Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

New Echota home, coverlet and hooked rug

  • wcu_craft_revival-4970.jpg
  • This 1978 photograph was taken by an unknown photographer inside an historic home at New Echota. A woven coverlet typical of the Craft Revival is on the bed; a hooked rug on the floor. New Echota was an attempt by the Cherokee to establish a U.S.-style government center to avoid continued pressure to succeed tribal lands to white encroachment. The town was established in 1825 in north Georgia at the headwaters of the Oostanaula River. During its short history, New Echota was the site of the first Indian language newspaper office and a point of assembly for removal of the Cherokee to lands to the West on the infamous "Trail of Tears." Twelve original and reconstructed buildings remain on the site, operated by Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites.