Fort Adair (sometimes called Adair's Station) was a

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived ...

fortification that served as a supply depot for early settlers migrating west. The structure was constructed in 1788 or around 1791 at Grassy Valley, an early

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an settlement in the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley region of

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...

. The presence of a supply station encouraged more Europeans to settle in the vicinity. The town of Fountain Head was founded around Fort Adair by settlers of Grassy Valley and later renamed to Fountain City. Since its

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

in 1962, Fountain City is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

of northern

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

History

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Adair (1732–1827), a native of

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, built Fort Adair either in 1788 or around 1791 at Grassy Valley, Tennessee. The station was intended to provide supplies for westward-bound migrants and to protect them from hostile

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Indians during the years of the

Cherokee–American wars The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...

. The existence of a supply depot attracted European settlers to the area and contributed to the development of a settlement around the fortification. Nearby springs provided a constant source of fresh water. Fort Adair served as a supply station for the Cumberland Guard and later for the town of Nashborough, which would become modern

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. The Cumberland Guard was a militia organization providing armed protection to migrants to the Cumberland settlements, which would later develop into the town of Nashborough. The present day community of Fountain City began to develop around the supply depot Fort Adair shortly after its completion. Originally named ''Grassy Valley'', the settlement was renamed to ''Fountain Head'' and later to ''Fountain City'' to avoid confusion with another settlement of the same name. Since its

in 1962, Fountain City is a

of northern Knoxville, Tennessee.

Location

Fort Adair was located in the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley region of East Tennessee, which is characterized by long, narrow ridges in a northeast-southwest direction. The exact location of the supply depot is unknown, but research indicates that it could have been located in the vicinity of the modern Lynnhurst Cemetery, near the confluence of Adair Creek and First Creek. Adair and his wife are buried at the top of a hill in the northeast section of the cemetery. The historical marker erected by the Tennessee Historical Commission and the monument placed at the location by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

are located at U.S. Route 441 at the intersection of Broadway and Sanders Drive in Knox County at coordinates .

References

{{Reflist

External links

History of Fountain City
Buildings and structures in Knox County, Tennessee Adair Pre-statehood history of Tennessee

History

Location

See also

References

External links