An Emblem of Our Suffering, Endurance, and Survival

The Mantle Rock Native Education and Culture Center takes its name from a natural rock formation in western Kentucky by the Ohio River where three thousand Cherokees sought shelter while the river was frozen and impassable in the winter of 1838-1839.

Many of our Elders perished due to exposure, disease and dysentery during the Removal. Hundreds died, and even more would have been lost but for the shelter of Mantle Rock.

Thousands of Cherokees come here each year in prayer for the ancestors, both individually and as part of the pilgrimage remembering the "Trail of Tears."

Mantle Rock, listed as a Native American Historical landmark, is an enduring emblem of our resistance, survival, spirituality and regathering.

photos by Ron Tagliapietra, used by permission of the
Natural Arch and Bridge Society



Historic Tours, Summer 2004

A Reminder of Our Destiny to Return

According to local folklore, Mandy Flanary maintained a nightly vigil beside a fire, meditating during rain, sleet, or snow. Sometimes her vigil would last until early morning. No one knows why Mandy, a Cherokee woman, sat those long hours. It could have been to mourn the 260 Cherokees who perished at nearby Mantle Rock during the harsh winter of 1838.

Mandy's mother reportedly escaped the soldiers at the beginning of the Trail of Tears, married a man named Harper, and migrated to Louisville, Kentucky. Mandy left Lousiville at around age fifteen and married Harve Flanary. They settled close to Mantle Rock, where they raised a family. Their descendants still live in the area.