This marker is along the highway and adjacent to a boat ramp area, so there is a spot to pull over…read moreand park while you appreciate the beauty of the Lake Junaluska in the mountains and read the marker. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Cataloochee Trail. An old Indian path across mountains used by early settlers and in 1810 by Bishop Asbury. Trail passed nearby." The online essay has more information. "Cataloochee Trail, located in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, served as a pathway for both Native Americans and European settlers over the Appalachian Mountains. The earliest extant mention of the trail appears in 1799, and refers to the Cataloochee as a "turnpike." By that point, the Cherokee had abandoned the region, and Col. Robert Love, a Revolutionary War veteran and land speculator, had purchased the land." This is marker number P-50 and it was erected by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. [Review 1163 of 2024 - 3653 in North Carolina - 22186 overall]

This historical marker is located at the intersection of US Highway 19 at the Blue Ridge Parkway…read morenear Soco Gap. The sign is next to a concrete marker that clearly marks the spot of this "Boundary." The marker reads, "Qualla Boundary. Soco Gap, initial point of U.S. survey, 1876, of Cherokee Reservation, created through earlier efforts of W. H. Thomas, white Cherokee chief." The online essay has a lot more information. "The Qualla Boundary, the official name for the Cherokee Indian Reservation in western North Carolina, was officially surveyed and its present boundaries were established in 1876. The tract owed its creation to the alliance and efforts of the Cherokee people and to William Holland Thomas, the white Cherokee chief. Thomas pruchased lands for the Cherokee people under his name in the 1840s and 1850s, and in 1866 the United States recognized the right of the Cherokee to own and control the lands. Ten years later, the land was surveyed and demarcated as Cherokee land, outside of federal and state government jurisdiction. "Between October 1838 and March 1839 the federal government forcibly removed the Cherokee people from their lands in western North Carolina. About 11,000 Cherokee Indians were relocated in what became known as the Trail of Tears. Some Cherokee remained in North Carolina, however, including many who hid in the Great Smoky Mountains. In addition to those who eluded internment and forced migration, some Cherokee were free to stay because of earlier treaties, including the Oconaluftee Cherokee under Yonaguska. These individuals recruited Thomas to purchase land on their behalf, which he began doing in 1840. "William Holland Thomas owned three stores in Qualla Town and the surrounding areas by the late 1820s. Having worked and lived amongst the Cherokee people from earlier in his life, Thomas had a significant knowledge of the their language, and was a close friend of Yonaguska. He was well respected and trusted by the Cherokee people, eventually serving as their only white chief. After the Trail of Tears, Thomas acted on behalf of the Cherokee and acquired lands focused around the Oconaluftee River and Soco Creek. A large tract of land, consisting of around 50,000 acres, was eventually collected around Oconaluftee Creek, and this constitutes the majority of the Qualla Boundary today. "Thomas also struggled gain official permission for the Oconaluftee Cherokee to remain in North Carolina. In 1866, the Eastern Band of Cherokee were formally granted freedom to live in North Carolina, and were recognized as a separate entity from the Cherokee living in Oklahoma in 1868. In 1874, a board of arbitrators appointed by the federal courts found that Thomas's land purchases had been on behalf of the Cherokee people, and the lands were placed in a trust for the Cherokee tribe. "Because the boundaries of the land were still vague, in 1876 a survey was completed by M. S. Temple, deputy U. S. Surveyor, and the boundaries of the Qualla Boundary were established. The surveying began in Soco Gap, an area that was the most important passageway through the Balsam Mountains for the Cherokee before the arrival of the white man." The intersection is here. There is space to pull over to read the sign and see the marker. It was an interesting experience and of course, it's a reminder of how poorly the American government treated the Native Americans who were here. [Review 1166 of 2024 - 3656 in North Carolina - 22189 overall]

Thanks to Google Maps (and my thorough trip itinerary planning), I had discovered the historic…read more(once a) "ghost town" of Elkmont. For America's most visited national park, it can be difficult to escape the crowds within the Great Smoky Mountains--yet Elkmont is one place to do just that! This Little River Valley was once home to a pioneer Appalachian community, a logging town, and later a resort community. To this day, old relics and abandoned buildings from the past remain--awaiting to be explored. The area was settled in the 1840s as the town of Little River when a logging company was formed. A railroad was later constructed to transport timber for the Little River Lumber Company. This eventually allowed the wealthy from Knoxville to visit what eventually became a resort town. When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was was established in 1934, residents were given the option to sell their homes at full price and relocate, or sell to the National Park Service (NPS) for a discounted price allowing them to live there until they become deceased. By 1992, most of the homes remained vacant or with expired leases leading 70+ historic buildings into a state of deterioration. Thankfully the NPS decided to renovate and preserve 19 buildings in Elkmont for public visitation. You can now find the Elkmont Historic District with cabins along Jakes Creek Road that were completed around 1997. They attempted to keep the buildings in the closest original condition--even their exterior paint colors! Each cabin has information about the tenants and any unique features. Unfortunately, the cabins cannot be brought up to code for renting or staying inside. However, the largest lodge known as the Appalachian Club is available as an event venue. Continue to explore the Old Elkmont Cemetery up a rocky road near the beginning of Elkmont Road, or choose to hike the Jakes Creek or Little River Trails where you will venture past less discovered old chimneys, walls and tractors that still remain. Directions: Coming from Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge or Cherokee, turn to go west on Fighting Creek Gap Road toward Cade's Cove (turn off near the Sugarlands Visitor Center). After the Laurel Falls trailhead, watch for signs to Elkmont Campground. Follow Elkmont Road all the way til it becomes a loop drive at Jakes Creek Trail Trailhead.

