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23-596: Although there are no records and few contemporary descriptions pertaining to the fort's design and structure, archaeological excavations conducted in the 1970s and 1980s have determined the fort's layout. Based on these findings, the City of Kingston and the Tennessee Division of Archaeology have reconstructed part of the fort. The site is managed by the City of Kingston. In February 2024, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that Fort Southwest Point will become

46-743: A Tennessee State Park. The Fort Southwest Point site is situated on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Clinch River . This confluence is now part of the Watts Bar Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River, created by the completion of Watts Bar Dam in 1942. The Emory River empties into the Clinch approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) upstream from Southwest Point. The Fort Southwest Point site

69-528: A fort to the governor of Virginia . Although Virginia never acted on Campbell's advice, the end of the war brought a flood of settlers into the Tennessee Valley, leading to increased conflict with the valley's Cherokee inhabitants. During this period, two events occurred that greatly enhanced Southwest Point's strategic importance: the construction of the Avery Trace in 1788 and the signing of

92-893: A spring on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in the northern area of the State of Georgia . It flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee , flowing into the Tennessee River a few miles west of what is now State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee . The river is about 147 miles (237 km) long. The river is dammed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in four locations, all in Western North Carolina : Chatuge Dam , Mission Dam (not owned by TVA), Hiwassee Dam , and Apalachia Dam . Water

115-542: Is diverted from the stream bed at Apalachia Dam and sent through a pipeline, which is tunneled through the mountains for eight miles (13 km); then it flows through the Apalachia Powerhouse to generate electricity. The stretch of the river that flows between Apalachia Dam and Apalachia Powerhouse features reduced flow. The John Muir Trail in Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest goes along this part of

138-469: Is part of Southwest Point Park, which serves as both a historical and recreational area. The park is located along State Route 58 approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Interstate 40 and 1 mile (1.6 km) south of U.S. Route 70 . At the height of the American Revolution in 1779, Colonel Arthur Campbell suggested the confluence of the Clinch and Tennessee as a possible site for

161-555: Is popular for whitewater rafting , whitewater canoeing , and whitewater kayaking . Recreational fishing is popular with several outfitters located near the river, and there is also industrial activity along the river, such as paper mills. The Interstate 75 bridge crossed the Hiwassee between McMinn and Bradley counties in Tennessee. This was the site of a fatal 99-vehicle accident in December 1990, during extremely foggy weather in

184-595: The Cherokee "annuity" (an annual payment of goods by the U.S. government in exchange for land cessions). Meigs immediately began negotiating with the Cherokee in hopes of obtaining permission to build a wagon road across their lands connecting Knoxville and Nashville. In 1805, the Third and Fourth Treaties of Tellico brought most of the Cumberland Plateau region under U.S. dominion, making the road possible. As

207-679: The Southwest Point Blockhouse was garrisoned by a federal contingent of 10 to 15 troops. During this time, a decision was made to replace the blockhouse with a much larger fort. While the early records regarding the fort's construction were destroyed in a fire, historians have determined that the fort was completed by federal troops under the command of Captain John Wade and Captain Richard Sparks in July 1797. The fort

230-554: The Tennessee River. This area of the river is enjoyed by boaters, fishermen, and water skiers. Major tributaries include Valley River, Nottely River , Coker Creek, Big Lost Creek, Spring Creek, Conasauga Creek , and Toccoa/Ocoee River . The Hiwassee River has been known by many variant spellings, particularly Hiawassee, which is also the name of the Georgia town through which the river flows. Other alternate spellings include Heia Wassea, Highwassee, Euphasee, and Quannessee. Some say

253-767: The Treaty of Holston in 1791. The Avery Trace, which began at Southwest Point, became the key road connecting East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee until around 1800. The Treaty of Holston fixed the boundary between U.S. and Cherokee lands at the Clinch River, placing Southwest Point on the fringe of lands open to settlement in East Tennessee. The waning years of the Cherokee–American wars brought an increase in Chickamauga Cherokee attacks against

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276-524: The construction of Watts Bar Dam (the site is well above reservoir flood levels, however). In 1973, the University of Tennessee conducted excavations at the site, locating six structures and evidence of prehistoric habitation. Between 1984 and 1986, the Tennessee Division of Archaeology , seeking information to aide in the fort's reconstruction, conducted more extensive investigations at the site. These excavations uncovered nine additional structures and

