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Unicoi Trail: Difference between revisions
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''[[United States Genealogy|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow. | ''[[United States Genealogy|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[United States Migration Internal|Migration ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Roads ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Unicoi_Trail|Unicoi Trail]]''[[Image:Catawba and Unicoi Trails.png|right|650px]] <br<br> | ||
The '''Unicoi Trail''' (in red on the map) was a pre-colonial Indian trading path connecting the western parts of North and South Carolina with eastern Tennessee. At first it was open to trade only—no settlers. But after about 1795 settlers began using it. It was open to wagons about 1813, and became a toll road (turnpike) about 1819. {{Adoption TNGenWeb}} | The '''Unicoi Trail''' (in red on the map) was a pre-colonial Indian trading path connecting the western parts of North and South Carolina with eastern Tennessee. At first it was open to trade only—no settlers. But after about 1795 settlers began using it. It was open to wagons about 1813, and became a toll road (turnpike) about 1819. {{Adoption TNGenWeb}} | ||
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=== Historical Background === | === Historical Background === | ||
The '''Unicoi Trail''', Unicoi Turnpike, or Trading Path, emerged from the Saluda Gap where North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia now meet. The trail headed west on the south side of the far west part of North Carolina over to the Tennessee border where it passed through the Unicoi Gap. The trail then curved north toward the Overhill Cherokee villiages and ended at either Tellico, or Vonore, or Knoxville. The Unicoi Trail was the most heavily used trade route into east Tennessee, but settlers were forbidden to use it prior to the decline of Cherokee military power in the 1790s.<ref name="ETHS1st">East Tennessee Historical Society, ''[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44435788 First families of Tennessee: a register of early settlers and their present-day | The '''Unicoi Trail''', Unicoi Turnpike, or Trading Path, emerged from the Saluda Gap where North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia now meet. The trail headed west on the south side of the far west part of North Carolina over to the Tennessee border where it passed through the Unicoi Gap. The trail then curved north toward the Overhill Cherokee villiages and ended at either Tellico, or Vonore, or Knoxville. The Unicoi Trail was the most heavily used trade route into east Tennessee, but settlers were forbidden to use it prior to the decline of Cherokee military power in the 1790s.<ref name="ETHS1st">East Tennessee Historical Society, ''[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44435788 First families of Tennessee: a register of early settlers and their present-day descendants]'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, c2000) [{{FHL|976.8 H2ff}}], 23.</ref> | ||
The first British colonists known to have used the Unicoi Trail in 1690 brought trade goods from Charleston to the Overhill Cherokee villages. Furs and pelts exchanged hands for guns and rum.<ref name="ETHS1st" /> By 1700 French colonists from the Gulf Coast followed the [[Great Indian Warpath|Great Indian Warpath]] to trade in the same villages. In 1736 an Englishman named Priber used the Unicoi Trail to reach Tellico where he and a Cherokee named Motoy set up a utopian-communist society. However, after five years the British arrested Priber and accused him of being a French spy.<ref name="KirkL">Lowell Kirk, "The Unicoi Turnpike" in ''Tellico Plains Mountain Press: Online History and Feature Ezine'' at http://www.telliquah.com/unicoi.htm (accessed 14 August 2010).</ref> | The first British colonists known to have used the Unicoi Trail in 1690 brought trade goods from Charleston to the Overhill Cherokee villages. Furs and pelts exchanged hands for guns and rum.<ref name="ETHS1st" /> By 1700 French colonists from the Gulf Coast followed the [[Great Indian Warpath|Great Indian Warpath]] to trade in the same villages. In 1736 an Englishman named Priber used the Unicoi Trail to reach Tellico where he and a Cherokee named Motoy set up a utopian-communist society. However, after five years the British arrested Priber and accused him of being a French spy.<ref name="KirkL">Lowell Kirk, "The Unicoi Turnpike" in ''Tellico Plains Mountain Press: Online History and Feature Ezine'' at http://www.telliquah.com/unicoi.htm (accessed 14 August 2010).</ref> | ||
