HISTORY
The Hiwassee River originates on the northwest slopes of the Blue Ridge
Mountains along the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia and flows into
North Carolina before turning west into Tennessee. It drains over 750,000
areas of mountain land, most of which lies within the Chattahoochee, Nantahala,
and Cherokee National Forests.
The word "hiwassee" is taken from the Cherokee word "ayuwais"
meaning a savannah or meadow place at the foot of the hills.
A gradual uplifting and folding of rocks for 200 million years formed the
Appalachian Mountains as we know them today. The Hiwassee and its tributaries
began the age-old process of carrying away materials washed from their rocky
slopes. This process produced the steep-sided gorges where the water runs
today.
Archaeologists tell that ancient people lived in the Hiwassee River Valley
before the Creeks, Cherokees, and other tribes came. De Soto and Spanish
explorers visited the Cherokee along the shores of the Hiwassee in 1540.
Later, French and English people settled here. In 1835, the last of the
Cherokees were forced to cede their homelands to the U.S. Government. Three
years later, they embarked upon the infamous Trail of Tears. From that point
on, permanent settlements developed.
When Indians first migrated into the Hiwassee River area, they found lush,
towering forests of chestnuts, tulip populars, oaks, maples, hemlocks, white
and yellow pines as well as other tree and plant species. This vegetation
provided food, cover, and shelter for vast array of wildlife. Turkey, deer,
elk, bear, cougar, puma, bison, squirrels, and rabbits found homes here.
They, in turn, provided food for Indians and (later) white settlers. It
is believed that Indians began to clear the Hiwassee River Valley for agricultural
purposes 3,000 years before the birth of Christ. They, however, did not
bother the mountains. By 1916, 75 percent of the virgin mountain forests
was gone by the white men.
Today, this area is managed by the United States Forest Service, the Tennessee
Wildlife Resources Agency, and the Department of Environment and Conservation.
It is our hope that it will retain its primitive state for as long as mankind
walks this earth.
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