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{{merge to|Sycamore Shoals|discuss=Talk:Sycamore Shoals#Merge proposal|date=May 2024}}
{{short description|State park in Elizabethton, Tennessee, USA}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox park
{{Infobox park
| name = Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
| name = Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
| photo = SYCAMORE SHOALS (STATE HISTORIC PARK).jpg
| photo = SYCAMORE SHOALS (STATE HISTORIC PARK).jpg
| photo_width =
| photo_width =
| photo_caption =
| photo_caption =
| location = Carter County, Tennessee
| location = [[Elizabethton, Tennessee|Elizabethton]], Carter County, Tennessee
| coords =
| coords =
| area = {{convert|70|acre|ha|1}}
| area = {{convert|70|acre|ha|1}}
| created = 1975
| created = 1975
| operator = [[Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation]]
| operator = [[Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation]]
| visitation_num =
| visitation_num =
| status =
| open =
| status =
}}
| website = [https://tnstateparks.com/parks/sycamore-shoals Sycamore Shoals]
'''Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area''' is a [[state park]] located in [[Elizabethton, Tennessee|Elizabethton]], in the U.S. state of [[Tennessee]]. The park consists of {{convert|70|acre|ha|1}} situated along the [[Sycamore Shoals]] of the [[Watauga River]], a [[National Historic Landmark]] where a series of events critical to the establishment of the states of Tennessee and [[Kentucky]], and the settlement of the Trans-[[Appalachia|Appalachian]] frontier in general, took place. Along with the historic shoals, the park includes a visitor center and museum, the reconstructed [[Fort Watauga]], and the Carter Mansion (at a satellite location in Elizabethton).<ref name=tehc>Carroll Van West, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1289 Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.</ref>
}}


'''Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park''' is a [[state park]] located in [[Elizabethton, Tennessee|Elizabethton]], in the U.S. state of [[Tennessee]]. The park consists of {{convert|70|acre|ha|1}} situated along the [[Sycamore Shoals]] of the [[Watauga River]], a [[National Historic Landmark]] where a series of events critical to the establishment of the states of Tennessee and [[Kentucky]], and the settlement of the Trans-[[Appalachia]]n frontier in general, took place. Along with the historic shoals, the park includes a visitor center and museum, the reconstructed [[Fort Watauga]], the Carter House (at a satellite location in Elizabethton)<ref name=tehc>Carroll Van West, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1289 Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.</ref> and [[Sabine Hill]] (also at a satellite location in Elizabethton).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://m.elizabethton.com/2017/10/30/sabine-hill-to-celebrate-opening-with-special-guided-tours/|title=Sabine Hill to celebrate opening with special guided tours|date=30 October 2017}}</ref>
For over a thousand years before the arrival of European explorers, Sycamore Shoals and adjacent lands had been inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref name=nrhp>Polly Rettig and Hugh Lawing (form preparation), [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000721.pdf Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga &mdash; National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form]. 11 February 1976. Retrieved: 28 June 2009. PDF file.</ref> The first permanent European settlers arrived in 1770, and established the [[Watauga Association]]&mdash; one of the first written constitutional governments west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]&mdash; in 1772. [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]] and [[Daniel Boone]] negotiated the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals in 1775, which saw the sale of millions of acres of Cherokee lands in Kentucky and Tennessee and led to the building of the [[Wilderness Road]]. During the [[American Revolution]], Sycamore Shoals was both the site of Fort Watauga, where part of a Cherokee invasion was thwarted in 1776, and the mustering ground for the [[Overmountain Men]] in 1780.<ref name=tehc /><ref name=williams1>Samuel Cole Williams (1919). "Henderson and Company's Purchase Within the Limits of Tennessee." ''Tennessee Historical Magazine'', Vol. 1 (1919), pp. 5-23.</ref>
For over a thousand years before the arrival of European explorers, Sycamore Shoals and adjacent lands had been inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref name=nrhp>Polly Rettig and Hugh Lawing (form preparation), {{NHLS url|id=66000721|title=Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga &mdash; National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form}}. 11 February 1976. Retrieved: 28 June 2009. PDF file.</ref> The first permanent European settlers arrived in 1770, and established the [[Watauga Association]]—one of the first written constitutional governments west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]—in 1772. [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]] and [[Daniel Boone]] negotiated the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals in 1775, which saw the sale of millions of acres of Cherokee lands in Kentucky and Tennessee and led to the building of the [[Wilderness Road]]. During the [[American Revolution]], Sycamore Shoals was both the site of Fort Watauga, where part of a Cherokee invasion was thwarted in 1776, and the mustering ground for the [[Overmountain Men]] in 1780.<ref name=tehc /><ref name=williams1>Samuel Cole Williams (1919). "Henderson and Company's Purchase Within the Limits of Tennessee." ''Tennessee Historical Magazine'', Vol. 1 (1919), pp. 5-23.</ref>


