Last updated: May 3, 2021
Place
Trail of Tears Benge Route on the Natchez Trace, Milepost 400.2
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez Trace Parkway Milepost 400.2
Significance:
Trail of Tears Site
Amenities
4 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Picnic Table, Wheelchair Accessible
The detachment led by John Benge began its journey from Wills Valley, eight miles south of Fort Payne, Alabama. The detachment of 1,090 people passed through Huntsville and Gunter’s Landing in Alabama and Reynoldsburg Landing on the Tennessee River in Tennessee, and probably Columbia, Kentucky.
An unimproved path near here at Sheboss Place, milepost 400.2, along the Natchez Trace Parkway is where they crossed into Hickman County. The Benge detachment ended their journey near present-day Stilwell, Oklahoma, on January 17, 1839.
The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail commemorates the forced removal of Cherokee from their homelands; the paths that 17 Cherokee detachments followed westward; and the revival of the Cherokee Nation. The trail passes through 9 different states including Alabama and Tennessee. The sites on the trail, stretching 5,043 miles, form a journey of compassion and understanding.
See Trail of Tears on the Natchez Trace for additional information.
An unimproved path near here at Sheboss Place, milepost 400.2, along the Natchez Trace Parkway is where they crossed into Hickman County. The Benge detachment ended their journey near present-day Stilwell, Oklahoma, on January 17, 1839.
The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail commemorates the forced removal of Cherokee from their homelands; the paths that 17 Cherokee detachments followed westward; and the revival of the Cherokee Nation. The trail passes through 9 different states including Alabama and Tennessee. The sites on the trail, stretching 5,043 miles, form a journey of compassion and understanding.
See Trail of Tears on the Natchez Trace for additional information.