Click here to view a full map showing the different trail locations across the state.

1. Russell Cave National Monument NRHP
Russell Cave contains one of the longest and most complete archaeological records in the eastern U.S. The artifacts found here indicate intermittent Native American habitation for almost 9,000 years. The initial excavation in 1953 was followed by another dig by the Smithsonian Institution. Artifacts found in the cave are displayed at the visitor center museum. The park's Indian Day Festival is held annually. Call for dates and times.
www.nps.gov/ruca
3729 County Rd. 98, Bridgeport
(256) 495-2672

2. Bridgeport Historic Marker
On July 13, 1995, Alabama Joint House Resolution 95-346 designated U.S. Hwy. 72 as an Alabama Trail of Tears Corridor. In 1996, this overland route was recognized by the National Park Service as an official trail and added to their Trail of Tears National Historic Route brochure. Also in 1996, Alabama's second Trail of Tears Historic Marker was erected in Bridgeport at the Ala.-Tenn. line.
www.al-tn-trailoftears.org

3. Stevenson Railroad Depot Museum NRHP
The museum's collection contains Native American artifacts from Jackson and Marshall Counties, including pottery and tools. Call to confirm hours.
Main Street, Stevenson
(256) 437-3012

4. Sequoyah Caverns & Campground
Cherokee warrior Sequoyah (George Gist) was born in Tennessee in 1776 and later moved to Wills Town, Ala. He perfected his alphabet in 1821, which was adopted by the Cherokee Nation. Using a phonetic system, where each sound made in speech was represented by a symbol, he created "Talking Leaves," 85 letters that made up the Cherokee alphabet. Sequoyah died in Texas in 1843. Annual Cherokee Pow Wows are held at Sequoyah Caverns in the spring and fall. Call for dates and times.
1438 Co. Road 731, Valley Head
(800) 843-5098; (256) 635-0024

5. Fort Payne
The Depot Museum includes Indian artifacts and historic markers commemorate Sequoyah and the Trail of Tears. There is an Indian burial site in town and what is believed to be the remains of the original Fort Payne stockade, which was used to imprison Cherokees prior to their removal to Oklahoma. The DeKalb Co. Tourist Assn. has developed a driving tour of Native American sites. The annual Native American Warrior Society Indian Festival is held each fall. Call for dates and times.
DeKalb County Tourist Association
1503 Glenn Blvd., SE, Fort Payne
(888) 805-4740; (256) 845-3957

6. Scottsboro-Jackson Heritage Center
The Center's Native American Room contains a large private collection of Indian pottery and tools from Jackson County. The annual Southeastern Native American Festival is held at the end of October. Call for dates and times.
208 South Houston Street, Scottsboro
(256) 259-2122

7. Cathedral Caverns State Park
Archaeological excavations by the University of Alabama State Museum of Natural History and the Archaeological Resource Laboratory at Jacksonville State University at the mouth of Cathedral Caverns have indicated occupation by Native Americans 2,000 years ago, and perhaps as early as 8000 B.C.
Cathedral Caverns, Grant
(256) 728-8193

8. Guntersville Museum and Cultural Center
The museum contains exhibits of Native American tools, pottery and ceremonial pieces. The first white settler in present-day Marshall County was John Gunter who established a ferry service on the Tennessee River at Gunter's Landing. Despite early good White-Indian relations, Gunter's Landing became a port of embarkation for Native Americans on the Trail of Tears. About 2,000 Creeks were shipped west on August 6, 1836. A few hundred Cherokees arrived from Ross Landing on 11 flatboats on March 6, 1837. They were herded aboard the steamer Knoxville.
930 O'Brig Avenue, Guntersville
(256) 571-7597

9. Burritt on the Mountain NRHP
The collection includes a permanent exhibit of Native American tools, pottery and ceremonial items from north Alabama. The annual Indian Heritage Festival is held in the fall. Call for dates and times.
3101 Burritt Drive, Huntsville
(256) 536-2882

10. Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center
Designed like the national heptagon council house at the original Cherokee capital of Chota, the seven-sided building is supported by pine trees and contains a large wooden statue of Sequoyah. The Woodland Ceremonial Mound covers 1.8 acres and stands 27 ft. high and the Copena Mound is 20 ft. high. The site also includes a portion of the Black Warrior's Path/Mitchell Trace. The path was a removal route for 2,500 Creek Indians and ran from Ft. Mitchell in Russell Co. to Ft. Hampton in Limestone Co. An annual Indian Festival is held in the spring. Call for dates and times.
1219 Co. Rd. 187, Danville
(256) 905-2494; (256) 905-2499

11. Doublehead Historic Marker
The historic marker honors Cherokee Chief Doublehead who guarded the local area claimed as sacred hunting grounds by both the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations against encroachment by white settlers from the late 1700s to 1807. The train line between Decatur and Tuscumbia is two miles south of Doublehead Resort and is the only railroad that is recognized as a Trail of Tears Route.
Doublehead Resort
145 Co. Rd. 314, Town Creek
(800) 685-9267; (256) 685-9267

12. Tennessee Valley Art Center
The centerpiece of the art center's Native American exhibit is a petroglyph carved into a 3,000-pound sandstone boulder more than 1,000 years ago. The images of feet and snakes were perhaps a "family portrait" of early inhabitants of Colbert County. The elegant stone carving is displayed in an interpretive bluff shelter setting to honor the legacy of Southeastern Native Americans.
511 N. Water St., Tuscumbia
(256) 383-0533

13. Indian Mound and Museum
The Wawmanona Mound is the largest domiciliary mound in the Tennessee Valley. The museum houses a large collection of Native American artifacts that were found in the area.
1028 S. Court St., Florence
(256) 760-6427

14. Waterloo
Waterloo is the last destination on the Alabama Trail of Tears Corridor. It was the final point in Alabama along the "Water Route" on the infamous Trail of Tears. An historic marker honors the Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and suffered and died on the way to Oklahoma. Waterloo is also the last stop on the annual Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride, one of the largest organized motorcycle rides in the U.S. An all-weekend Pow Wow is held in Waterloo in conjunction with the motorcycle ride each year. See web site for additional information:
www.al-tn-trailoftears.org
Florence/Lauderdale Tourism
1-888-FLO-TOUR
Colbert County Tourism
1-800-344-0783

Note:
NRHP - National Register of Historic Places
NRHS - National Register of Historic Sites