The Tuckasegee River (variant spellings include Tuckaseegee and Tuckaseigee) flows entirely within
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
Cullowhee
Cullowhee , from the North Carolina Collection website at the
at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of Panthertown and Greenland creeks.
It flows in a northwesterly direction into Swain County, where the Oconaluftee flows into it before the Tuckaseegee heads northwest. The county seat,
Bryson City
Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina in the United States. The population was 1558 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Swain County.
Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was founded a ...
developed along both sides of the Tuckaseegee, and
Bryson City Island Park
The Bryson City Island Park is a small island located in Bryson City, North Carolina, United States. Located within the Tuckasegee River, at the mouth of historic Deep Creek, which flows from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Location
Th ...
was developed. The river next enters
Fontana Lake
Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River, and is located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the northern b ...
, formed by the
Fontana Dam
Fontana Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in Swain and Graham counties, North Carolina, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to satisfy the skyrocketin ...
upriver on the Little Tennessee River. The Tuckaseegee ultimately flows as a tributary into the
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It drains portio ...
below the lake.
The name Tuckasegee may be an anglicization or transliteration of the
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 ...
word ''daksiyi''— akhšiyiin the local Cherokee variety, meaning 'Turtle Place.' Several Cherokee towns developed along the river, including
Kituwa
Kituwa (also spelled Kituwah, Keetoowah, Kittowa, Kitara and other similar variations) or ''giduwa'' (Cherokee: ᎩᏚᏩ) is an ancient Native American settlement near the upper Tuckasegee River, and is claimed by the Cherokee people as their ori ...
, believed to be the "mother town" of the Cherokee. It developed around an earthen
platform mound
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
, likely built about 1000 CE. The mound, although reduced in height, is visible on the of land reacquired in 1996 by the federally recognized
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a Federally recognized tribe, federally recognized Indian Tribe based in Western North Carolina in the U ...
. This land also includes the former site of an early 18th-century Cherokee town. The EBCI conducted an archeological survey in 1997 that found evidence of thousands of years of habitation at this site and are keeping it undeveloped as sacred ground.
Many of the mounds in this area were built by about 1000 CE, during the
South Appalachian Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earth ...
era. In each of their major towns, the Cherokee built a
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
as their expression of public architecture on top of such a mound, if it existed. The townhouse was the Cherokee expression of public architecture, emphasizing their decentralized society based on community consensus. In some places, they built a townhouse on the main town plaza.
The river also has several stone fishing
weirs
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
built by prehistoric indigenous peoples. It is believed that the weirs were built by peoples who lived here prior to the
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 ...
in the Southeast. The weirs are most easily viewed when water levels are low. One near
Webster, North Carolina
Webster is a town in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 363, down from 486 in 2000.
Webster was the first county seat of Jackson County, until Sylva assumed the role in 1913.
Geography
Webs ...