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Tusquittee (originally Tusquitee) is an unincorporated community located in Clay County, North Carolina, United States. It is bordered on the north by Fires Creek Bear Reserve, which is within the Nantahala National Forest. The Tusquitee Mountain range includes Tusquitee Bald at 5,240 feet.
Tusquitee is a Cherokee Native American word meaning "Where the water-dogs laughed." (A Water Dog, sometimes also called mud-puppy, is a type of salamander.) According to folklore, a Cherokee hunter was crossing over Tusquitee Bald in a very dry season. He heard voices, crept silently toward them, peeped over a rock, and witnessed two water-dogs walking together along the trail on their hind legs and talking as they went. Their pond was dried up and they were on the way to the Nantahala River. As the hunter listened, one said to the other, "Where's the water? I'm so thirsty that my apron (gills) hangs down," and then both water-dogs laughed. [1]
There is a subdivision in Tusquittee called Tusquittee Landing which incorporates a 2700 foot grass airstrip. Most people assume the "Landing" refers to the airplanes landing. However, it actually is a carryover from the days where the mules dragged logs down from the forest to a landing on Goldmine Creek. The logs were then moved down the creek to Tusquittee Creek and eventually to the sawmill.
In the late 1870s and early 1880s the Tusquittee Turnpike ran from Clay County to the Nantahala River in Macon County. The toll road cost 25 cents per wagon and 5 cents per horseman, though Gospel ministers could travel for free. [2] A gold mine operated in Tusquittee around the 1930s. [2]
Tusquittee was the home of Lillith Lidseen, an actress who moved to the area from Chicago in the 1950s. Lidseen built the Peacock Performing Arts Center in nearby Hayesville. She raised peacocks on property connected to Tusquittee Road and the theatre was named for her favorite animal. [3]
Clay County is a county located in the far western part of U.S. state North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,089. The county seat is Hayesville.
Swain County is a county located on the far western border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,117. Its county seat is Bryson City.
Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,014. Its county seat is Franklin.
Graham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,030, making it the third-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Robbinsville.
Cherokee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It borders Tennessee to its west and Georgia to its south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,774. The county seat is Murphy.
Hayesville is a town in Clay County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 311 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Clay County.
Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Macon County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated within the Nantahala National Forest. The population was reported to be 4,175 in the 2020 census, an increase from the total of 3,845 tabulated in 2010.
The Cullasaja River is a short river located entirely in Macon County, North Carolina. It is a tributary of the Little Tennessee River into which it flows near the county seat of Franklin.
The Tallulah River is a 47.7-mile-long (76.8 km) river in Georgia and North Carolina. It begins in Clay County, North Carolina, near Standing Indian Mountain in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness and flows south into Georgia, crossing the state line into Towns County. The river travels through Rabun County and ends in Habersham County. It cuts through the Tallulah Dome rock formation to form the Tallulah Gorge and its several waterfalls. The Tallulah River intersects with the Chattooga River to form the Tugaloo River at Lake Tugalo in Habersham County. It joins South Carolina's Seneca River at Lake Hartwell to form the Savannah River, which flows southeastward into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Tellico River is a river in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. It rises in the westernmost mountains of North Carolina, and then flows through Monroe County, Tennessee, before joining the Little Tennessee River under the Tellico Reservoir. With a length of 52.8 miles (85.0 km), it is a major tributary of the Little Tennessee River, and is one of the primary streams draining the Unicoi Mountains.
The Chattooga River is the main tributary of the Tugaloo River.
The Unicoi Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Unicois are located immediately south of the Great Smoky Mountains and immediately west of the Cheoah Mountains. Most of the range is protected as a national forest, namely the Cherokee National Forest on the Tennessee side and the Nantahala National Forest on the North Carolina side— although some parts have been designated as wilderness areas and are thus more strictly regulated.
