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Since 1969 the Chieftains MuseumMajor Ridge Home through its passionate team of volunteers and staff members has worked diligently to save the Major Ridge Home and interpret the complex story it represents. Major Ridge the first known owner of this house was a Cherokee leader who played a pivotal role in Native American and United States history of the 19th century. Chieftains now seeks to become a leading visitor destination through a rehabilitation of the Major Ridge home and farm that will immerse visitors in early 19th century Cherokee culture and the momentous events that led to the Trail of Tears the 1830s expulsion of Cherokees from their ancestral homelands in the Southeast. Preserving the Past Protecting the Future Transformed into a museum in 1971 Chieftains Museum is owned by the Junior Service League of Rome Inc.