==Facilities==
==Facilities==
[[File:Sycamore-shoals-entrance-tn1.jpg|upright=1|thumb|Park entrance]]
[[File:Sycamore-shoals-entrance-tn1.jpg|upright=1|thumb|Park entrance]]


The visitors' center at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area houses interpretive displays about the area's history, a theater offering free screenings of a short [[documentary film]] narrated by [[John Cullum]] about the [[Overmountain Men]] and [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] history of the area, as well as park offices and a gift shop. A reconstruction of Fort Watauga, a fort originally built as Fort Caswell in the mid-1770s, is located behind the visitors center. The reconstructed fort's design is based on archaeological finds, scant historic descriptions of the fort, and the typical design of forts on the Appalachian frontier. Adjacent to the fort is a 450-seat amphitheater, which is the site of the Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, ''Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals'' (formerly billed as ''The Wataugans''). Picnic facilities are also located near the Visitor's Center.
===Visitors center===
The visitors' center at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area houses:
* interpretive displays about the area's history during the American Revolution
* a theater offering free screenings of a short [[documentary film]] of the [[American Revolutionary War]] history pertaining to Sycamore Shoals and the Overmountain Men, as narrated by [[John Cullum]]
* park offices
* bookstore and gift shop.


[[File:Sycamore-shoals-river-trailhead-tn1.jpg|upright=1|thumb|Mountain River trailhead]]
===Fort Watauga===
The {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=mid|-loop|0}}, graveled Mountain River Trail follows the partially wooded south bank of the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River. Interpretive signs along the trail explain the various historical events that occurred at Sycamore Shoals.


The Sycamore Shoals State Historical Area is a recipient of a sycamore "[[Moon tree]]" that was grown from one of hundreds of tree seeds that were launched into space on board the [[Apollo 14]] mission in 1971 as part of a joint project between [[NASA]] and the [[U.S. Forest Service]]. The seeds were germinated by the Forest Service upon return to Earth, and this tree was planted at the Sycamore Shoals State Historical Area in April 1976 as part of the celebration of the [[United States Bicentennial]].<ref>"The Moon Trees". NASA, 10 June 2016. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html</ref><ref>"Sycamore Shoals State Park Tree: Elizabethton, Tennessee" https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_trees/sycamore_shoals_tree.html</ref>
A reconstruction of the 18th-century Fort Watauga is located behind the visitors center. The fort, originally called Fort Caswell, was originally built in the mid-1770s. The reconstructed fort's design is based on archaeological finds, scant historic descriptions of the fort, and the typical design of forts on the Appalachian frontier.

===Amphitheater===
A 450-seat amphitheater at Sycamore Shoals is located immediately adjacent to the reconstructed fort. The amphitheater is the site of the Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, ''Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals'' (formerly billed as ''The Wataugans'').

===Mountain River Trail===
[[Image:Sycamore-shoals-river-trailhead-tn1.jpg|upright=1|thumb|Mountain River trailhead]]
The {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=mid|-loop|0}}, graveled Mountain River Trail follows the partially wooded south bank of the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River. Interpretive signs along the trail explain the various historical events that occurred at Sycamore Shoals.

===Picnic pavilions===
There are three handicapped accessible picnic shelters that can be reserved at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area. A picnic area with grills is also located beside the Visitor's Center.


