wichahpi commemorative stone wall

The wall is a memorial built by Tom Hendrix to commemorate his great-grandmother's amazing journey. She was one of the many native Americans forced to walk to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears removal. She was a teenager at the time. She managed to get away and walk home to Alabama, hiding from authorities the whole way. Mr. Hendrix gathered stones and stacked them for years to form this incredible wall. The idea was to gather a stone for each step his great-grandmother made on her long journey. It's hard to describe the wall. You just have to experience it first-hand. If you're lucky, you may find Mr. Hendrix there and get to hear some of the stories that have been passed down to him from his great-grandmother.

Tom is part Euchi Indian and built the wall to commemorate his great grandmother Te lay nay being forcibly marched to Muskogee, Indian Territory in 1837. She was a medicine woman and doctored the sick with the plants and herbs of the forest...none of which grew there. The little woman walked home by 1843. Her herbal knowledge has been passed down which is why Tom lives in the forest far from town. After early retirement, he has manually built a mile of unmortared stone fence that represents Telaynay's walk and return. Men see this place as a lot of work over 35 years, but women see this as a spiritual place and Tom's act of love for his great grandmother. Buddist monks have requested coming to the United States to see three Native American sites and this wall is one place on their schedule Spring 2015. No phone number on the site because Tom is working or touring. This site is off Alabama's Beaten Path. Florence Tourism will give directions, but Tom believes that who so ever finds this place on their own, it was their destiny and they should be here. What makes this Special is that Tom, now 86 years old, is a wonderful storyteller and often quotes pages from an old diary. See article NY Times: http://nyti.ms/1nl0t.Js (Jennifer Crossley Howard July 22, 2014)