It was not until December 29 , 1835 that Georgia had an official basis for claiming the unceded Cherokee lands that included the future location of Gordon County . In the Treaty of New Echota , a faction of the Cherokees agreed to give up all Cherokee claims to land in Georgia , Alabama , Tennessee , and North Carolina and move west in return for $ 5 million . Though a majority of Cherokees opposed the treaty and refused to leave , the U.S. and Georgia considered it binding . In 1838 , U.S. Army troops rounded up the last of 15,000 Cherokees in Georgia and forced them to march west in what came to be known as the " Trail of Tears " , making this area the starting point of the removal
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Gordon County, Georgia