tourist attractions in Chattanooga, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Chattanooga, Tennessee