Preliminary Trail of Tears interpretive center plans were detailed at a meeting in Sheffield.
SHEFFIELD – It’s been a long time coming. Fallow now, this point of cliffside land almost 200-years ago was the embarkation point to another world. Tuscumbia Landing is the only transit waterfront-site left of the infamous “Trail of Tears” historical route that is still above water. It the only remaining site where it is possible to construct an interpretive center for the Trail of Tears route.
This week, the newly-formed Sheffield Port Authority held a meeting for interested parties to view a plan developed by the National Park Service. The plan, which was put in motion about 2 years ago, gives a framework for constructing an interpretative center at the site. Tuscumbia Landing is located at Sheffield’s City Park-West near Village One. The park, built over 20 years ago by the City has never been successful. The buildings and restrooms are vandalized and are in a deplorable state because of lack of sufficient funding to keep the site open and protected.
Now, things may be changing.
Bob Perry, Chairman of Sheffield’s Port Authority
Port Authority Chairman, Bob Perry, told The Quad-Cities Daily that the plan is designed to be presented to several Indian tribes who are stake-holders in this historical site. This week’s meeting was the presentation to the tribes. Completely high-tech, the presentation was sent from Oklahoma via video link to Sheffield and other locations. It was called a ‘scoping meeting’ for consultation.
After the presentation at Sheffield’s Park Place, a number of attendees visited the site along the river.
Next on the agenda, is for the plan to be thoroughly digested by all the invested parties including the tribes. Perry, a Chickasaw, said that the project is becoming a fertile field for the plan to become reality.
