Cleveland is the county seat of Bradley County, Tennessee. As of 2020, the population was 45,902. Just like in other areas of the South, Native Americans such as the Cherokees were forced to cede their tribal homelands and move west in what was termed "The Trail Of Tears", in which many died. Cleveland was an exhibition in all this in that not only was it the site of the diminishing Cherokee's council at a place called Charleston and then Red Clay nearby, but it also was where federal troops imprisoned tribal members in stockades for forced removal by the time the crafty Treaty of New Echota passed in 1835. These things are represented at the Museum Center At Five Points and Red Clay State Park.

Get in

By car

I-75 passes to the west of the city, going from North to South and has three exits, Exits 20, 25, and 27. Of these, two have plenty of hotel accommodations. From North Carolina, you can come in through U.S Route 64.

By plane

• 1 Cleveland Regional Jetport ((FAA LID: RZR)), 251 Dry Valley Rd NE. Functions only as a general aviation airport. Nearest airports for commercial flights are in Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta. (updated Apr 2019)

See

• 1 Museum Center at Five Points. (updated Apr 2019)
• 2 Red Clay State Park Museum, 1140 Red Clay Park Road S.W., ☏ +1 423-478-0339. Summer: Tu-Sa 9AM-5:30PM, Su M 1-5:30PM; winter: daily 8AM-4:30PM. Exhibits on the Trail of Tears and Cherokee history. (updated Oct 2021)
• 3 Cherokee Removal Memorial, 6615 Blythe Ferry Ln, Birchwood (in Cherokee Memorial Park). Sticking with this general theme, this is a site where Cherokees were imprisoned and moved across the Tennessee River at Blythe's Ferry. Also here is the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, where you might see a sandhill crane.  
• 4 St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Craigmile's Mausoleum), 320 Broad Street NW, ☏ +1 423 476-5541. This church is unique in that behind it is Craigmile's Mausoleum where a 7 year old girl who was killed in a horse buggy accident in 1871 is interred and where red stains mysteriously appear on the mausoleum concrete edifice at times. (updated Dec 2021)
• 5 Craigmiles Hall, 170 Ocoee St. Just a nice looking former opera house in the Second Empire architectural style that was built in 1877. (updated Dec 2021)

Blythe-ferry-site-tn1

Craigmiles Mausoleum's red stain

Buy

• 1 Bradley Square Mall. (updated Apr 2019)

Sleep

• Douglas Inn & Suites, 2600 Westside Dr NW, ☏ +1 423-559-5579. Homey. 

Go next

Routes through Cleveland

Knoxville ← Lenoir City ←	N  S	→ Chattanooga → Atlanta
Knoxville ← Lenoir City ←	N  S	→ Chattanooga → Birmingham
Memphis ← Chattanooga ←	W  E	→ Ocoee → Hendersonville
END ← Chattanooga ←	W  E	→ Ocoee → Asheville