The Chattahoochee–Oconee National Forest in northern Georgia comprises two United States National Forests, the Oconee National Forest in eastern Georgia and the Chattahoochee National Forest located in the North Georgia Mountains. The Chattahoochee National Forest is composed of an eastern and western forest. The western forest contains Johns Mountain, Little Sand Mountain, and Taylor Ridge (Georgia). The combined total area of the Chattahoochee–Oconee National Forest is 867,265 acres (3,510 km2), of which the Chattahoochee National Forest comprises 751,069 acres (3,039 km2) and the Oconee National Forest comprises 116,196 acres (470 km2). The county with the largest portion of the eastern forest is Rabun County, Georgia, which has 148,684 acres (601.7 km2) within its boundaries.
The Nantahala National Forest is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina, lying in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina. The Nantahala is the second wettest region in the country, after the Pacific Northwest. Due to its environmental importance and historical ties with the Cherokee, the forest was officially established on January 29, 1920, by President Woodrow Wilson. The word "Nantahala" is a Cherokee derived word, meaning "Land of the Noonday Sun." In some spots, the sun reaches the floors of the deep gorges of the forest only when it is high overhead at midday. This was part of the homeland of the historic Cherokee and their indigenous ancestors, who have occupied the region for thousands of years. The Nantahala River runs through it.
Wayah Bald is a high-altitude treeless open area in Nantahala National Forest, near Franklin, North Carolina. The Wayah Bald Observation Tower is located at the area's highest point ; the stone observation tower was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 for fire detection. The Appalachian Trail and Bartram Trail cross at Wayah Bald.
Wesser Bald is a summit located in Macon County, North Carolina, near the community of Wesser. A wooden fire tower at the summit provides hikers with unimpeded views of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and also the Nantahala Mountains. The Appalachian Trail traverses the summit from roughly north to south with the Nantahala Outdoor Center lying to the north within the Nantahala Gorge and Tellico gap just to the south. Tellico gap has unimproved road access. The climb from Tellico Gap takes an average of 20 minutes. Also, a third route, the blue trail, departs from the end of Wesser Creek Road and follows Wesser Creek up to a point just south of the summit to a fork with the Appalachian Trail. The summit is located at 4,627 ft (1,410 m). and is within Nantahala National Forest. A map detailing the highway routes to access Tellico Gap is available at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Observable landforms include Wayah Bald, the Nantahala Gorge, and Kuwohi among others. The Wesser Fire Tower provides 360 degree views of the Smokies in a short 1.5 mile hike from Tellico Gap on the Appalachian Trail, with an elevation gain of about 767 feet. The Fire Tower was originally reported as destroyed during the forest fires which ravaged the Nantahala Forest in November, 2016 but it was later learned that it survived.
Fires Creek is a recreational area located in the Nantahala National Forest in Clay County, North Carolina. It takes its name from Fires Creek, which runs through it. The creek was named for the first white settler who lived in the area. The area offers paved and unpaved hiking trails, swimming holes, camping spots, picnic tables, grills, scenic views, horseback riding, fishing. Fires Creek Recreation Area is an active bear sanctuary.
Nantahala Township is located in North Carolina, United States in the part of Macon County which is west of Wayah Gap. It has a population of 1,711.
Tennessee militia established Fort Hembree 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the present town of Hayesville, North Carolina, in October 1837 to prepare for deporting local Cherokee Native Americans during the Trail of Tears. The fort was under the command of General Winfield Scott. Within two week Scott's forces captured around 1,000 Cherokee people who were held prisoner at the fort. A number of Cherokees were stricken with illness while at Fort Hembree and died at the site. The remainder were marched from there to Fort Butler near present-day Murphy and then to deportation camps in Tennessee.
The Peacock Performing Arts Center, also known as the Peacock Playhouse, is a four-story, 250-seat theatre in Hayesville, North Carolina. When it was built in the 1980s, it was the only community theatre in far-west North Carolina and was unique as a professional-style theatre in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains and one of the poorest counties in the state.
Municipalities and communities of Clay County, North Carolina, United States | ||
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