Coker Creek is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Monroe County,
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 ...
, United States. It is located on
Tennessee State Route 68, south of
Tellico Plains. Its population in the 2020 census was 150.
Coker Creek lies in the southern
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 ...
(specifically, the
Unicoi Mountains
The Unicoi Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Unicois are ...
) completely surrounded by the
Cherokee National Forest
The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompas ...
, and just west of the Tennessee-
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
state line. Tellico Mountain lies to the north, Farner Mountain to the south, Unicoi Mountain to the east, and Cataska Mountain to the west. There are homes and businesses, 11 graveyards, nine churches, and many hiking trails and artisan shops as well as a Christian summer camp, Smoky Mountain Christian Camp. The area is known for its trout fishing and the mountains are home to rhododendron, laurel, ferns and the many species of trees native to this area.
History
Coker Creek was
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 ...
land prior to the
Cherokee removal
The Cherokee removal (May 25, 18381839), part of the Indian removal, refers to the forced displacement of an estimated 15,500 Cherokees and 1,500 African-American slaves from the U.S. states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to ...
in 1838 and was known even in the early twentieth century as "Coco" or "Coqua," the Cherokee name for
butterfly weed. Archaeological evidence suggests the presence of a
stone tool
Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...
factory during the
Archaic Period. A trading path between the
lower settlements and
overhill towns passed through the area, and in 1816 this path was developed as the
Unicoi Turnpike.
Europeans learned from the Indians about the presence of
placer gold
Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment.
Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...
in the area, and in 1827 Jacob Peck and Le Grande Henderson began mining illegally.
[Ashley, George H. (1911) ''The Gold Fields of Coker Creek''] Other European prospectors and settlers followed. Robert Tunnell started a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
near Coker Creek in 1831 and Philip Meroney operated a stock stand (
service station) at the present location. In response to complaints from the Cherokee, General
Walker Keith Armistead
Walker Keith Armistead (March 25, 1773 – October 13, 1845) was a military officer who served as Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Armistead was born in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, and served as an ord ...
toured the area and established
Fort Armistead at the site of Meroney's Stand to repel the prospectors. With the shift of Indian policy under president
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, the fort later became a way-point used in the removal.
The Coker Creek field produced about , nearly all of Tennessee's historical gold output, despite using no more than light machinery.
The
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
brought strife to Coker Creek as locals resisted the
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
government and
deserter
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
s and
bushwhackers hid out in the mountains. Companies from
Thomas' Legion of remnant Cherokee and pro-Confederate highlanders were stationed in Coker Creek to enforce Confederate authority.
Union forces also passed through the community, but there were no direct military confrontations.
Gold mining was interrupted during the war, and afterward continued until 1911.
A
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
camp was established on the turnpike in the 1930s and later served as a
Boy Scout
A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
camp.
In 1884 local
miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
and
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister
R. G. Spurling was expelled from his church for preaching to non-Baptist congregations in defiance of
Landmarkism
Landmarkism, sometimes called Baptist bride theology, is a Baptist ecclesiology that emerged in the mid-19th century in the American South. It upholds the perpetuity theory of Baptist origins, which asserts an unbroken continuity and exclusive ...
. After two years of Bible study he founded the Christian Union, a forerunner of the
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
Church of God.
A marker from the main intersection commemorates the founding location.
Education
Monroe County Schools operates public schools. Coker Creek School serves the community.
References
External links
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Tennessee
Unincorporated communities in Tennessee