Chestnuts, black walnuts, and acorns of the lush valley forest, together with abundant game, supplemented the Indian diet. The first white settlers must have eyed the Great Valley as a land of Eden when they arrived. As settlement of the territory continued, the Coosa River system opened up a large market for the goods grown here. Located on the banks of the Oostanaula River, this was the nineteenth-century home of Major Ridge, a prominent Cherokee Indian who, along with his family, operated a ferry boat, owned a store, and lived as slaveowner planters. The museum in the white clapboard plantation house contains exhibits describing Ridge's life and the history of Rome and northwest Georgia.
Visitors can walk on a paved trail along the river.
There is also an archeological dig at the site. Marshall Forest, an old growth forest with remnants of virgin forest, was designated Georgia's first National Natural Landmark in 1966. The 104-acre forest was donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1976 by the Marshall family, who had owned and protected it for nearly a century. About 300 plant species, including 46 tree species, grow here. The trees are a mixture of northern and southern species.