The Brainerd Mission was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

to the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

in present-day

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. The associated Brainerd Mission Cemetery is the only part that remains, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

Brainerd Mission was established in 1817 by

Cyrus Kingsbury Cyrus Kingsbury (November 22, 1786 – June 27, 1870) was a Christian missionary active among the American Indians in the nineteenth century. He first worked with the Cherokee and founded Brainerd Mission near Chickamauga, Tennessee, later he serv ...

, working on behalf of the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

(ABCFM). The site was a tract on South Chickamauga Creek, near present-day

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. It was previously owned by John McDonald, a former Scots trader and grandfather of John Ross, the future principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Originally named Chickamauga Mission, it was renamed Brainerd Mission several months later, in honor of

David Brainerd David Brainerd (April 20, 1718October 9, 1747) was an American Presbyterian minister and missionary to the Native Americans among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. Missionaries such as William Carey and Jim Elliot, and Brainerd's cousin, th ...

, an early New England missionary to Indians. When the site was acquired, it contained only a dilapidated

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and a few other buildings. Within a short time, the missionaries, assisted by Cherokee living nearby, had added separate schoolhouses and dwellings for boys and girls, a cemetery, sawmill, blacksmith shop, wash house, meat house (smokehouse), corn house, and stables. They also built a missionary residence. By the end of the year, they had also cleared and fenced about to create a farm. The mission was intended to provide a basic education to Cherokee children, while also instilling Christian religious values. Specifically, this included learning to read and write the English language, and to read the bible in English. The missionaries also taught life skills: for the girls, spinning, knitting, and sewing. The boys were taught

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

, farming, and mechanical skills.Rozema, Vicki. "Rozema: The Brainerd Mission and Chattanooga history." ''Times Free Press''. March 9, 2014.
Accessed April 10, 2018. Before the end of 1818, the ABCFM withdrew Kingsbury and sent him to Mississippi as a missionary to the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation ( Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. Kingsbury continued serving the Choctaw for the rest of his active career. On May 27, and 28, 1819, President

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

visited Brainerd Mission with General

Edmund Pendleton Gaines Edmund Pendleton Gaines (March 20, 1777 – June 6, 1849) was a career United States Army officer who served for nearly fifty years, and attained the rank of major general by brevet. He was one of the Army's senior commanders during its format ...

. His was the first presidential visit to the Hamilton County area. He donated $1,000 to the work of the mission. The mission officially closed on October 2, 1838, because of

Cherokee removal Cherokee removal, part of the Trail of Tears, refers to the forced relocation between 1836 and 1839 of an estimated 16,000 members of the Cherokee Nation and 1,000–2,000 of their slaves; from their lands in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carol ...

to Indian Territory. In total, the Brainerd Mission served over 300 male and female Cherokee over its 21 years of operation. It was modestly successful in reaching its stated goals, providing many of its students with a basic level of English proficiency. It was less successful in its goal of religious conversion, as only a few Cherokee joined the church. All that remains of the mission is the cemetery. The former site of the mission has been redeveloped most recently as the Eastgate Shopping Center. The cemetery is one of the oldest in Hamilton County and consists of 60 graves, most of which are missionary workers. The

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

has been integral to preservation of the site. They continue to own and maintain the cemetery.

Notable missionaries

Several prominent missionaries served at Brainerd Mission at various times; people such as *

Samuel Worcester Samuel Austin Worcester (January 19, 1798 – April 20, 1859), was an American missionary to the Cherokee, translator of the Bible, printer, and defender of the Cherokee sovereignty. He collaborated with Elias Boudinot (Cherokee) in Georgia to ...

, * Ainsworth Blunt and *

Cephas Washburn Cephas Washburn (July 25, 1793 – March 17, 1860) was a Christian missionary and educator who worked with the Cherokee of northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. He later worked to establish churches in Arkansas. Early life and education Ceph ...

Notable students

A relatively small number of students who had graduated from Brainerd Mission became notable figures later in life. The number includes: *

Elias Boudinot Elias Boudinot ( ; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress (more accurately referred to as the Congress of the Confederation) and served as Presiden ...

, who became founder and editor of the ''Cherokee Phoenix'', the first Cherokee newspaper; Boudinot was also a signer of the 1835 New Echota treaty. *

John Ridge John Ridge, born ''Skah-tle-loh-skee'' (ᏍᎦᏞᎶᏍᎩ, Yellow Bird) ( – 22 June 1839), was from a prominent family of the Cherokee Nation, then located in present-day Georgia. He went to Cornwall, Connecticut, to study at the Foreign Mis ...

, son of

Major Ridge Major Ridge, The Ridge (and sometimes Pathkiller II) (c. 1771 – 22 June 1839) (also known as ''Nunnehidihi'', and later ''Ganundalegi'') was a Cherokee leader, a member of the tribal council, and a lawmaker. As a warrior, he fought in the ...

and cousin of Elias Boudinot. Both Ridges were major supporters of the 1835 New Echota treaty. * David Brown (1806-1829), Cherokee clergyman who translated the New Testament into Cherokee from English, using the Sequoyah syllabary.

Notes

References

External links

Brainerd Mission CemeteryHistory of Brainerd Mission Cemetery
text compiled from 2003 National Park Service Update of National Register of Historic Places by Bettie H. Purcell.
An Archaeological Survey of the Brainerd Mission Cemetery
{{Coord, 35, 0, 36.31, N, 85, 12, 46.96, W, , display=title Hamilton County, Tennessee 1817 establishments in Tennessee Christian missions in North America Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Protected areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee Trail of Tears National Register of Historic Places in Chattanooga, Tennessee 1838 disestablishments in the United States