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