Cherokee Trace
Leesburg, Camp County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This Indian trading route to Arkansas and Oklahoma was laid out by Cherokees. A tribesman with a keen sense of direction pulled buffalo hides behind his horse to press down the tall grass. Groups of Indians followed blazing the trail, removing logs and underbrush, and marking fords. Others located springs and good camping places. After the road was established the Cherokees planted roses and honeysuckle which still mark the old trace. After the Indians were driven out, settlers came into Texas by this route. The first residents in Camp County lived on the trail. (1979)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Cherokee Trace was an Indian trading route laid out by Cherokees leading north toward Arkansas and Oklahoma. According to tradition, a tribesman with an unerring sense of direction dragged buffalo hides behind his horse to flatten the tall grass, while others followed to clear logs and brush, mark river fords, and locate springs and campsites; the roses and honeysuckle the Cherokees planted are said to still trace its path. After Native peoples were forced out, Anglo settlers used the same road to enter Texas, and Camp County's first residents lived along it.
Why it matters
The trace shows how Native American routes became the highways of Anglo settlement, and it marks the presence of the Cherokees in East Texas before their removal.
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Themes & tags
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