We're bringing back the Chieftains Road Race - Virtual Style!

Since the 1979, the Chieftains Road Race has been a major fundraiser and community event for both the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home and Rome, GA. After over 20 years, the Road Race became a thing of the past - until now. We're bringing this 5k into the 21st century with a virtual event!

Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home asks that you partner with us in celebrating Native American Heritage Month by signing up and participating in this event. All throughout the month of November participants will have the opportunity to register for the Road Race and then complete the 5k at their own pace. Pick any day during November, grab your friends and family, and walk, jog, or sprint all while supporting a National Historic Landmark in our community!

Regardless of if you are able to complete the virtual race, your registration and generous donations ensure the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home is able to execute public programming and preservation efforts that draw attention to the Cherokee history of our area.

Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home is a National Historic Landmark and one of only a few private entities to be certified by the National Park Service as a site on the Trail of Tears. There are forty-five such sites in Georgia and only seven north of Atlanta. Major Ridge, whose old home Chieftains now occupies, was one of the signers of the Treaty of New Echota, which resulted in the forced relocation of the Cherokee people.

Transformed into a museum in 1971, Chieftains Museum is owned by the Junior Service League of Rome, Inc. and operated by Friends of Chieftains, Inc. which is committed to telling the story of the house while preserving the site for future generations.

Today, the museum presents interpretive exhibits (permanent and temporary), educational programs, and special events that pertain to the Ridge family and Cherokee history and culture. In recent years, the Floyd County Master Gardeners have worked hard to create The Major Ridge Demonstration Garden. The garden features trees, shrubs, and raised beds to demonstrate the types of plants native to our area, those used by Native Americans, and those that were grown on the Ridge farm to provide visitors to the campus with a “living” classroom. Our campus also includes a replica ferry (similar to the one Major Ridge would have operated on the Oostanaula River), an archaeological dig site, and a small orchard.

Chieftains Road Race

Team Members