THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Unicoi Turnpike as a "Trail Through Time" (part 2)
Last week’s
column
presented the Georgia Historical Marker wording on the Unicoi Turnpike
and gave
a brief account of some of the importance of this road to the history
of the
area. It looked forward to November 12,
2011 when the Unicoi Turnpike Day will
be held by the Towns County Historical Society, with an opportunity to
hike
along a portion of the old trail from the Unicoi Gap parking lot north
of Helen
and South of Hiawassee.
This
important “Trail Through Time” has figured prominently in the history
of the
mountainous regions of North Georgia, western North Carolina, and
eastern
Tennessee. Let’s pursue some more
highlights of this significant history.
In
1999, the section of the Unicoi Turnpike that stretches between Vonore,
Tennessee and Murphy, North Carolina was designated as one of sixteen
National
Millennium Flagship Trails by the United States government. Reading the speech made by Mr. Brett Riggs,
archaeologist, for the September 9, 2000 dedication service at the
Sequoyah
Museum Pow Wow, I found a rich store of information about the Unicoi
Turnpike
and its significance to history. I
merely highlight here some of the dates and events of this Trail
through Time.
Mr.
Riggs told that the first Europeans to travel the Indian trail from
Charleston,
South Carolina to the Cherokee Overhill towns of Tellico, Chota and
Tenasi in
Tennessee—going through mountainous regions of what later became
portions of
four states, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee—were
English
traders with the names of Alexander Long, Cornelius Dogherty, Robert
Bunning,
and James Douglas. This history dates to
1690 when these men used pack animals to traverse the “Great Warpath”
Trail and
trade with the Indians.
Ten
years later, by 1700, French traders had joined to ply their trade,
coming from
the New Orleans area, getting on this northern mountainous route, and
finding
the profitable business in furs and other items of trade from the
Overhill
Indians.
By
1730, Alexander Cumming, an English Trader was dealing with the Indians. In a well-researched book by William Steele,
he tells of Cumming having designated the Cherokee Chieftain, Moytoy of
the
Tellico, TN area as “Emperor of the Cherokee.”
Cumming took seven warriors back to England with him , among
whom was
the famous warrior Attaculla, or “Little Carpenter.”
This “Empire” designated by the trader
Cumming lasted until another trader in 1736, named Christian Gottlieb
Priber,
still designating Chief Moytoy as leader, made himself
Secretary-of-State. Priber’s empire,
however, was only five years
in duration. He was arrested as a
“French spy” and died in prison on the coast of Georgia at Ft.
Frederica.
The
French and Indian War (1755-1781) was the next large historic event
that
affected action on the Unicoi Trail. The
British built Fort Loudon during this period.
An amazing transport of twelve cannon were hauled over the
Unicoi Trail,
with the loss of only one of the horses that pulled the 300-pound
cannon. After the British surrendered Ft.
Loudon, the
cannon were taken back over the trail to South Carolina.
The
next major highlight in Unicoi Trail history was the American
Revolution. We will recall from history
that the Cherokee
sided with the British against the American settlers.
Along the Trail, John Sevier invaded Overhill
Cherokee villages, coming as far east as Murphy and Andrews in North
Carolina. Sevier’s army was surrounded
at one time by about 500 Cherokee warriors at Tellico, but amazingly
the U. S.
troops escaped massacre. A fuller story
of this encounter is given in J. G. M. Ramsey’s book, Annals
of Tennessee.
Benjamin
Hawkins, a US Indian Agent to the Cherokee and Creek tribes, made a
journey in
1799 the whole length of the Unicoi Turnpike.
His writings and journal have been preserved in what is entitled
Letters of Benjamin Hawkins.
This valuable account is in collections of
the Georgia Historical Society (Volume IX, pages 110-113).
His naming important landmarks along the
trail and giving the time it took him to walk from point to point which
he
indicated has proved valuable in understanding the geography and
lay-of-land of
this ancient route.
We
learned from last week’s account that a group of Whites and Cherokees
joined to
form the Unicoi (or Unaka) Turnpike Road (1813 and following). Improvements on the old trail enabled better
travel conditions. The turnpike became a
boon to agricultural production and marketing, trading, and even
transport of
settlers as they moved into mountainous regions to claim land and begin
a new
and brave way of life.
Then
came the Gold Rush. Gold was discovered
on Coker Creek in Tennessee in 1827 and at Duke’s Creek in upper
Georgia in
1828. When the Cherokee were forced to
give up all claims to their traditional homeland by the Treaty of New
Echota in
1836, the plans for evacuation of the Indians began in earnest. We all know too well the Trail of Tears and
the loss of many Indians along this route of exposure, illness and
death. Unfortunately, many of the Cherokee
were forcefully
moved over portions of the Unicoi Trail from temporary stockades where
they had
been gathered. We have stories of how
they mournfully waved farewell to their mountain homes.
The
Civil War, too, 1862-1865, provided all-too-bloody tales along this
“Trail in
Time.” The hollows and mountainous
hiding areas provided cover for guerilla bands and outlaws who
marauded, stole
and killed. Following the war, the Trail
was still the scene of intrigue and high adventure.
Many stories abound of how history has
occurred along the trail.
Now
an effort is under way to continue marking more portions of the trail
as a
“National Millennium Flagship Trail” along the whole mileage from the
Tugalo
River in Georgia to Bristol, Tn. This “Great Warpath Trail” has many
miles and
many stories still
to be told.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
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