10/20/2026
TRAIL OF TEARS SPEAKER. The Guntersville Historical Society’s next meeting will be October 22 at the Guntersville Museum at 6:00 pm. The public is invited. The meeting will feature an author whose book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Jerry Ellis of Fort Payne will speak primarily on his acclaimed book "Walking The Trail, One Man's Journey Along the Cherokee Trail of Tears.”
Ellis is the first person to walk the 900-mile route of the Cherokee Trail of Tears that occurred in 1838-39. He walked the trail in reverse, beginning in Oklahoma and ending in his hometown of Fort Payne.
His book was endorsed by Dee Brown, author of "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," who was included in three anthologies, and was quoted in "Reader's Digest." In 2011 it went on display in the National Teachers Hall of Fame. He has lectured via storytelling, in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the U.S.A.
The author of ten books, he has been published in the New York Times, and has had five plays produced on his works. He resides in Fort Payne and has a residence in Rome, Italy, and speaks Spanish and Italian. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and is the co-founder of Tanager House, an artist retreat set on 60 acres in DeKalb County where he annually holds an all- day writing/publishing seminar.
Copies of his book "Walking the Trail" will be available for purchase.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Mr. Ellis speak to our group," said Dr. Pete Sparks,
president of the historical society.
