Teachers receive history lesson on local trails

By: Susannah Patton

Some of the roads in Northwest Arkansas were traveled by members of the Cherokee Indian tribe during the forced American Indian displacement from 1837 to 1839.

Parts of the same route would later become the longest stagecoach run operated by John Butterfield. A few years later, both the Confederate and Union armies would use the roads and trails to travel during the Civil War.

The history of the Trail of Tears, the Butterfield Stagecoach route and the routes of Civil War troops was relayed to several Northwest Arkansas teachers Thursday during "Heritage Trail: One Route, Three Histories of Arkansas."

The Professional Development Academy in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas partnered with the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks to educate teachers on the history of the Heritage Trail.

Judith Tavano, director of the academy, said teachers learn about the history of the area and take it back to their classrooms while also receiving professional development credit from the Arkansas Department of Education.

The workshop discussion centered around the Northwest Arkansas Heritage Trail, a network of bicycle and pedestrian trails that link the historical routes.

John McLarty, vice president of the Arkansas chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, presented information about the Trail of Tears. Based on some of the journals of people who were there, McLarty said, many detachment groups traveled right through Fayetteville.
The organization Heritage Trail Partners is still working to track their travels, he said, using the journals and looking back through land records.

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