Fires Creek
Fires Creek is a recreational area located in the Nantahala National Forest in Clay County, North Carolina
Clay County is a county located in the far western part of U.S. state North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the county population wa ...
Bear Reserve, which is within the Nantahala National Forest. The Tusquitee Mountain range includes Tusquitee Bald at 5,240 feet.
History
Tusquitee is a CherokeeNative American word meaning "Where the water-dogs laughed." (A Water Dog, sometimes also called mud-puppy, is a type of salamander.) According to folklore, a Cherokee hunter was crossing over Tusquitee Bald in a very dry season. He heard voices, crept silently toward them, peeped over a rock, and witnessed two water-dogs walking together along the trail on their hind legs and talking as they went. Their pond was dried up and they were on the way to the
Nantahala River
The Nantahala River () , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Retrieved January 26, 2024.
There is a subdivision in Tusquittee called Tusquittee Landing which incorporates a 2700 foot grass airstrip. Most people assume the "Landing" refers to the airplanes landing. However, it actually is a carryover from the days where the mules dragged logs down from the forest to a landing on Goldmine Creek. The logs were then moved down the creek to Tusquittee Creek and eventually to the sawmill.
In the late 1870s and early 1880s the Tusquittee Turnpike ran from Clay County to the Nantahala River in Macon County. The toll road cost 25 cents per wagon and 5 cents per horseman, though Gospel ministers could travel for free. A gold mine operated in Tusquittee around the 1930s.