==The Carter Mansion==
==The Carter Mansion==
[[File:Carter Mansion.JPG|thumb|right|Carter Mansion ca. 1775-1780, oldest frame house in Tennessee]]
Built between 1775 and 1780, the Carter Mansion may be the only surviving material link to the [[Watauga Association]] and is the oldest [[frame house]] standing in Tennessee. John Carter and his son, Landon, built the frontier mansion, and the finely detailed interior and over-mantle paintings place the mansion among the most significant historic houses in Tennessee.
Listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and built between 1775 and 1780, the Carter Mansion may be the only surviving material link to the [[Watauga Association]] and is the oldest [[frame house]] standing in Tennessee. John Carter and his son, Landon, built the frontier mansion, and the finely detailed interior and over-mantle paintings place the mansion among the most significant historic houses in Tennessee.


John and Landon Carter were both prominent in political and military affairs, serving during the American Revolution and several conflicts with [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. When Tennessee was admitted into the United States in 1796, Carter County was named for Landon Carter, and the county seat of Elizabethton was named for his wife, Elizabeth Maclin Carter.
John and Landon Carter were both prominent in political and military affairs, serving during the American Revolution and several conflicts with [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. When Tennessee was admitted into the United States in 1796, Carter County was named for Landon Carter, and the county seat of Elizabethton was named for his wife, Elizabeth Maclin Carter.


==Historical significance of the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area==
==Historical significance of the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area==

===Colonial settlement===
===Colonial settlement===
[[Image:TNMap-doton-Elizabethton.PNG|thumb|right|240px|Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area]]
[[File:TNMap-doton-Elizabethton.PNG|thumb|right|240px|Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area]]
The flatlands around Sycamore Shoals have been sporadically inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] for thousands of years, and were probably cultivated during the [[Mississippian culture|Mississippian period]] (ca. 1000-1600 A.D.). When the first European explorers arrived in the area in the early 18th century, the [[Cherokee]] were using the flats as a gathering place for hunting expeditions. In the 1760s, [[long hunter]]s and traders established stations and hunting camps in the Watauga Valley in the vicinity of Sycamore Shoals. These early explorers called the flats the Watauga "Old Fields" due to their resemblance to once-cultivated lands that had been left fallow.<ref name=nrhp />
The flatlands around Sycamore Shoals have been sporadically inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] for thousands of years, and were probably cultivated during the [[Mississippian culture|Mississippian period]] (ca. 1000–1600 C.E.). When the first European explorers arrived in the area in the early 18th century, the [[Cherokee]] were using the flats as a gathering place for hunting expeditions. In the 1760s, [[long hunter]]s and traders established stations and hunting camps in the Watauga Valley in the vicinity of Sycamore Shoals. These early explorers called the flats the Watauga "Old Fields" due to their resemblance to once-cultivated lands that had been left fallow.<ref name=nrhp />


In 1770, [[James Robertson (explorer)|James Robertson]] (a later founder of [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]) made an excursion into the Watauga Valley, possibly to locate settlement sites for families fleeing the turmoil of the [[Regulator Movement]] in his native North Carolina. A trader pointed Robertson to the Old Fields, which Robertson later described as a "Promised Land" and planted a corn crop and built a cabin and corn crib. Robertson then departed for North Carolina, but returned to the Old Fields, a few months later, with several families to establish what became known as the Watauga settlement.<ref name=williams2>Samuel Cole Williams (1937). ''Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Press), pp. 338-348.</ref>
In 1770, [[James Robertson (explorer)|James Robertson]] (a later founder of [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]) made an excursion into the Watauga Valley, possibly to locate settlement sites for families fleeing the turmoil of the [[Regulator Movement]] in his native North Carolina. A trader pointed Robertson to the Old Fields, which Robertson later described as a "Promised Land" and planted a corn crop and built a cabin and corn crib. Robertson then departed for North Carolina, but returned to the Old Fields, a few months later, with several families to establish what became known as the Watauga settlement.<ref name=williams2>Samuel Cole Williams (1937). ''Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Press), pp. 338–348.</ref>


===Watauga Association===
===Watauga Association===
{{main|Watauga Association}}
{{main|Watauga Association}}
{{Wikisourcepar|Watauga Petition}}
{{Wikisource|Watauga Petition}}


