BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Plans for a proposed limestone quarry in northwest Arkansas have been tabled indefinitely because of concerns over the project’s proximity to the Trail of Tears.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Benton County’s Planning Board voted 6-1 to table the project indefinitely at a meeting last month. The quarry is proposed for an area that is 900 feet (275 meters) from a section of the trail , which commemorates the forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation from the southeastern United States in the 19th century.
More than 4,000 Cherokee died during the more than 1,000-mile walk to what is now Oklahoma.
The newspaper reports that the Trail of Tears Association and the Cherokee Nation recommended that a cultural resources study be done on the quarry site.
