During 1837 and 1838, a forced removal plan for Native people was carried out, removing Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribal people. Lieutenant Edward Deas escorted one of the last groups to be removed, the so called treaty party, along the route known as Bell’s Route, named for John Bell, a Cherokee who traveled with the group. During late October and early November 1838, the group passed through Lincoln County and Fayetteville on its way to Oklahoma, and Deas purchased various supplies from local farmers and merchants. Many of the people who began the long journey to Oklahoma perished along the trail, which came to be known as Bell’s Route of the Trail of Tears.