After surveyors placed the Watauga settlement and the other "south-of-Holston" settlements officially within the domain of the [[Cherokee]] tribe in 1771, Robertson negotiated a 10-year lease for the Watauga lands. Being outside the authority of any of the British colonies, the Watauga settlers established a regional constitutional government known as the "Watauga Association." Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate Cherokee, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary.<ref name=finger1>John Finger (2001). ''Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition'' (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press), pp. 43-64.</ref>
After surveyors placed the Watauga settlement and the other "south-of-Holston" settlements officially within the domain of the [[Cherokee]] tribe in 1771, Robertson negotiated a 10-year lease for the Watauga lands. Being outside the authority of any of the British colonies, the Watauga settlers established a regional constitutional government known as the "Watauga Association." Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate Cherokee, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary.<ref name=finger1>John Finger (2001). ''Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition'' (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press), pp. 43-64.</ref>


===American Revolution===
===American Revolution===
[[File:Overmountain-men-muster-tn1.jpg|thumb|210px|Interpretive sign at the park recalling the muster of the Overmountain Men]]
[[File:Overmountain-men-muster-tn1.jpg|thumb|210px|Interpretive sign at the park recalling the muster of the Overmountain Men]]
{{see also|Transylvania (colony)|Fort Watauga|Overmountain Men}}
{{see also|Transylvania (colony)|Fort Watauga|Overmountain Men}}
In March 1775, the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, sometimes called the [[Transylvania (colony)|Transylvania Purchase]], was signed by [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]] and Cherokee leaders [[Attakullakulla]] and [[Oconastota]]. The treaty involved the purchase of some {{convert|20000000|acre|km2}} of land between the [[Kentucky River]] and the [[Cumberland River]], which included a large part of what is now Kentucky and part of Tennessee. Henderson's purchase was in violation of the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]], however, which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land, and the Virginia and North Carolina assemblies refused to recognize it. The purchase, nevertheless, led to the blazing of the [[Wilderness Road]] by [[Daniel Boone]].<ref name=williams1 />
In March 1775, the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, sometimes called the [[Transylvania (colony)|Transylvania Purchase]], was signed by [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]] and Cherokee leaders [[Attakullakulla]] and [[Oconastota]]. The treaty involved the purchase of some {{convert|20000000|acre|km2}} of land between the [[Kentucky River]] and the [[Cumberland River]], which included a large part of what is now Kentucky and part of Tennessee. Henderson's purchase was in violation of the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]], however, which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land, and the Virginia and North Carolina assemblies refused to recognize it. The purchase, nevertheless, led to the blazing of the [[Wilderness Road]] by [[Daniel Boone]].<ref name=williams1 />


In the weeks following the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, a faction of Cherokee opposed to the sale, led by [[Dragging Canoe]], aligned themselves with the British with plans to drive the settlers back across the Appalachian Mountains. The Watauga and Nolichucky settlers organized themselves into the [[Washington District, North Carolina|Washington District]] and formed a [[Committee of Safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]], which acquired arms and built forts, including Fort Watauga. In July 1776, the Cherokee invaded the south-of-Holston settlements. On July 21, 1776, a Cherokee invasion force attacked Fort Watauga, but was thwarted by the fort's garrison,<ref>Benjamin Nance (2009). [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=498 Fort Watauga]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.</ref> which was led by John Carter, James Robertson, and John Sevier.<ref name=finger1 />
In the weeks following the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, a faction of Cherokee opposed to the sale, led by [[Dragging Canoe]], aligned themselves with the British with plans to drive the settlers back across the Appalachian Mountains. The Watauga and Nolichucky settlers organized themselves into the [[Washington District, North Carolina|Washington District]] and formed a [[Committee of Safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]], which acquired arms and built forts, including Fort Watauga. In July 1776, the Cherokee invaded the south-of-Holston settlements. On July 21, 1776, a Cherokee invasion force attacked Fort Watauga, but was thwarted by the fort's garrison,<ref>Benjamin Nance (2009). [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=498 Fort Watauga]. ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.</ref> which was led by John Carter, James Robertson, and John Sevier.<ref name=finger1 />


On September 25, 1780, Sycamore Shoals served as the staging area for the Overmountain Men, the frontier militia that crossed the mountains to engage and defeat an army of British [[loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalists]] at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Overmountain Men had previously fought at the [[Siege of Charleston]] (these included what one historian dubbed the first "Tennessee volunteers")<ref>Samuel Cole Williams (1933). ''Lost State of Franklin'' (New York: Press of the Pioneers), p. 2.</ref> and the [[Battle of Musgrove Mill]], both in 1780, and participated in two campaigns against the Cherokee, in 1776 and 1780.<ref>Finger, pp. 84-88.</ref> William Tatham, Watauga Association clerk and drafter of the Watauga Petition, was present at the [[Siege of Yorktown|Battle of Yorktown]] in 1781.<ref>Samuel Cole Williams (1947). ''William Tatham, Wataugan'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: The Watauga Press), pp. 11-28.</ref>
On September 25, 1780, Sycamore Shoals served as the staging area for the Overmountain Men, the frontier militia that crossed the mountains to engage and defeat an army of British [[loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalists]] at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Overmountain Men had previously fought at the [[Siege of Charleston]] (these included what one historian dubbed the first "Tennessee volunteers")<ref>Samuel Cole Williams (1933). ''Lost State of Franklin'' (New York: Press of the Pioneers), p. 2.</ref> and the [[Battle of Musgrove Mill]], both in 1780, and participated in two campaigns against the Cherokee, in 1776 and 1780.<ref>Finger, pp. 84–88.</ref> William Tatham, Watauga Association clerk and drafter of the Watauga Petition, was present at the [[Siege of Yorktown|Battle of Yorktown]] in 1781.<ref>Samuel Cole Williams (1947). ''William Tatham, Wataugan'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: The Watauga Press), pp. 11–28.</ref>


==Annual events==
==Annual events==
[[Image:Fort-watauga-reenactment-tn1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|A reenactment at Fort Watauga, June 2009]]
[[File:Fort-watauga-reenactment-tn1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|A reenactment at Fort Watauga, June 2009]]


* Traditional Arts Workshops, January–December
* Traditional Arts Workshops, January–December
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* Native American Festival, June
* Native American Festival, June
* Colonial Kids Day Camp, June
* Colonial Kids Day Camp, June
* "Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals", The Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, July
* ''[[Liberty! The Saga of Sycamore Shoals]]'', The Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, July
* Watauga Valley Art League Art Show and Competition, July
* Watauga Valley Art League Art Show and Competition, July
* Carter Mansion Celebration, August
* Carter Mansion Celebration, August
* [[Celt]]ic Festival, September
* [[Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail|Overmountain Victory Trail]] Celebration, September
* [[Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail|Overmountain Victory Trail]] Celebration, September
* Fort Watauga Knap-In, October
* Fort Watauga Knap-In, October
* Mysterious Candlelight Tours of the Carter Mansion, October
* Mysterious Candlelight Tours of the Carter Mansion, October

==See also==
*[[List of the oldest buildings in Tennessee]]


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/SycamoreShoals/index.shtml Official website]
* [https://tnstateparks.com/parks/sycamore-shoals Official website]
*[http://www.sycamoreshoalstn.org/ Friends of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area]
* [http://www.sycamoreshoalstn.org/ Friends of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area]
*[http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/places/sycamore_shoals Article from Tennessee History for Kids]
* [http://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/places/sycamore_shoals Article from Tennessee History for Kids]
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{{Protected areas of Tennessee}}
{{Protected_Areas_of_Tennessee}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}


{{authority control}}
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee]]

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1775]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1780]]
[[Category:State parks of Tennessee]]
[[Category:State parks of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Carter County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Carter County, Tennessee]]
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[[Category:Historic house museums in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Elizabethton, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1975]]
[[Category:1975 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Houses in Carter County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Carter County, Tennessee]]

Latest revision as of 16:20, 22 June 2024

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
Map
LocationElizabethton, Carter County, Tennessee
Area70 acres (28.3 ha)
Created1975
Operated byTennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
WebsiteSycamore Shoals

