New Echota - A Virtual Tour
New Echota, GA
The historic site of New Echota, Georgia is just 1/2 mile east of Interstate 75 near Calhoun in Gordon county, Georgia. There is a small historic marker on the interstate to mark the exit (exit 317). This photograph shows the northern front of the property by the parking lot and the highway (Georgia 225).
The Cherokee National Council began gathering in Newtown, Georgia (where the Coosawattee and Conasauga rivers join) in the fall months of 1819. On November 12th, 1825 the settlement became the capital of the Cherokee nation, when a resolution was adopted to change the name to New Echota (named after Chota, Tennessee).
In an 1835 Treaty with the Cherokee, the federal government took all of the Cherokee land east of the Mississippi river and forced the Cherokee people to move westward. This sorrowful journey is known as the Trail of Tears.