The British-French rivalry heated up during the [[French and Indian War, 1754-1763|French and Indian | The British-French rivalry heated up during the [[French and Indian War, 1754-1763|French and Indian War]] from 1754 to 1763. The British used pack animals on the Unicoi Trail to bring tools and supplies to build Fort Loudon. The British garrison also brought 12 hundred-pound cannons over the steep trail. After the British surrendered the Fort, they moved their cannons back to South Carolina over the Unicoi Trail.<ref name="KirkL" /> | ||
During the [[Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783|Revolutionary | During the [[Revolutionary War, 1775 to 1783|Revolutionary War]] most Cherokee Indians allied with the British against the American patriot cause. John Sevier led about 140 patriots across the Unicoi Gap to attack and burn three Indian villages. But, when they were faced by 1000 warriors the patriots quickly retreated back down the Unicoi Trail.<ref name="KirkL" /> | ||
After the Unicoi Trail was opened to wagons about 1795, it became a popular choice for pioneers from the Yadkin River settlements, and Waxhaws to move across the mountains from North Carolina to east Tennessee.<ref>''First Families'', 23-24.</ref> In 1815 a company was formed to turn the trail into a road fit for freight wagons. By 1819 the toll road was renamed a turnpike and opened to the public. This opened up trade between Augusta, Georgia and Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee farmers used the road to market their goods in the South until after the American Civil War.<ref name="KirkL" /> | After the Unicoi Trail was opened to wagons about 1795, it became a popular choice for pioneers from the Yadkin River settlements, and Waxhaws to move across the mountains from North Carolina to east Tennessee.<ref>''First Families'', 23-24.</ref> In 1815 a company was formed to turn the trail into a road fit for freight wagons. By 1819 the toll road was renamed a turnpike and opened to the public. This opened up trade between Augusta, Georgia and Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee farmers used the road to market their goods in the South until after the American Civil War.<ref name="KirkL" /> | ||
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=== Route === | === Route === | ||
*[[Stephens County, | *[[Stephens County, Georgia]] | ||
*[[Habersham County, | *[[Habersham County, Georgia]] | ||
*[[Rabun County, | *[[Rabun County, Georgia]] | ||
*[[Towns County, | *[[Towns County, Georgia]] | ||
*[[Clay County, North | *[[Clay County, North Carolina]] | ||
*[[Cherokee County, North | *[[Cherokee County, North Carolina]] | ||
*[[Polk County, | *[[Polk County, Tennessee]] | ||
*[[McMinn County, | *[[McMinn County, Tennessee]] | ||
*[[Monroe County, | *[[Monroe County, Tennessee]] | ||
*[[Blount County, | *[[Blount County, Tennessee]] | ||
*[[Knox County, | *[[Knox County, Tennessee]] | ||
'''Connecting trails''' | '''Connecting trails''' | ||
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:*Savannah River | :*Savannah River | ||
:*[[Lower Cherokee Traders' Path]] a pre-historic trail connecting the [http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/pickens-county/images/sheriff-01.pdf Lower Cherokee | :*[[Lower Cherokee Traders' Path]] a pre-historic trail connecting the [http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/pickens-county/images/sheriff-01.pdf Lower Cherokee Villages] to the Catawba Indians ([[Charlotte, North Carolina]]) | ||
:*[[Old Cherokee Path]] a pre-historic trail from the [http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/pickens-county/images/sheriff-01.pdf Lower Cherokee | :*[[Old Cherokee Path]] a pre-historic trail from the [http://sciway3.net/scgenweb/pickens-county/images/sheriff-01.pdf Lower Cherokee Villages] to [[Washington County, Virginia]] on the [[Great Valley Road]] (also known as the [[Great Indian Warpath]]) | ||
:*[[Coosa-Tugaloo Indian Warpath]] was a pre-historic path that went toward [[Birmingham, | :*[[Coosa-Tugaloo Indian Warpath]] was a pre-historic path that went toward [[Birmingham, Alabama]] | ||
:*[[Tugaloo-Apalachee Bay Trail]] was a pre-historic trail headed for the Florida panhandle and probably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Luis_de_Apalachee Mission San Luis de | :*[[Tugaloo-Apalachee Bay Trail]] was a pre-historic trail headed for the Florida panhandle and probably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Luis_de_Apalachee Mission San Luis de Apalachee] | ||
:*[[Augusta and Cherokee Trail]] was a pre-historic trail from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugaloo | :*[[Augusta and Cherokee Trail]] was a pre-historic trail from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugaloo Tugaloo] originally to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_Town,_South_Carolina Savannah Town, South Carolina] and later [[Augusta, Georgia]] | ||
