Meeting of the McMinn County Historical Society

Guest speaker for the February 4, 2018 meeting of the McMinn County Historical Society will be Debbie Moore. The topic is the property appraisals of the property of the Cherokees in 1836. The 1836 property evaluations were an attempt of the U.S. Government to appraise more than 500 homesteads of the Cherokees who were destined to be moved to the Indian Territory. The items given a value were only the things that could not possibly be moved to the Indian Territory. Homes, stables, stores, ferries, fencing, bridges, gardens, and even fruit trees were valued. Items that could be moved such as slaves, livestock, wagons, furniture, and personal items were given no value. The Ocoee District was formed from the Cherokee lands and consisted of present day Bradley, Polk, and portions of Hamilton, Meigs, Marion and Monroe Counties in Tennessee.

Debbie Stephenson Moore is a native of Bradley County, Tennessee. She earned a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has worked in the Bradley County School system for over 38 years, has completed extensive local history research, and has written several books. In 2014, her book Confederate Voices won a national award from the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In October 2017 she released her latest book: The 1836 Cherokee Nation Property Evaluations. She and her late husband, Ron Moore have produced five award winning local history documentaries She is presently serving as President of the Tennessee Trail of Tears Association.