In 1838 U.S. soldiers and local militia rounded up over 1,100 men, women, and children in the Little River area during the forced removal of the Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) Indians. Soldiers held some of them at Fort Likens and Fort Lovell east of Lookout Mountain before moving them to Fort Payne. They crossed Little River near the present-day bridge. Cherokee John Benge led the Fort Payne group of American Indians over 798 miles to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The federal government forced tens of thousands of American Indians to leave their homes in four states, and one fourth of them died in harsh conditions along the Trail of Tears.

Photo: Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin