The Brainerd Mission was a Christian mission to the Cherokee in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The associated Brainerd Mission Cemetery is the only part that still remains, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.HistoryBrainerd Mission was established in 1817 by Cyrus Kingsbury, working on behalf of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Originally named Chickamauga Mission, it was renamed Brainerd Mission several months later, in honor of David Brainerd, an early New England Indian missionary. Its aims were to provide a basic education to Cherokee children, while also instilling Christian religious values. Several prominent missionaries served at Brainerd Mission at various times; people such as Samuel Worcester, Ainsworth Blunt and Cephas Washburn. On May 27, and 28th, 1819, former president James Monroe visited Brainerd Mission with General Edmund Pendleton Gaines. This was the first presidential visit to the Hamilton County area. He donated $1000 to the work of the Mission. The mission ended with the Cherokee removal in 1838. In total, the Brainerd Mission served over 300 male and female Cherokee over its 21 years of operation. It was modestly successful in reaching its stated goals, providing many of its students with a basic level of English proficiency. It was less successful in its goal of religious conversion, with only a few Cherokee joining the church.
