Early Exploration:
The Southern Appalachian Mountains
are believed to be among the oldest on the planet. As early
as 1540 the mountains and valleys now known as Cherokee
County were explored by DeSoto and inhabited by the Cherokee
Indians. The great Tennessee, Hiwassee and Valley Rivers
were mined for gold as evidenced by old tunnels, shafts,
Spanish cannon balls, pistols bearing the Spanish coat of
arms and coin molds found along their river banks.
Cherokee Removal:
In the early 1800's as the white
man coveted the rich lands and beautiful swift rivers of
Western North Carolina, President Jackson sent 7,000 troops
into Western North Carolina who built six forts to oversee
the removal of the Cherokee to Oklahoma. The largest of
these was Fort Butler, built at the present site of Murphy
on the Hiwassee River. The removal of the Cherokee along
the "Trail of Tears" was described and recorded
as "the greatest blot on America's history". More
than 4,000 Native Americans died before they reached Oklahoma.
Indians who were able to elude their captors hid in the
hills and were later granted lands in Cherokee County.
White Settlement:As the white settlers built their
forts and towns on the rivers, they farmed near the streams
and creeks, and built dams to produce power to operate tub
mills, grind flour and create flumes for mining gold. Logging
became the first industry in the area and primary means
of making a living. Logs flowed down the rivers to the sawmills;
rafts, flatboats and canoes brought in supplies. As early
as 1820 a Baptist mission school was established at the
Old Natchez Town on the Hiwassee River and the first Methodist
Church, Harshaw Chapel (a standing historic site) was built
in Murphy in 1869.Civil War:
In 1861 Cherokee County raised 1,100
men for the Confederate Army as the state seceded from the
union. In 1865 Kirk's Raiders burned the County Courthouse
in Murphy (the first of four courthouse fires between 1865
and 1926). The present Courthouse, now over 70 years old,
is constructed of solid masonry and blue marble quarried
from the county. Following the Civil War, in 1888, the way
of life changed for the better with the introduction of
the railroad.
Source:
Cherokee
County North Carolina
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