Rocky Top in Anderson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

American Chestnuts

Photographed by Tom Bosse, March 4, 2017

1. American Chestnuts Marker

Inscription. Convicts cut trees from Militia Hill and surrounding hillsides in 1892 so soldiers could spot attacking miners. Many of those trees were American chestnuts. Convicts and soldiers could not know that a fungus carried by Chinese chestnuts, brought to New York City in 1904, would decimate the remaining American chestnuts within a few decades.

The American Chestnut Foundation is developing a blight-resistant hybrid so the American chestnut can regain its crown as king of the forest. Chestnuts prefer loose, rocky ground, and modern surface mines provide ideal locations for planting blight-resistant hybrids where they can spread to surrounding forests.

Erected by Coal Creek Watershed Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Coal Creek Watershed Foundation series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1892.

Location. 36° 12.883′ N, 84° 10.017′ W. Marker is in Rocky Top, Tennessee, in Anderson County. It is on Vowell Mountain Lane, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rocky Top TN 37769, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee and in Greater Knoxville. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Militia Hill (here, next to this marker); Breastworks

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

(here, next to this marker); Fire on Coal Creek (here, next to this marker); State Coal Mine (here, next to this marker); Siege on Fort (here, next to this marker); Ghosts of Convict Miners (here, next to this marker); Fort Anderson (here, next to this marker); Why Miners Fought (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rocky Top.

Also see . . . The American Chestnut Foundation. (Submitted on March 26, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 13, 2017. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 696 times since then and 17 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on March 26, 2017, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.