Indigenous History

The Chattanooga Audubon Society is rich in history. From the indigenous site known as Little Owl Village and the Cherokee-built Spring Frog Cabin to the early European settlers and noted author and naturalist Robert Sparks Walker, we aim to preserve Chattanooga's cultural and historical resources through interpretive exhibits and events. Click below to learn more.

Indigenous History At Audubon Acres

As the site of Spring Frog Cabin, Audubon Acres is a registered site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.  The original cabin was likely built by Cherokees during the mid 1700's and is representative of a typical Cherokee homestead during the early 1800's.  

Today, Spring Frog Cabin is open during major events at Audubon Acres. Group tours of the cabin are available; please call ahead so that we can have enough volunteers on hand to accommodate you.

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​Also at Audubon Acres is the site of Little Owl Village, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Though the site has long borne the name of the brother of Chief Dragging Canoe, whether this site was one of the Chickamauga Towns founded by the Chickamauga Cherokee in 1776/1777 is uncertain.  

Much stronger evidence exists that this corner of present day Audubon Acres was the site of a Napochie village in the 1560's that was encountered by the Tristan DeLuna expedition during their travels north from Florida.

Visitors today may hike to Little Owl Village, which is maintained as a meadow habitat with a 1/4 mile loop that encircles the archaeological site.  No structures or remains are visible, but interpretive signage is present with a brief history of the site.  Little Owl Village is a roughly 1 mile hike from the Audubon Acres visitor center.

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Both Spring Frog Cabin and the site of Little Owl Village are protected at Audubon Acres as remarkable features in the rich history of this site.  

NPS Trail Of Tears Map Site

Trail of Tears - Wikipedia

Tennessee Trail of Tears Association

National Trail of Tears Association

Robert Sparks Walker
Author, Naturalist, and Teacher

Robert Sparks Walker was a Tennessean whose love of his native land inspired him to spend a lifetime in research and writing about its history and natural wonders.  For eighty-two years he lived in the Chattanooga area, finding there an endless wellspring of material on which he based his long and respected career.

Although he had obtained a law degree from Grant University, now the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he chose to become the editor and publisher of the Southern Fruit Grower paper in 1902.  He maintained this position for over twenty years, simultaneously writing freelance for many other publications.

After his first book of poetry and short stories was published in 1927, he turned his attention to Tennessee history.  His devotion to detail and accuracy in recording the development of the Brainerd Mission near Chattanooga has made Torchlights [to the Cherokee] as much in demand today as when it was first published in 1931.

During the peak of his success in the 1940's and 1950's, both as a writer and noted Southern naturalist and personality, Walker wrote weekly newspaper columns and hosted local radio and television shows.  He was highly acclaimed as an authority on botany and ornithology, as well as local history, all of his knowledge having been gained through independent study.  In 1954, he was selected for the Kiwanis' "Man of the Year" award, in recognition of his service to the community and long-standing work with youth and scouting.

In his later years, he succeeded in helping to found a local chapter of the Audubon Society, and in 1948, the old Walker farm became a Wildlife Sanctuary.  Now known as Audubon Acres, it is open to the public, offering nature trails and a [restoration] of the original cabin.

Robert Sparks Walker died in 1960, and is buried where he wished to be, at the place of his origins in the land he loved better than any on earth, his beloved Tennessee boyhood home on the Chickamauga.

- Andra Walker Moskowitz (granddaughter)

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