Old Cherokee Path

United States   Migration    Trails and Roads    Old Cherokee Path

The Old Cherokee Path connected the Lower Cherokee Indian villages, in particular Tugaloo just southwest of the Savannah River in what is now Georgia (but also villages in South Carolina), with several Indian trails, especially the Great Indian Warpath or Great Valley Road as it was called in Virginia. Tugaloo, Georgia was at a nexus of several other Indian trails. The Great Valley Road was one of the most significant settler migration routes in America. The Old Cherokee Path was not fully opened to European settlers until the Cherokee were forced out of South Carolina and part of Georgia in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War after the Cherokee sided with the British in that war. The Old Cherokee Path began in Stephens County, Georgia and ended in Washington County, Virginia. The length of the trail was about 150 miles (241 km).

Historical Background
Scots-Irish (that is Ulster-Irish), and German farmers migrating along the Great Valley Road (sometimes called the Great Wagon Road) through Virginia began settling the counties near the north end of the Old Cherokee Path in the 1750s. However, during part of the French and Indian War from 1754 to 1763 they decided to leave the Washington County, Virginia area. Some settlers after the war in Johnson County, Tennessee and Watauga County, North Carolina were pushing beyond the Proclamation line protecting Indians from intruders. Many of the re-settlers in the area became involved in the Watauga Association (a semi-automomous government) starting in 1772. In turn this led to the tentative and short-lived State of Franklin.

From the first contact with Europeans the Cherokee Indians had settlements called the Lower Cherokee Villages in the northwest part of South Carolina and part of Georgia. The most prominent was the town of Keowee in what became Oconee County, South Carolina. Another important town was Tugaloo near what became Toccoa, Georgia. Several important Indian trails converged on these villages, including the south end of the Old Cherokee Path. The Cherokee resisted most European settlement near their villages. However, the Cherokee sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War. By 1777 Patriot forces attacked and drove the Cherokee from South Carolina, and Tugaloo, Georgia. Patriot veterans soon began to settle on former Cherokee lands. Eventually the old Indian trails in the area were improved into migration routes for European settlers.

As roads developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the roads provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a road, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting highway.

Route
The first European colonists settled in counties along this trail (north to south) as follows:


 * Washington County, Virginia 1750s by Scots-Irish (that is Ulster-Irish), and Germans (abandoned during French and Indian War 1754-1763)


 * Johnson County, Tennessee about 1769 mostly by English, including Scots-Irish, and Germans


 * Watauga County, North Carolina 1760s by Scots-Irish
 * Caldwell County, North Carolina 1760s from Burke and Wilkes Counties, NC
 * Burke County, North Carolina 1760s by English/Welsh, and then Scots-Irish
 * McDowell County, North Carolina 1760s from Burke and Rutherford Counties, NC
 * Rutherford County, North Carolina 1750s by Scots-Irish
 * Polk County, North Carolina 1760s from Rutherford County, NC


 * Spartanburg County, South Carolina 1755 by Scots-Irish
 * Greenville County, South Carolina 1777 by Scots-Irish, and Revolutionary War Veterans
 * Pickens County, South Carolina 1753 by English and Scots-Irish near Fort Prince George near Keowee, the primary Lower Cherokee village.
 * Oconee County, South Carolina 1784 by Germans, and Revolutionary War Veterans
 * Stephens County, Georgia about 1777 by Revolutionary War Veterans

Connecting trails. The Old Cherokee Path linked to other trails at each end. Other trails also crossed it in the middle.

The migration pathways connected at the north end in Washington County, Virginia included:


 * Great Indian Warpath pre-historic (overlapped by the Great Valley Road opened to European settlers about 1744).
 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Wilderness Road 1775

The migration routes connected at the south end in Oconee County, South Carolina, or in Tugaloo, Stephens, Georgia included:


 * Savannah River pre-historic
 * Old Cherokee Path pre-historic
 * Lower Cherokee Traders' Path pre-historic
 * Coosa-Tualoo Indian Warpath
 * Tugaloo-Apalachie Bay Trail
 * Augusta and Cherokee Trail about 1777
 * Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path about 1777
 * Upper Road about 1783
 * Unicoi Trail or Turnpike 1813

Between those two ends the Old Cherokee Path was also crossed by several other important routes:


 * Jonesboro Road after 1769 crossed the Old Cherokee Path near the Burke/McDowell county border, NC. The Jonesboro Road connected New Bern, North Carolina to Jonesborough and Knoxville, Tennessee.
 * Rutherford's War Trace opended in 1776 through the same place because it overlapped the Jonesboro Road there.
 * Catawba Trail a pre-historic route met the Old Cherokee Path near the North Carolina/South Carolina border. The Catawba Trail connected the Lower Cherokee villages with the Cumberland Gap and Wilderness Road into Kentucky.
 * Old South Carolina State Road opened in 1747 and met the Old Cherokee Path near the North Carolina/South Carolina border. The Old South Carolina State Road made its way to Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. A branch of the Old State Road also may have followed the Old Cherokee Path to Fort Prince George, Keowee, and Tugaloo.

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the old Old Cherokee Path start in Toccoa, Georgia. From Toccoa, take US-123 east to Easley, South Carolina, then east on US-124 to Greenville. Go north on US-25 to SC-11. Turn east on SC-11 to Gowensville. Take SC-14 north to Landrum, then northwest on US-176/Asheville Highway to Tryon, North Carolina. Turn north and then east onto NC-108 to Rutherfordton. Take US-64 north to Lenoir, then go north on US-321 to Boone. Take US-421 to Mountain City, then turn northeast onto NC-91 to Damascus, Tennessee. From Damascus take US-58 northwest to I-81, the Interstate version of the Great Valley Road.

Settlers and Records
The Great Valley Road was the trail leading to the north end of the Old Cherokee Path. A few colonists settled in Washington County Virginia in the early 1750s but decided to leave for safety reasons during the French and Indian War. The Lower Cherokee Villages on the South Carolina and Georgia part of the Old Cherokee Path inhibited most European settlements until the American Revolutionary War. Settlers prior to 1777 were most likely using trails other than the Old Cherokee Path to reach their new homes.

No complete list of settlers who used the Old Cherokee Path is known to exist. Nevertheless, local and county histories along that trail may reveal pioneer settlers who arrived after 1777 and therefore who were the most likely candidates to have traveled the Old Cherokee Path.

For partial lists of early settlers who may  have used the Old Cherokee Path, see histories like:

in Washington County, VA:


 * Lewis Preston Summers, History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 (1903; reprint, Baltimore: Regional Pub. Co., 1971) WorldCat entry.

in Oconee County, SC:


 * Frederick Van Clayton, Settlement of Pendleton District, 1777-1800 (Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, c1988) WorldCat entry. The old Pendleton District embraced the present counties of Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens. Includes plats and their owners taken from the "State Record of Plat Books."

in Stephens County, GA:


 * Katheryn Curtis Trogdon, History of Stephens County, Georgia (Toccoa, Ga.: Toccoa Womans Club, [c1973]). WorldCat entry.