New Echota State Historic Site — Attraction in Georgia

I am a travel writer for National Park Planner and I visited the New Echoto Cherokee Capital State Historic Site, an official site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, in December, 2013. The park is part of the Georgia State Park System. Of all the Trail of Tears sites I have visited, New Echota does the best at explaining the origins and progression of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and its effect on the Cherokee. The politics of the entire situation happened at New Echota, for at the time, this was the capital of the Cherokee Nation. The story is interesting, and between the park film and the museum, all of the pieces of the puzzle come together. A visit to New Echota tells the story of how the Cherokee went from being accepted trading partners, many with lifestyles nearly identical to the white settlers, to being booted out of their own land by force. Let it be known that the Indian Removal Act entailed the removal of Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and other Indians, but the story of New Echota and the Trail of Tears is the story of the Cherokee.

Start your visit to New Echota at the park’s Visitor Center where a park Ranger can orient you to the park features and answer any questions you might have. You can also watch a 20-minute film in the theater. This film does an excellent job of setting the stage and explaining the politics surrounding the eventual Trail of Tears.

Afterward, you can visit the small museum. It divides the Cherokee’s story into stages—how the Cherokee had adapted to the white ways, how Georgia took over and started the land lottery that gave lucky winners Cherokee land, how the Cherokee were forced from their land, and a display on the Trail of Tears. There are a few artifacts on display, but majority of the museum is comprised of information panels that tell the Cherokee story. You can go through the museum and read all of the information in 30 minutes.

Once done at the Visitor Center, step outside and tour the recreated New Echota Village. Your tour will be self-guided, but the park provides an information brochure that explains the functions of the many buildings you will see as you walk around the village. Only the Samuel Worcester house is original to the property, but many original structures of the time have been transported from other areas to the grounds of New Echota. A few have been reconstructed from historical records. Most of the buildings are open to the public, and those that are not do have windows or doors that you can look into and see the interior displays. None of the interiors are original to the site or the buildings, but all are antiques from the early 1800s and represent how the interiors of their respective buildings would have looked at the time. A 1-mile trail takes visitors through the property and tour takes about 1 hour.

For complete information and plenty of photos about this and other Trail of Tears sites, please visit National Park...

This is one of my favorite historical sites. It is sad to see this Native American township that was taken away by Andrew Jackson’s government due to greed. I took my granddaughter, as she wanted to learn more about Native Americans, and the Cherokee. The Cherokee were not "Savages," and had well-established communities. Such as New Echota. New Echota was built similarly to the white man's towns. It was laid out with streets, and had a courthouse, school, tavern, and many other buildings. The government has a Senate, and Congress. I would recommend watching the Interpretive Video before touring the grounds. I found it to be quite moving. You can tour the grounds on your own, but there are certain locked buildings you can only see through the guided tours. Watch the park's calendar for special events & cooking demonstrations. While there is adequate handicap parking, many of the buildings are not wheelchair accessible. Also, many of the buildings have multiple levels, and the steps leading up can be quite tricky. Play close attention to the hours, and visit their website before you go.

Tuesday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sundays 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Historic buildings and grounds closed 4:45 p.m. December – March, closed on Sundays

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day.

Important Facts; The CHEROKEE PHOENIX, the Cherokee's Newspaper, partially written in Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabry, as well as English was Published here in New Echota. Guided tours will show you the process. Here is where the treaty was signed that would initiate the "Trail of Tears." Please drop me message if this...

My family and I have decided to try and visit all of the GA State Parks and Historic Sites this year. Our third trip landed us in New Echota State Historic Site - Prior established Capital of the Cherokee Nation and where the Cherokee removal on the Trail of Tears officially began.

This site was beautiful, somber, and time well spent. Our guided tour was led by David Gomez, whose passion to keep the history and legacy of the Cherokee people alive was more than evident. He was so patient with my kids (and all of their questions!), and was so knowledgeable and engaging. I loved that the museum and tour didn’t paint over the truth of our government’s action. My family and I learned so much about the Cherokee people, their lifestyle and innovations, and the events that led to the Trail of Tears. Truly eye-opening.

Now more than ever, it’s important to acknowledge our country’s history, and learn from it. New Echota State Park is helping to keep the history and legacy of the Cherokee people alive. If you’re thinking about visiting - do it! You won’t regret it. Just make sure you take advantage of one of the guided tours - you’ll be able to get into buildings you wouldn’t otherwise have access too, as well as learn so much along the way. Big thanks to park rangers David and Realynn for being so personable, knowledgeable,...