I saw this place on tiktok by Daisytown and also Elkmont. The drive out here is a lil wonky and…read morewill take a long time to get out here. If you are handicap, you dont have to pay for parking. But otherwise you need to get a day pass at the visitor center.

Small set of offices for Tribal Government with some awesome public servants inside.read more

The book collection is old. Needs better collection development. One staff member is rude and bossy.read more

I am removing one star for rudeness. I had to call the other day in order to renew my books. The…read moreemployee who answered the phone was annoyed that she had to do her job. Chill- you work in a library, possibly the most stress free workplace on earth. Speaking of those books, when we originally attempted to check them out, the lady in the kids' room was rude, too. She acted like I wasn't there, and kept on talking with her friends. I could not tell if her friends were employees or patrons. She finally said that she could not check me out, and told me that I could go the self-check-out kiosk or go upstairs to get checked out. I asked her how to do the self thing, and she showed me the kiosk. I stared at it for several long seconds before telling her that I would go upstairs. Tell me: why do they need a self-check-out if they have time to endlessly yak it up and there are never more than six people in the kids' room at a time, not counting employees? Libraries should feel inviting, not alienating.

Along US Highway 19 at a small park that is next to a small tributary to the larger river, this…read moremarker points out someone who helped put Maggie Valley and Buncombe County on the map. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Felix Walker. Revolutionary officer, member Congress, 1817-23, where, in "talking for Buncombe" (County), he gave new meaning to the word. Home was 1/2 mi. N." There is more detail in the online essay. "'Bunk,' part of the American lexicon, has its origins in the oratory skills (or lack thereof) of a nineteenth-century Congressman from Buncombe County. Felix Walker was born in 1753 in Hampshire County, Virginia, which is now part of West Virginia. He moved with his father in 1768 to what is now Rutherford County, North Carolina. In 1769 he was employed as a merchant's clerk in South Carolina, before joining the Boonesboro, Kentucky settlement with Daniel Boone and others. "Walker was a North Carolina militiaman and took part in the Revolutionary War from 1776 to 1779. After his war experience, he was a clerk in the Rutherford County Court from 1779 to 1787. He served four terms in the State House. For most of his life he was primarily a farmer. "Walker was elected as a Republican to the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Congresses, serving from 1817 to 1823. There he gained a reputation for 'speaking for Buncombe.' At that time old Buncombe County (with its seat at Asheville) was larger than its present size and comprised the core of Walker's Congressional district. Walker's reputation, by association with the phrase was both credited, that is, he competently represented his constituents, and discredited, that is, his thoughts were dismissed as 'bunk.' Walker moved to Mississippi in 1824 where he became an agricultural trader, and lived there until his death in 1828. "H. L. Mencken, the sage of Baltimore and a connoisseur of the American language, entitled one of his books A Carnival of Buncombe." This is marker number P-26 and it was erected by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. There is parking and a public restroom in the adjacent park. [Review 1164 of 2024 - 3654 in North Carolina - 22187 overall]

Located along US-23/US-441, this marker points out the Colonial expedition against the local Native…read moreAmericans. The marker reads, "The expedition led by Gen. Griffith Rutherford against the Cherokee, Sept., 1776, passed nearby along Savannah Creek." Online, there is more information. " By 1770 North Carolina's settlements were encroaching on previously designated Indian tribal lands. The Indians in the North Carolina mountains were primarily farmers who raised some livestock, hunted for game, and traded with white men for the most other supplies. Therefore the Native Americans were both threatened by the white men, but dependent on them, as well." "In May 1776 the Cherokee demanded the withdrawal of settlers from the western settlements within twenty days. Knowing that the demand would not be met, the Indians made plans for an attack. By late July the Cherokee had attacked various settlements along the North Carolina frontier, killing thirty-seven inhabitants. Citizens of the backcountry were alarmed." "Griffith Rutherford, brigadier general of the Salisbury District militia, called for volunteers to conduct an expedition against the Cherokee. With militia reporting from several western counties, Rutherford gathered about 2,500 men and enough supplies for forty days afield. From Davidson's Fort (Old Fort) Rutherford and his men set out on September 1, 1776. They headed through the Swanannoa Gap, towards the Cherokee Valley Towns. The Indians, having gotten word of the expedition, abandoned many of their settlements. Rutherford's men burned whatever was left behind." [Review 21134 overall - 3514 in North Carolina - 97 of 2024.]

Just a block from the Historic Swain County Courthouse (now the Heritage museum), this marker…read morepoints out some Civil War history that took place nearby. The marker reads, "Site of Union attack on Thomas's Legion, Feb. 2, 1864. Reduced Cherokee support for Confederacy. One mile northeast." and it is marker Q-8. It was erected in 2010 by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. Brigadier General Robeert Vance's brief 1864 raid into Gatlinburg collapsed when Union cavalry scattered his force, leaving Colonel William Holland Thomas and his small Cherokee detachment to retreat into North Carolina. Union troops caught Thomas at Deep Creek on February 2, overrunning the camp and capturing thirty-two men, including eighteen Cherokees who later took the Union oath, and in some cases, enlisted in the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry. A second raid soon captured thirty-three more of Thomas's Cherokees, who were courted by Union authorities and likewise switched allegiance. The Deep Creek defeat, combined with hunger, inflation, internal tensions, and continued Union raids, shattered Cherokee support for Thomas and accelerated desertion from the Confederate cause. [Review 528 of 2026 - 4623 in North Carolina - 25710 overall]