Although it took 50 years of hard work and perseverance, the dream of adding Moccasin Bend on the Tennessee River to the National Park System is finally coming true.  

 The reality of protecting and preserving the history of Moccasin Bend has been a long and arduous process, but I think everyone involved would agree that it has been a labor of love.  In fact, the first effort to make Moccasin Bend a part of the National Park Service (NPS) was in 1950.  On August 3, 1950 the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed Public Law 650 that would make this land part of the NPS.  The bill then went on to be signed by President Harry Truman. However, then-Governor Frank Clement withdrew state support and did not implement the law.

 Over the last eight years, we have been working together at the local, state and federal levels to revive this 50-year old dream because this precious historical resource is too valuable to leave unprotected.  One of the most important accomplishments during my service in the United States House of Representatives is establishing the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District as a 780 acre addition to the National Park System.      

Recently, President George W.  Bush signed the bill that I wrote (as amended by Senators Bill Frist and Fred Thompson) including Moccasin Bend in the NPS. Now the transition begins and we are counting on the state and local government to work together on this important national investment which will greatly benefit our region. 

Archeologists that have studied Moccasin Bend have found that humans occupied the land dating as far back as 10,000 B.C. but what makes Moccasin Bend so unique is that most of the land is still well preserved.  For example, there is extraordinary significance in the discovery of a settlement named Tuskigi that indicates contact between Spanish explorers and the Native Americans in the 16th Century.  Moccasin Bend is one of the few sites in the country where Spanish explorers inhabited inland areas.

The Trail of Tears, another significant event that took place on Moccasin Bend, is one of our country's saddest stories. In the 1830's, thousands of Cherokee Indians were forcibly removed from their land in the southeast and marched across "the Bend" on their way to present-day Oklahoma. Thousands of Native Americans did not survive the trip.  Years later during the Civil War, Moccasin Bend served as an important Union stronghold.  Throughout the years, many pivotal chapters of our county's history have taken place on the soil at Moccasin Bend.

The land of Moccasin Bend is rich with stories of our nation's past and Chattanoogans have long had the vision to preserve all of these stories for their children and grandchildren.

In the days ahead, we must leverage this federal action into citizen involvement, private sector investment and cooperation among the Native Americans, the conservation groups, local government and the professional experts with the NPS.  The task of preserving our history is challenging, but no more so than all of the obstacles we have already overcome to get to this exciting point.  We have accomplished so much by working together, but the cooperation must continue if we are to preserve the history of the earliest Chattanooga residents. 

I am excited about the future of Moccasin Bend and its new "owner" - the people of the United States of America.