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park is a state park located in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The park consists of 70 acres (28.3 ha) situated along the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, a National Historic Landmark where a series of events critical to the establishment of the states of Tennessee and Kentucky, and the settlement of the Trans-Appalachian frontier in general, took place. Along with the historic shoals, the park includes a visitor center and museum, the reconstructed Fort Watauga, the Carter House (at a satellite location in Elizabethton)[1] and Sabine Hill (also at a satellite location in Elizabethton).[2] For over a thousand years before the arrival of European explorers, Sycamore Shoals and adjacent lands had been inhabited by Native Americans.[3] The first permanent European settlers arrived in 1770, and established the Watauga Association—one of the first written constitutional governments west of the Appalachian Mountains—in 1772. Richard Henderson and Daniel Boone negotiated the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals in 1775, which saw the sale of millions of acres of Cherokee lands in Kentucky and Tennessee and led to the building of the Wilderness Road. During the American Revolution, Sycamore Shoals was both the site of Fort Watauga, where part of a Cherokee invasion was thwarted in 1776, and the mustering ground for the Overmountain Men in 1780.[1][4]

Facilities

[edit]
Park entrance

The visitors' center at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area houses interpretive displays about the area's history, a theater offering free screenings of a short documentary film narrated by John Cullum about the Overmountain Men and Revolutionary War history of the area, as well as park offices and a gift shop. A reconstruction of Fort Watauga, a fort originally built as Fort Caswell in the mid-1770s, is located behind the visitors center. The reconstructed fort's design is based on archaeological finds, scant historic descriptions of the fort, and the typical design of forts on the Appalachian frontier. Adjacent to the fort is a 450-seat amphitheater, which is the site of the Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals (formerly billed as The Wataugans). Picnic facilities are also located near the Visitor's Center.

Mountain River trailhead

The 2-mile-loop (3 km), graveled Mountain River Trail follows the partially wooded south bank of the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River. Interpretive signs along the trail explain the various historical events that occurred at Sycamore Shoals.

The Sycamore Shoals State Historical Area is a recipient of a sycamore "Moon tree" that was grown from one of hundreds of tree seeds that were launched into space on board the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 as part of a joint project between NASA and the U.S. Forest Service. The seeds were germinated by the Forest Service upon return to Earth, and this tree was planted at the Sycamore Shoals State Historical Area in April 1976 as part of the celebration of the United States Bicentennial.[5][6]

The Carter Mansion

[edit]
Carter Mansion ca. 1775-1780, oldest frame house in Tennessee

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and built between 1775 and 1780, the Carter Mansion may be the only surviving material link to the Watauga Association and is the oldest frame house standing in Tennessee. John Carter and his son, Landon, built the frontier mansion, and the finely detailed interior and over-mantle paintings place the mansion among the most significant historic houses in Tennessee.

John and Landon Carter were both prominent in political and military affairs, serving during the American Revolution and several conflicts with Native Americans. When Tennessee was admitted into the United States in 1796, Carter County was named for Landon Carter, and the county seat of Elizabethton was named for his wife, Elizabeth Maclin Carter.

Historical significance of the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area

[edit]

Colonial settlement

[edit]
Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area

The flatlands around Sycamore Shoals have been sporadically inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years, and were probably cultivated during the Mississippian period (ca. 1000–1600 C.E.). When the first European explorers arrived in the area in the early 18th century, the Cherokee were using the flats as a gathering place for hunting expeditions. In the 1760s, long hunters and traders established stations and hunting camps in the Watauga Valley in the vicinity of Sycamore Shoals. These early explorers called the flats the Watauga "Old Fields" due to their resemblance to once-cultivated lands that had been left fallow.[3]

In 1770, James Robertson (a later founder of Nashville) made an excursion into the Watauga Valley, possibly to locate settlement sites for families fleeing the turmoil of the Regulator Movement in his native North Carolina. A trader pointed Robertson to the Old Fields, which Robertson later described as a "Promised Land" and planted a corn crop and built a cabin and corn crib. Robertson then departed for North Carolina, but returned to the Old Fields, a few months later, with several families to establish what became known as the Watauga settlement.[7]

