Over the last several weeks, the site of the Cherokee exhibits at the Nelson Heritage Park has been graded and hydro-seeded, and money had become available to finance construction of Cherokee summer and winter houses. Work on them will start soon.
Construction is possible because the Nelson Heritage Park has received several grants through the work of the Clay County Communities Revitalization Association (CCCRA) and the Clay County Historical and Arts Council (CCHAC).
The most recent grant, received in the last several days, is for $9,500 from the Creating New Economies Fund (CNEF). This grant will fund the construction of the Cherokee summer house. The park had previously received a $12,500 grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area for the construction of a Cherokee winter house. A grant from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center under the NC Small Towns Economic Prosperity Demonstration Program (STEP) is funding the creation of a mural on the retaining wall at the edge of the park.
Dr. Jane Eastman, associate professor of anthropology and sociology and director of Cherokee studies at Western Carolina University, hopes to make available some of her students to help with the construction of the Cherokee exhibits.
