Chieftains

Chieftains is a Georgia historical marker in Floyd County, dedicated 2000.

On Riverside Parkway, north of GA 20 in Rome.

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At this house's core is the 1790s log home of Major Ridge (c.1771-1839), a leader in the Cherokee Nation. His 223-acre plantation supported numerous outbuildings, orchards and slaves while the family served as ferryboat operators and merchants. It was here the council negotiated the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, which promised the Cherokees land compensation for voluntarily moving to Oklahoma. Their forced removal became known as the "Trail of Tears." Ridge knew death was imminent for selling tribal lands but believed the treaty to be the only means to save his people. He, his son, and nephew were murdered in 1839.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1778 · The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1824 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1886 · Rome, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina, 1778, covering the location of Chieftains, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — The Western Parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina, 1778, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

Chieftains

Historical maps covering this location

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