Tennessee

 Early Forts and Settlements

Fort Loudon

1756: Fort Loudon Built In 1756 the Earl of Loudoun was appointed commander in chief of the army throughout the British continental provinces in America as well as governor of the Province of Virginia. Following up the concession to Governor Glenn he dispatched Andrew Lewis to build the other fort at the head of navigation on the Little Tennessee River in 1756. He located it on the south side of the river within five miles of Chota, the home of the eloquent Cherokee chief Oconostota. It was about thirty miles from the present city of Knoxville and nearly one hundred and fifty miles in advance of any white settlement. It was called Fort Loudon in honor of the first commander in chief of the army and was garrisoned by a force of two hundred British regulars. This was the first structure erected in Tennessee by Anglo Americans.

Under the protection of these forts the tide of emigration reached the base of the mountains that separate Tennessee from North Carolina. They also afforded the daring frontiersman an opportunity to gain some knowledge of the country beyond. A small settlement sprang up under the guns of Fort Loudon. It is probable that this would have been the first permanent settlement in the State but for an unfortunate affair that occurred immediately after the reduction of Fort DuQuesne.

The Cherokees had been the friends and allies of the English. They had volunteered to protect the American frontier south of the Potomac. Some of them marched with the army of the south to Fort DuQuesne. After that decisive engagement they received little attention from their allies. Having lost their horses, the neglected Indians supplied themselves with such as they found running at large, as they returned through the back counties of Virginia. The enraged backwoodsmen pursued and put a number of the offending warriors to death. The result was that while the victory of Fort DuQuesne brought peace to the northern frontiers; this distressing incident plunged the southern provinces into the horrors of an Indian war. Fort Loudon was besieged and captured, its garrison was massacred and the permanent settlement of the State was delayed for another decade.

Virginia built a fort on the Holston, nearly opposite the upper end of Long Island, where Colonel Bird wintered in 1758. This fort was believed to be on Virginia soil, but was really some distance south of its line and was the second Anglo American fort erected within the boundaries of Tennessee.¹

Fortunately for history Col John Donelson kept a diary in which is recorded the events of this remarkable voyage This journal is headed as follows Journal of a voyage intended by God's permission in the good boat Adventure from Fort Patrick Henry on Holston River to the French Salt Springs on Cumberland River kept by John Donelson The narrative begins December 22 1779 when The good boat Adventure left Fort Patrick Henry After much delay caused by excessive hard frosts the Adventure was joined at the mouth of Cloud's Creek by sundry other vessels bound for the same voyage February 27 1780 the little fleet started on the voyage which was destined to incur unexpected dangers A complete account is given by Col Donelson of the perils of the voyage the atttack by the Indians and the unforeseen dangers and discomforts of pioneer navigation especially in passing through Mussel Shoals Finally the fleet arrived April 24 1780 at our journey's end at the Big Salt Lick where we have the pleasure of finding Capt Robertson and his company

 

Wautauga Settlements

Wautauga Old Fields in 1768 was one of the first early settlements on Tennessee. This was the name giev to the flat land near Sycamore Shoals that is now in Carter County, Tennessee.

Early settlers were: James Robertson and his brother Charles

John Carter and his son Landon

Valentine Sevier and his son John

1770: The treaty of Lochaber Followed North Carolina- Virgina border to the Holston River and established a temporary border. Map

By 1771

Settlement on the Holston near Long Island

Long Island Historical marker  Photo credit: J Stephen Conn Some rights reserved  Link

 

Sycamore Shoals

Carter's Valley near Rogersville

Jacob Brown's Purchase

A council was established: John Carter, James and Charles Robinson, Zack Isbell and John Sevier. Many of these settlers living on the North side of the Holston believed that they were still in Virginia and based their organization on Virginia law.

1774: Lord Dunsmore's War

1775: Transylvania Purchase at Sycamore Shoals

The War of Independence:
Watuguans quickly aligned themselves with other American settlers and sent a petition to North Carolina asking for protection. This led to the creation of the District of Washington.

At Long Island, William Cocke led the way to building a station or fort called Eaton's Station.

 

1777: Treaty with the Cherokee at Long Island, with Waightstill Avery, representing North Carolina and

Isaac Shelby, representing North Carolina, which extended the line to Brown's purchase. This was for the settlers who lived South of the Holston River. Settlers who lived North of the river still considered themselves to be in Virginia.

 

1779: Richard Henderson, for North Carolina and Thomas Walker and Daniel Smith for Virginia, were appointed to extend the line between North Carolina and Tennessee.

The Thomas Walker line

Land Companies:The Loyal Land Company of Virginia,

Land Companies reopened after the war

1783: The Land Act; Months before the ink could be applied to the peace treaty of 1783, an act was passed in North Carolina legislature to clear the way for a land rush, this became known as the "Land Grab Act". All territory west of the Alleghenies was to be opened up for land entries and surveys. The greedy politicians and wealthy men of North Carolina eagerly began to divide up the spoils of war. The man most responsible for pushing this act through the North Carolina legislature was none other than William Blount, future governor of the Southwest Territory (Tennessee), and the great-grandfather of Colonel Robert H. Dye Source:

1784: North Carolina granted the US government her land in Tennessee, with the stipulation that they honor all the entries previously made by the state.

The State of Franklin

Treaty of Hopewell Three separate treaties:

1785: On November 28, 1785, the first Treaty of Hopewell was signed between the U.S. representative Benjamin Hawkins and the Cherokee Indians. The treaty laid out a western boundary for American settlement.

On January 3, 1786, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed between U.S. representatives Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and Joseph Martin and members of the Choctaw People.

On January 10, 1786, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed between U.S. representatives Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and Joseph Martin and the Chickasaw.

1786: Treaty of Dumplin Creek John Sevier

Southwest Territory or Territory South of the Ohio River

The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States as the State of Tennessee. The Southwest Territory was created by the Southwest Ordinance from lands of the Washington District that had been ceded to the U.S. federal government by North Carolina. The territory's lone governor was William Blount.

1790-The establishment of the Southwest Territory followed a series of efforts by North Carolina's trans-Appalachian residents to form a separate political entity, initially with the Watauga Association (1772–1776), and later with the failed State of Franklin (1784–1789). North Carolina ceded these lands in April 1790 as payment of obligations owed to the federal government. The territory's residents welcomed the cession, believing the federal government would provide better protection from Indian hostilities.

1791-1792: Treaty of Holston

The Treaty of Holston was a treaty between the United States government and the Cherokee signed on July 2, 1791, and proclaimed on February 7, 1792. It was negotiated and signed by William Blount, governor of the Southwest Territory and superintendent of Indian affairs for the southern district for the United States, and various representatives of the Cherokee peoples, most notably John Watts. The treaty established terms of relations between the United States and the Cherokee, and established that the Cherokee tribes were to fall under the protection of the United States, with the United States managing all future foreign affairs for all the loosely affiliated Cherokee tribes.

1796: Statehood

Fort Southwest Point

Early Roads

Flower Gap to Kyles Ford

Saluda Gap

Boone's Wilderness Trail

1787: Road from Clinch Mountain to Fort Nashborough

Fort SW Point

Road from Knoxville to Ft SW Point, river crossing by ferry

Travelers crossed the Cumberland near Carthage at Fort Blount

 

17972, a postal route was established between the Courthouse in Hawkins County and Richmond.

A road between Knoxville and Abingdon

1794: A Post Office established in Knoxville

 

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