:*[[Old South Carolina State Road|Old South Carolina State Road]] 1747 a fork of this road apparently connected [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugaloo | :*[[Old South Carolina State Road|Old South Carolina State Road]] 1747 a fork of this road apparently connected [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugaloo Tugaloo], Georgia to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Prince_George_(South_Carolina) Fort Prince George], to [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]] and to [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. | ||
:*[[Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path|Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path]] after 1765 followed the northeast side of the Savannah River from the [[Old Cherokee Path]] in [[Oconee County, South Carolina|Oconee | :*[[Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path|Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path]] after 1765 followed the northeast side of the Savannah River from the [[Old Cherokee Path]] in [[Oconee County, South Carolina|Oconee County]] down to old [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Charlotte_(South_Carolina) Fort Charlotte] in northwest [[McCormick County, South Carolina]] | ||
:*[[Upper Road]] about 1783 (overlapping the Lower Cherokee Traders' Path) connecting [[Fredericksburg, | :*[[Upper Road]] about 1783 (overlapping the Lower Cherokee Traders' Path) connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virginia]] to [[Macon, Georgia]] | ||
:*[[Unicoi_Trail|Unicoi | :*[[Unicoi_Trail|Unicoi Turnpike]] opened to a few European traders 1690, but the wagon road was not opened to settlers until 1795 from near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tugaloo Tugaloo] headed northwest to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overhill_Cherokee Overhill Cherokee villages] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville,_Tennessee Knoxville] in [[Tennessee Genealogy|Tennessee]]<ref>Lowell Kirk, "The Unicoi Turnpike" at http://www.telliquah.com/unicoi.htm (accessed 3 May 2011).</ref><ref>William E. Myer, ''Indian Trails of the Southeast''. (Nashville, Tenn.: Blue and Gray Press, 1971). ({{FHL|54678|item|disp=FHL Book 970.1 M992i}}) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1523234 WorldCat entry].</ref> | ||
Toward the the north end the [[Unicoi_Trail]] connects to: | Toward the the north end the [[Unicoi_Trail]] connects to: | ||
:*in [[McMinn County, | :*in [[McMinn County, Tennessee]] the [[Unicoi_Trail]] joined and overlapped the [[Great Indian Warpath]] on its way to [[Knoxville, Tennessee]] and beyond. | ||
:*The warpath continued northeast but was also called the west fork of the [[Great Valley Road]] connecting Knoxville to [[Philadelphia, | :*The warpath continued northeast but was also called the west fork of the [[Great Valley Road]] connecting Knoxville to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. | ||
:*[[Avery's | :*[[Avery's Trace]] connected [[Knox County, Tennessee]] to [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. | ||
=== Settlers and Records === | === Settlers and Records === | ||
There is no known list of settlers who travelled the Unicoi Trail. However, some of the early residents of Tennessee ''may'' have used the trail to reach their destination, as well as several other routes like the [[Great Valley Road|Great Valley Road]], [[Wilderness Road]], [[Kentucky Road]], [[Avery's | There is no known list of settlers who travelled the Unicoi Trail. However, some of the early residents of Tennessee ''may'' have used the trail to reach their destination, as well as several other routes like the [[Great Valley Road|Great Valley Road]], [[Wilderness Road]], [[Kentucky Road]], [[Avery's Trace]], [[Catawba Trail]], or [[Georgia Road]]. For early Tennessee settlers see: | ||
*East Tennessee Historical Society, ''[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44435788 First families of Tennessee: a register of early settlers and their present-day | *East Tennessee Historical Society, ''[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44435788 First families of Tennessee: a register of early settlers and their present-day descendants]'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, c2000) [{{FHL|976.8 H2ff}}]. | ||
=== Internet Sites === | === Internet Sites === | ||
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{{Georgia|Georgia}}{{North Carolina|North Carolina}}{{South Carolina|South Carolina}}{{Tennessee|Tennessee}} | {{Georgia|Georgia}}{{North Carolina|North Carolina}}{{South Carolina|South Carolina}}{{Tennessee|Tennessee}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:Tennessee]] [[Category:North_Carolina]] [[Category:South_Carolina]] [[Category:Georgia]] | ||