Watauga Association

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After surveyors placed the Watauga settlement and the other "south-of-Holston" settlements officially within the domain of the Cherokee tribe in 1771, Robertson negotiated a 10-year lease for the Watauga lands. Being outside the authority of any of the British colonies, the Watauga settlers established a regional constitutional government known as the "Watauga Association." Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate Cherokee, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary.[8]

American Revolution

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Interpretive sign at the park recalling the muster of the Overmountain Men

In March 1775, the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, sometimes called the Transylvania Purchase, was signed by Richard Henderson and Cherokee leaders Attakullakulla and Oconastota. The treaty involved the purchase of some 20,000,000 acres (81,000 km2) of land between the Kentucky River and the Cumberland River, which included a large part of what is now Kentucky and part of Tennessee. Henderson's purchase was in violation of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, however, which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land, and the Virginia and North Carolina assemblies refused to recognize it. The purchase, nevertheless, led to the blazing of the Wilderness Road by Daniel Boone.[4]

In the weeks following the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, a faction of Cherokee opposed to the sale, led by Dragging Canoe, aligned themselves with the British with plans to drive the settlers back across the Appalachian Mountains. The Watauga and Nolichucky settlers organized themselves into the Washington District and formed a Committee of Safety, which acquired arms and built forts, including Fort Watauga. In July 1776, the Cherokee invaded the south-of-Holston settlements. On July 21, 1776, a Cherokee invasion force attacked Fort Watauga, but was thwarted by the fort's garrison,[9] which was led by John Carter, James Robertson, and John Sevier.[8]

On September 25, 1780, Sycamore Shoals served as the staging area for the Overmountain Men, the frontier militia that crossed the mountains to engage and defeat an army of British loyalists at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Overmountain Men had previously fought at the Siege of Charleston (these included what one historian dubbed the first "Tennessee volunteers")[10] and the Battle of Musgrove Mill, both in 1780, and participated in two campaigns against the Cherokee, in 1776 and 1780.[11] William Tatham, Watauga Association clerk and drafter of the Watauga Petition, was present at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.[12]

Annual events

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A reenactment at Fort Watauga, June 2009
  • Traditional Arts Workshops, January–December
  • Garrisons and Living History Weekends, January–December
  • Sunday Jams at the Carter Mansion and the Shoals, January–October
  • Mountain River Concerts, January–October
  • Muster at Fort Watauga, May
  • Native American Festival, June
  • Colonial Kids Day Camp, June
  • Liberty! The Saga of Sycamore Shoals, The Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, July
  • Watauga Valley Art League Art Show and Competition, July
  • Carter Mansion Celebration, August
  • Overmountain Victory Trail Celebration, September
  • Fort Watauga Knap-In, October
  • Mysterious Candlelight Tours of the Carter Mansion, October

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Carroll Van West, Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2009. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Sabine Hill to celebrate opening with special guided tours". October 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Polly Rettig and Hugh Lawing (form preparation), Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga — National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. 11 February 1976. Retrieved: 28 June 2009. PDF file.
  4. ^ a b Samuel Cole Williams (1919). "Henderson and Company's Purchase Within the Limits of Tennessee." Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. 1 (1919), pp. 5-23.
  5. ^ "The Moon Trees". NASA, 10 June 2016. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
  6. ^ "Sycamore Shoals State Park Tree: Elizabethton, Tennessee" https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_trees/sycamore_shoals_tree.html
  7. ^ Samuel Cole Williams (1937). Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Press), pp. 338–348.
  8. ^ a b John Finger (2001). Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press), pp. 43-64.
  9. ^ Benjamin Nance (2009). Fort Watauga. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: 11 February 2013.
  10. ^ Samuel Cole Williams (1933). Lost State of Franklin (New York: Press of the Pioneers), p. 2.
  11. ^ Finger, pp. 84–88.
  12. ^ Samuel Cole Williams (1947). William Tatham, Wataugan (Johnson City, Tenn.: The Watauga Press), pp. 11–28.
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36°20′41″N 82°15′8″W / 36.34472°N 82.25222°W / 36.34472; -82.25222