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The Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home, originally built in the late 1790s, was the home of Cherokee leader Major Ridge and his family from 1819 until their departure for the Western Territories in 1837. It tells the story of the Cherokee in northwest Georgia before the removal and decisions that were made in the house that ultimately led to the "Trail of Tears."

Exhibits

Permanent exhibits tell the stories of the Mississipian/Coosa, precursors of the Cherokee, ways and customs of the Cherokee pre- and immediately post-contact with the Europeans, the story of the prosperous Ridge family, the signing of the Treaty of New Echota, and the removal of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands. Temporary exhibits, four per year, cover various related topics such as Cherokee artistry and the value of the local river system to the Cherokee way of life.

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