299-531: The encroaching Euro-American settlers. Territorial governor William Blount kept the militia on call for much of the early 1790s in order to protect settlers and enforce the terms of the Holston Treaty. John Sevier , who commanded part of the militia, encamped at Southwest Point in 1792. By November of that year, Sevier's troops had completed a blockhouse at the site, which they used as a base until 1793 when federal troops arrived. Between 1793 and 1796,

322-579: The fort, the layout of which has been determined mostly from the remnants of their foundations. Tennessee Division of Archaeology Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 932809448 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:41:05 GMT Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River originates from

345-532: The issues regarding squatters, and reduced the need for federal troops in the area. By 1801, the Southwest Point garrison consisted of roughly 100 troops. In 1801, Colonel Return J. Meigs was appointed Cherokee Agent and Military Agent for the War Department in Tennessee. Although its garrison had been reduced, Fort Southwest Point served as an office for Meigs and as a distribution center for

368-469: The mountains through a gorge, the Hiwassee broadens, meandering through rural Polk and Bradley counties in Tennessee. It is crossed by a bridge carrying US-411 soon after it exits the mountains. U.S. Route 11 passes over the river at Calhoun and Charleston, Tennessee , where local industries such as Bowater Newsprint Mill and Arch/Olin Chemical use river water in their operations. At this point

391-597: The name came from the Cherokee word Ayuhwasi , meaning meadow or savanna. The Hiwassee River passes through Murphy, North Carolina , where it flows past a site famous in Cherokee Indian mythology . The legend tells of a house-sized leech that could command the waters and use them to sweep hapless people to the bottom of the river and consume them. It was known as Tlanusi-yi , "The Leech Place." The river flows west from North Carolina into Tennessee. This area

414-493: The palisade ditch, allowing researchers to determine the fort's original layout. The prehistoric findings at the site include an infant burial, storage pits , and sherds. Hickory nut shells uncovered in a basin-style hearth returned a radiocarbon date of approximately 1360 AD. According to archaeological findings, Fort Southwest Point was 297 feet (91 m) x 175 feet (53 m), enclosing approximately 1.2 acres (4,900 m). There were at least 15 structure located within

437-536: The river interfaces with the impoundment of Chickamauga Dam (located in Chattanooga, Tennessee ). Many marshes and wetlands surround the main channel, providing rich habitats for wildlife and areas for hunting and fishing. Interstate 75 passes over the river on the border of McMinn and Bradley counties. The Hiwassee continues westward; it is crossed by SR 58 's bridge (this bridge replaced an old historic and narrow bridge) on its way to its confluence with

460-614: The river. The 23-mile (37 km) stretch of river that flows from the North Carolina/Tennessee state line to U.S. Highway 411 near Delano is designated as a Tennessee State Scenic River (Class III Partially Developed River). For recreational purposes, it is managed by the Tennessee Resource Management Division, in cooperation with TVA. The river features Class I through Class III rapids, depending on water levels. After exiting

483-403: The same time, lots had been sold for what eventually become the city of Kingston, named for Major Robert King, an officer stationed at the fort. Among the first duties of the Southwest Point garrison was to remove individuals (known as "squatters") who had settled on Cherokee lands illegally. However, the first Treaty of Tellico— which Butler helped negotiate in 1798— resolved many of

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506-477: The treaties pushed the U.S.-Cherokee border south to the Hiwassee River , the garrison at Southwest Point was no longer needed. By 1807, Meigs and most of the federal garrison had relocated to the Hiwassee area. A skeleton contingent of less than 5 soldiers maintained Fort Southwest Point until 1811. The Southwest Point site was purchased by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s in anticipation of

529-476: Was originally referred to as "Fort Butler" after Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Butler (commander of federal forces in East Tennessee), but the name had been changed to "Fort Southwest Point" by 1798. Lieutenant-Colonel Butler moved his headquarters to Fort Southwest Point in 1799, when nine companies (7 infantry, 1 artillery, and 1 dragoon ) totaling roughly 400-500 troops were garrisoned at the fort. Around

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