- Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area (Tennessee)
Infobox nrhp
name =Sycamore Shoals
nrhp_type = nhl
caption =
location = convert|2|mi|km|abbr=on. W of Elizabethton on the Watauga Rive
nearest_city =Elizabethton, Tennessee
lat_degrees =
lat_minutes =
lat_seconds =
lat_direction =
long_degrees =
long_minutes =
long_seconds =
long_direction =
area =
built =
architect =
architecture =
added =October 15 ,1966
designated =July 19 ,1964
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 66000721
mpsub =
governing_body = Tennessee State ParksThe Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area is located in Carter County on
U.S. Highway 321 inElizabethton, Tennessee . Situated on theWatauga River , the seventy-acre park is approximately thirty miles from Interstate 81. From Exit 57 on I-81, take I-26 intoJohnson City, Tennessee to Exit 24 (Old Exit 31), then take Highway 321/67 traveling approximately six miles into Elizabethton.The Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area also includes the historic Carter Mansion that is found at a satellite location approximately three to four miles (6 km) upstream on the banks of the Watauga River and on the Broad Street Extension on the eastern side of Elizabethton.
Picnic pavilions
There are three handicapped accessible picnic shelters that can be reserved at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area. A picnic area with grills is also located beside the Visitor's Center.
Riverside walking trail
A convert|1.5|mi|km|sing=on-loop graveled walking trail follows the course of the
Watauga River , passing by the historic river crossing of theOvermountain Men fromRocky Mount .Facilities
A spacious visitors' center at the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area houses:
*interpretive displays
*a theater offering free screenings of a shortdocumentary film of theAmerican Revolutionary War history pertaining to Sycamore Shoals and the Overmountain Men, as narrated byJohn Cullum (well-known to television audiences for his regular role asHolling Vincoeur on the quirkyCBS series "Northern Exposure ")
*park offices
*a well-stocked bookstore and gift shop.A reconstructed replica of Fort Watauga, based on historical and archeological research, stands behind the Visitors' Center, near the Watauga River.
Amphitheater
A 450-seat amphitheater at Sycamore Shoals is located immediately adjacent to both the fort and the Watauga River. The park area amphitheater is the site of the Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, "Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals" (and formerly billed as "The Wataugans").
The Carter Mansion
Build between 1775 and 1780, the Carter Mansion may be the only remaining link to the
Watauga Association and is the oldestframe house standing in Tennessee. John Carter and his son, Landon, built the frontier mansion, and the finely-detailed interior and over-mantle paintings place the mansion among the most significant historic houses in Tennessee.John and Landon Carter were both prominent political and military affairs, serving during the American Revolution and several conflicts with Native Americans.When Tennessee was admitted into the United States in 1796, Carter County was named for Landon Carter, and the county seat of Elizabethton was named for his wife, Elizabeth Maclin Carter.
Historical significance of the Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
Colonial settlement: "...a defperate Body of Settlers"
In 1759, a young James Robertson accompanied explorer
Daniel Boone on his third expedition to lands beyond theAlleghany Mountains . The party discovered the "Old Fields" (lands previously cultivated by generations of Native Americans) along theWatauga River valley at present day Elizabethton, in which Robertson planted corn while Boone continued on toKentucky .Robertson later returned to North Carolina, and married Charlotte Reeves in 1767. After the
Battle of Alamance in 1771, many North Carolinians refused to take the new oath of allegiance to the Royal Crown and withdrew from the province. Instead of taking their new oath of allegiance, James Robertson led a group of some twelve or thirteen families involved with theRegulator movement from near where present dayRaleigh, North Carolina now stands.Watauga Association
Wikisourcepar|Watauga PetitionIn 1772, Robertson and the pioneers who had settled in Northeast Tennessee (along the Watauga River, the
Doe River , theHolston River , and theNolichucky River met atSycamore Shoals to establish an independent regional government known as theWatauga Association . [http://www.tcarden.com/tree/ensor/Watag.html "Watauga Petition". Ensor Family Pages.] However, in 1772, surveyors placed the land officially within the domain of theCherokee tribe, who required negotiation of a lease with the Watauga settlers. Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate Native Americans, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary.American Revolution
Elizabethton (at
Sycamore Shoals ) was also theFort Watauga site of the Transylvania Purchase. In March 1775, land speculator and North Carolina judge Richard Henderson met with more than 1,200Cherokee s at Sycamore Shoals, including Cherokee leaders such asAttakullakulla ,Oconostota , andDragging Canoe . In theTreaty of Sycamore Shoals (also known as the Treaty of Watauga), Henderson purchased all the land lying between theCumberland River , theCumberland Mountains , and theKentucky River , and situated south of theOhio River . The land thus delineated, 20 million acres (81000 km?), encompassed an area half as large as the present state of Kentucky. Henderson's purchase was in violation of North Carolina and Virginia law, as well as theRoyal Proclamation of 1763 , which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land. Henderson may have believed that a recent British legal opinion (theCamden-Yorke opinion ) had made such purchases legal., were also established at this time. Many of these settlers had come to Kentucky on their own initiative, and did not recognize Transylvania's authority. A Daniel Boone Trail historical marker is found just outside the downtown Elizabethton business district.
Early during the American Revolutionary War, Fort Watauga at
Sycamore Shoals was commanded by Captain James Robertson and was attacked in 1776 byDragging Canoe and his warring faction of Cherokee opposed to the Transylvania Purchase (also referred by settlers as the Chickamauga), and the surviving frontier fort on the banks of theWatauga River .in North Carolina.
Prior to the
American Revolutionary War very little gunpowder had been made in theUnited States ; and, as a British Colony, most had been imported from Britain.Brown, "The Big Bang: A History of Explosives", p?] In October 1777, the British Parliament banned the importation of gunpowder into America. Five hundred pounds ofblack powder was manufactured for the Overmountain Men by Mary Patton and her husband at their Gap Creek powder mill, and the Overmountain Men stored the Patton black powder on that first rainy night in a dry cave known as Shelving Rock that is located nearby theRoan Mountain State Park at present dayRoan Mountain, Tennessee . [ [http://www.nps.gov/archive/ovvi/tn/travelog.htm U.S. National Park Service.] ] During January 1781, the Overmountain Men also fought the British at theBattle of Cowpens in South Carolina.Annual events
*Traditional Arts Workshops, January-December
*Garrisons and Living History Weekends, January-December
*Sunday Jams at the Carter Mansion and the Shoals, January-October
*Mountain River Concerts, January-October
*Muster at Fort Watauga, May
*Native American Festival, June
*Colonial Kids Day Camp, June
*"Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals", The Official Outdoor Drama of the State of Tennessee, July
*Watauga Valley Art League Art Show and Competition, July
*Carter Mansion Celebration, August
*Celt ic Festival, September
*Overmountain Victory Trail Celebration, September
*Fort Watauga Knap-In, October
*Mysterious Candlelight Tours of the Carter Mansion, OctoberHours of operation
Visitors' center: Monday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, 1;00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Contact information
Sycamore Shoals State Historical Area
1651 West Elk Avenue
Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643
Office: 423-543-5808or
Tennessee State Parks
401 Church Street, 7th Floor
Nashville, Tennessee 37243
Phone: 888-867-2757
EEO/AA Coordinator: 888-867-2757
ADA Coordinator: 615-532-0059
Tennessee Relay Service for the Hearing Impaired: 800-848-0298
www.tnstateparks.comReferences
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.