Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center

Visit the Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center.

Photo/Charles Hall Museum and Heritage Center

Quick Facts

Location:

Located at 229 Cherohala Skyway in Tellico Plains, Tennessee at the entrance of the Southern District of the Cherokee National Forest and the Cherohala Skyway, a National Scenic Byway.

Significance:

Great Teliquo was an important township of the Cherokee Nation until forced treaties removed the Cherokee off their ancestral land to make room for white settlers. Three thousand or more North Carolina Cherokee prisoners led by U. S. Army camped and walked through this area during the Forced Removal (Trail of Tears) in June of 1838.

Designation:

Certified Site

MANAGED BY:

The Charles Hall Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization governed by a board of directors.  Pam Mathews serves as the curator of the museum and President of the Board of Directors.

Amenities

2 listed

Accessible Rooms, Parking - Auto

The Charles Hall Museum operates as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) foundation governed by a board of directors. The museum’s mission is to preserve Native American, Appalachian and local history with an emphasis on the Greater Tellico Plains area.

Showcased in two museum buildings are over 10,000 historical artifacts and thousands of historical pictures and documents either displayed or archived. The collections include 400 antique telephones and 17 switchboards, coins and currency, military displays including military weapons from the 1800s through WW2, relics from the Iron Ore Industry in early 1800s and so much more.

Among the exhibits are pre-historic and Cherokee intrepretative panels and displays. Panels include life of the Overhill Cherokee, who were the last Native Americans to live in the area and panels regarding the Cherokee Removal. Over 3000 North Carolina Cherokee prisoners walked and camped in Tellico Plains in June of 1838 on their 1000 mile journey to Indian Territory. 

A  garden and walking trail behind the museum winds along the edge of the fields where Indian mounds were still visible as late as 1926. The Cherokee hunting grounds, the Tellico Mountains, frame the fields with the Tellico River nearby. 

Site Information

Location (229 Cherohala Skyway in Tellico Plains, Tennessee at the entrance of the Southern District of the Cherokee National Forest and the Cherohala Skyway, a National Scenic Byway.)
 

Admission is free. Wheelchair-accessible parking and restrooms are available. 

Safety Considerations

More Site Information

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail