LAUDERDALE COUNTY – Since 1995, Trail of Tears motorcycle riders have been making the trek from The Smoky Mountains area near Chattanooga, down to the shores of the Tennessee River in Lauderdale County. There are two organizations, sometimes working at loggerheads against one another, who each organize a ride to commemorate the Great Indian Removal of 1830. One group lands at picturesque McFarland Park in Florence, the other sets its destination in Waterloo, some 25 miles farther down the road.
Waterloo is actually the more authentic location for the commemorative event, since it was the actual point along the Tennessee where the Native Americans disembarked steamboats, and began their long and brutal forced walk to Oklahoma.
The Quad-Cities Daily was on hand at both destinations Saturday, September 15, 2012, to record the day in photos.
These photos are suitable for printing on your photo printer or at a photo kiosk. So make yourself a copy to remember the day. These photos are free to reproduce for NON-COMMERCIAL USE only.
Photos from Waterloo.
