Title	Red Clay State Historic Park: Blue Hole Spring history
Creator(s)	West, Carroll Van, photographer
Date	2009
Coverage	2000-2009
Property name	Red Clay State Historic Park
Property type	Park
National Register Reference	72001229 listed September 14, 1972
Community Name	Cleveland, Bradley County, TN
Description	Color photograph of an informational sign explaining the significance of water to the Cherokee, and noting the role of the blue hole spring as a source for water during Cherokee council meetings. It explains that the source of the folklore was a Cherokee named Swimmer who was a keeper of tribal traditional knowledge.
Historical Notes	The Red Clay State Historic Park, located south of Cleveland, TN near the Georgia border, consists of about 260 acres. It is a natural landmark historically associated with the Cherokee Nation, particularly the Council Spring, or Blue Hole, which provided water to the Cherokee during their council meetings. The park is significant as the last seat of Cherokee government prior to their removal. The last Cherokee capital in Georgia was established in 1826 at New Echota, and was a small sophisticated city that included a courthouse, printing office, houses, and street. In 1832, the Cherokee were pushed out of Georgia, no longer able to legally congregate. At this time, the capital of the Cherokee Nation moved to Red Clay in Tennessee and remained there until the final detachments left for western territory in 1838. In 1984, the Cherokee erected a monument to the Trail of Tears, the Eternal Flame.
Collection Name	Trail of Tears
Subject-LCSH	Cherokee Indians -- 1830-1840 Swimmer, 1833 or 1834-1899
Subject-TGM	Historical markers
Type	Still image
Genre	Photograph
Processing notes	Electronic file
Copyright status	Copyright of the creator. Reproduced with permission
Contributing Institution	Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University
Conditions for use	Credit Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University Reproduction permitted for non-profit educational and research purposes only
Digital Publisher	Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University

Red Clay State Historic Park: Blue Hole Spring history

Description