Rattlesnake Springs is a historic site in Bradley County , Tennessee listed on the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP ) in 1975 . Rattlesnake Springs is located northeast of Cleveland and southeast of Charleston on a privately owned dairy farm in rural Bradley County . The site was a significant location for the eastern Cherokee Nation and during the Cherokee Removal . The final Council of the eastern Cherokees was held at Rattlesnake Springs , and in 1838 federal troops held and assembled 13,000 Cherokees on the site to begin the migration to Oklahoma known as the Trail of Tears . Federal troops along with militias from Tennessee and Georgia established two military camps near the site , Camp Foster and Camp Worth , which were used to oversee the Cherokees prior to removal . These camps were two of several camps used for this purpose in the area , including Fort Cass in Charleston . More than 200 Cherokees reportedly died at the springs prior to removal due to unsanitary conditions
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Rattlesnake Springs