Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

located in

Elizabethton Elizabethton () is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of bo ...

, in the U.S. state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The park consists of situated along the

Sycamore Shoals The Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Archeological excavations have found Native Americans lived near the shoals ...

of the

Watauga River The Watauga River () is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is long with its headwaters in Linville Gap to the South Fork Holston River at Boone Lake. Course The Watauga River rises from a spring located south to ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

where a series of events critical to the establishment of the states of Tennessee and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and the settlement of the Trans-

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

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)Carroll Van West
Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: 11 February 2013. and Sabine Hill (also at a satellite location in Elizabethton). For over a thousand years before the arrival of European explorers, Sycamore Shoals and adjacent lands had been inhabited by Native Americans.Polly Rettig and Hugh Lawing (form preparation), . 11 February 1976. Retrieved: 28 June 2009. PDF file. The first permanent European settlers arrived in 1770, and established the

Watauga Association The Watauga Association (sometimes referred to as the Republic of Watauga) was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers living along the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. Although it lasted only a fe ...

—one of the first written constitutional governments west of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

—in 1772. Richard Henderson and

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

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 The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...

. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, 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 The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are the leading edge of the Appalachian Mountains, who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in t ...

in 1780.Samuel Cole Williams (1919). "Henderson and Company's Purchase Within the Limits of Tennessee." ''Tennessee Historical Magazine'', Vol. 1 (1919), pp. 5-23.

Facilities

The visitors' center at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park houses interpretive displays about the area's history, a theater offering free screenings of a short

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

narrated by

John Cullum John Cullum (born March 2, 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and '' On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in ...

about the

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. Sycamore-shoals-river-trailhead-tn1

The , 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 Park 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 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...

mission in 1971 as part of a joint project between

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

. The seeds were germinated by the Forest Service upon return to Earth, and this tree was planted at the Sycamore Shoals State Historical Park in April 1976 as part of the celebration of the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

Park areas

Main park area

The main park area consists of the historic Shoals, the visitor center, a picnic area and the reconstructed Fort Watauga. It is located on the west side of the city of Elizabethton along the river.

The Carter Mansion

Listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and built between 1775 and 1780, the Carter Mansion may be the only surviving material link to the

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. It is located on the east side of the city of Elizabethton.

Sabine Hill

On November 1, 2017 the Sabine Hill home and property was added to the park, as satellite property.

Historical significance of the Park

Colonial settlement

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 The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

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. In 1770, James Robertson (a later founder of

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

) made an excursion into the Watauga Valley, possibly to locate settlement sites for families fleeing the turmoil of the

Regulator Movement The Regulator Movement in North Carolina, also known as the Regulator Insurrection, War of Regulation, and War of the Regulation, was an uprising in Provincial North Carolina from 1766 to 1771 in which citizens took up arms against colonial offi ...

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.Samuel Cole Williams (1937). ''Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: Watauga Press), pp. 338–348.

Watauga Association

After surveyors placed the Watauga settlement and the other "south-of-Holston" settlements officially within the domain of the

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.John Finger (2001). ''Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition'' (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press), pp. 43-64.

American Revolution

In March 1775, the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, sometimes called the Transylvania Purchase, was signed by Richard Henderson and Cherokee leaders

Attakullakulla Attakullakulla ( Cherokee”Tsalagi”, (ᎠᏔᎫᎧᎷ) ''Atagukalu'' and often called Little Carpenter by the English) (c. 1715 – c. 1777) was an influential Cherokee leader and the tribe's First Beloved Man, serving from 1761 to ...

and

Oconastota Oconostota (c. 1707–1783) was a Cherokee '' skiagusta'' (war chief) of Chota, which was for nearly four decades the primary town in the Overhill territory, and within what is now Monroe County, Tennessee. He served as the First Beloved Man of ...

. The treaty involved the purchase of some of land between the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass re ...

and the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

, 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 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by British King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The ...

, 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

. In the weeks following the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, a faction of Cherokee opposed to the sale, led by

Dragging Canoe Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronounced ''Tsiyu Gansini'', – February 29, 1792) was a Cherokee red (or war) chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the Upper South. During the Ame ...

, 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 The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria and Lynchburg. Most of the line was built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, while a small portion in th ...

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, which was led by John Carter, James Robertson, and John Sevier. 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 Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Overmountain Men had previously fought at the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

(these included what one historian dubbed the first "Tennessee volunteers") and the

Battle of Musgrove Mill The Battle of Musgrove Mill, August 19, 1780, occurred near a ford of the Enoree River, near the present-day border between Spartanburg, Laurens and Union Counties in South Carolina. During the course of the battle, 200 Patriot militiamen def ...

, both in 1780, and participated in two campaigns against the Cherokee, in 1776 and 1780. William Tatham, Watauga Association clerk and drafter of the Watauga Petition, was present at the

Battle of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Mar ...

in 1781.Samuel Cole Williams (1947). ''William Tatham, Wataugan'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: The Watauga Press), pp. 11–28.

Annual events

* 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

References

External links

Official website

Friends of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area

Article from Tennessee History for Kids
{{authority control Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Houses completed in 1780 State parks of Tennessee Protected areas of Carter County, Tennessee Museums in Carter County, Tennessee Historic house museums in Tennessee Military and war museums in Tennessee Elizabethton, Tennessee Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in Tennessee Houses in Carter County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Carter County, Tennessee