The Snelson-­Brinker House in Crawford County, Missouri, is a certified site on the
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. In 2007, the property was listed in the National
Register of Historic Places under Criterion A and D for its association with the
Cherokee Trail of Tears (see Appendix A). The property includes the Snelson-­
Brinker House (originally built in 1834 and extensively remodeled and rebuilt in the
1980s), the Brinker-­Houston Cemetery (established in 1837), a smokehouse/root
cellar (built ca. 1880 and rebuilt ca. 1988), a ca. 1910 cast iron water pump, and a
ca. 1988 privy.1 Although the Snelson-­Brinker House and its associated
outbuildings are listed as noncontributing resources in the National Register
nomination, the Brinker-­Houston Cemetery and fields located east of the house
are listed as contributing features for their role as burial sites and campsites
respectively for the Trail of Tears. Seeing a need to better understand the history
and preservation needs of the Snelson-­Brinker property, NTIR approached the
Center for Historic Preservation (CHP) at Middle Tennessee State University to
complete a Historic Structure Report for the site.