Hopkinsville in Christian County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

The Cherokee A Civilized People

Photographed by Sandra Hughes, July 11, 2017

1. The Cherokee A Civilized People Marker

Inscription. The Cherokee people once occupied much of the mid-Atlantic territory of North America. During the American Revolution they sided with the British against encroaching settlers and were forced to live in the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The Cherokees then peacefully traded with the white newcomers, learned their ways, became farmers and sometimes intermarried with them. Cherokee men used steel and iron axes, built homes of logs and brick and stone, produced corn, cotton, vegetables, and raised sheep, hogs, and cattle. The Cherokee women cooked in iron pots and copper kettles, spun and wool and used steel sewing needles for their family's clothing and household needs.

By 1800 the Cherokee had their own Christian churches, saw mills, blacksmith shops, grist mills, and schools. In 1821 Sequoyah developed a Cherokee alphabet representing all the sound in the Cherokee language, enabling his people to become the first Indian tribe with their own written language. By 1818 they printed books and published a newspaper, the Phoenix, in both Cherokee and English.

Influence by the white man's government in Washington, D. C., they established a capital in New Echota, Georgia and adopted a written constitution providing for an elected chief, a Supreme Court, a legislature, and a code of laws. the Cherokees were recognized as a nation of civilized farmers when the federal government forced them to leave their lands and move west in the 1830's.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Trail of Tears series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1800.

Location. 36° 51.19′ N, 87° 28.202′ W. Marker is in Hopkinsville, Kentucky,

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in Christian County. It is on Trail of Tears Drive. Marker is located on a wooden wall, on the path to the cemetery where two Indian Chiefs are buried. Chief Whitepath and Chief Fly Smith. M. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 200 Trail of Tears Dr, Hopkinsville KY 42240, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

in the South,

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A Winter Camp (within shouting distance of this marker); Mourning at Camp (within shouting distance of this marker); Whitepath and Fly Smith (within shouting distance of this marker); Cherokee "Trail of Tears" (within shouting distance of this marker); Trail of Tears Indian Camping Grounds (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Trail of Tears (approx. 0.3 miles away);

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, February 24, 2024

2. The Cherokee A Civilized People Marker

The Knight House (approx. ¾ mile away); Peace Park (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hopkinsville.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, April 27, 2024

3. The Cherokee A Civilized People Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 17, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 813 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 17, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. 2. submitted on February 25, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3. submitted on May 20, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.