Why this park
In the southwest corner of Bradley County, about a dozen miles south of Cleveland and against the Georgia line, Red Clay State Historic Park covers 263 acres of valley and wooded ridge. Its Cherokee name, the park's page says, is e-la-wo-di-yi, "red earth place." From 1832 until removal in 1838 it was the seat of the Cherokee Nation's government, and the Tennessee Encyclopedia says Cherokees today hold it sacred.
What makes the place worth drawing is its spring. Blue Hole Spring wells up from under a limestone ledge into a deep pool that gave the councils their water; the 1972 National Register nomination put its flow at 400,000 to 500,000 gallons a day. Beside it stand a rebuilt council house, a farmstead and sleeping huts, and on a hillside burns the Eternal Flame.
The story
Georgia had declared the Cherokee Nation's laws void, the National Park Service says, and made it illegal for Cherokees to meet except to give up land, the Tennessee Encyclopedia says. So in 1832 the Nation moved its government from New Echota, Georgia, to Red Clay. Eleven general councils met here through 1837, some with as many as 5,000 people.
Under Principal Chief John Ross the councils refused removal: in 1832 without a dissenting vote, and in October 1835, the nomination says, by an overwhelming majority. A smaller Treaty Party, led by Elias Boudinot, John Ridge and his father, Major Ridge, came to believe removal could not be stopped. That December, while Ross was in Washington, its leaders met a federal treaty commissioner at New Echota and signed away all the Nation's land east of the Mississippi.
In May 1836 the Senate ratified the agreement, the Treaty of New Echota, by a single vote. Ross sent Congress a petition against it with more than 15,000 signatures, the Park Service says, and it was ignored. That September, the nomination says, more than 3,000 Cherokees met here and rejected the treaty unanimously, while an Army general, John E. Wool, looked on.
A council set for 1838 never met. In March, Jane Bushyhead, a young Cherokee, wrote from Red Clay that "we Cherokees are to be driven to the west by the cruel hand of oppression." In May soldiers and militia began driving Cherokees into camps, and the encyclopedia estimates that more than 4,000 died, in the camps or on the way west.
The council ground became farmland. Local historians, among them the county historian James F. Corn, worked to save it: Bradley County acquired 150 acres, the site went on the National Register in 1972, and the state park opened in 1979.
In April 1984 the Cherokee Nation and North Carolina's Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians met here in joint council, their first since removal. Runners carried torches from Cherokee, North Carolina, and Principal Chiefs Ross Swimmer and Robert Youngdeer lit the Eternal Flame, the park's manager told Blue Ridge Country in 2021. Its fire, the park's plan says, came from the original one that left Red Clay almost 200 years ago. The tribes met here again in 2009, and in 2015 the United Keetoowah Band joined them.
When to go, and what to wear
Spring brings wildflowers; the park lists Virginia bluebells, bloodroot, trillium, fire pink and pink azalea. At the Cleveland weather station, April averages a high near 72°F and a low near 47°F. March is the wettest month, so pack a rain shell.
Summer is hot, with July averaging a high near 89°F and a low near 68°F. The paved walk to the council ground is short, but the Council of Trees Trail, a 1.7-mile loop past a stone overlook tower, climbs about 240 feet on gravel, dirt, rocks and steps, and a 2024 trail survey rates it difficult. Wear shoes that grip and carry water. Ticks live in grassy, brushy and wooded places, the CDC says, so use repellent and check yourself afterward.
Fall is mild: October averages a high near 73°F and a low near 48°F and is the driest month.
Winter is cold, with January averaging a high near 50°F and a low near 29°F, so wear layers and a warm hat. A ranger recommends it for the spring, which is bluest when the leaves are down and full light reaches the water.
Know before you go
- Blue Hole Spring is sacred to many Cherokees, who still use its water in ceremonies. The paved trail leads to the spring, but only Cherokee people may enter the spring area itself, the park's management plan says, and staff keep other visitors back during a ceremony.
- Don't hang hammocks from the trees, and don't move or stack rocks or dam the creek. Cell service is weak around the visitor center, and the park is shut on Christmas Day.
- The visitor center has exhibits on Cherokee life and on removal, and its gift shop is open until 4:30, from 10 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday and from 1 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
- The paved trail is wheelchair-friendly, though tree roots have buckled it in places, the park's plan says. The park lends all-terrain wheelchairs free; reserve one ahead.
- Hours, fees and closures change, so check Red Clay State Historic Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Encyclopedia, "Red Clay State Historic Park" (Lois I. Osborne), "John Ross" (Patrice Hobbs Glass) and "Trail of Tears" (Ben Harris McClary); National Register of Historic Places, Red Clay Council Ground nomination (James F. Corn, 1972); National Park Service, "Red Clay State Historic Park," Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, "A Brief History," and Fort Smith National Historic Site, "Cherokee Relations with US Government Before Removal"; Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Red Clay State Historic Park Strategic Management Plan 2023–2033 (reviewed 2024) and news release of June 13, 2012; Angela Minor, "Tennessee's Red Clay: The Little State Park That Burns Bright," Blue Ridge Country (2021); Scott McKie B.P., "Beloved Man Chief Youngdeer laid to rest," Cherokee One Feather (November 1, 2018); Indianz.com (April 16, 2009); Chattanooga Times Free Press (August 17, 2015); Scott McKie B.P., "Tribes hold historic meeting at Red Clay," Cherokee One Feather (August 29, 2015); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Preventing Tick Bites"; NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Cleveland Filtration Plant station; Wikipedia; Red Clay State Historic Park, tnstateparks.com.
