Vonore in Monroe County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Overhill Fur & Hide Trade
The Tennessee Overhill Experience-From Furs to Factories
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 26, 2014
1. Overhill Fur & Hide Trade Marker
Inscription.
Overhill Fur and Hide Trade. The Tennessee Overhill Experience-From Furs to Factories. From the beginning of the eighteenth century until the American Revolution, Cherokee hunters and trappers traded tens of thousands of animal pelts for manufactured goods imported by licensed British traders. The first resident trader in the Overhill Towns settled at Tanasee (Tennessee) in 1711.
Unchecked harvesting of animals for commercial purposes severely depleted the Cherokees’ main sources of meat, especially white-tailed deer. In-coming trade goods transformed or replaced many traditional Cherokee crafts. This “deerskin trade” soon made the Cherokees economically dependent on foreigners. It also made fortunes for middlemen and entrepreneurs in the port city of Charleston (now South Carolina), and in England, where this new wealth helped spark the Industrial Revolution.
(Inscription under the photo in the upper right) , On one day, July 14, 1716, Commissioners of the Indian Trade recorded that 21 Cherokee burden bearers brought in 418 beaverskins which were exchanged for “400 weight of gun powder, 200 and a half of shot, and 7 pieces of strouds, 1000 flints, 7 brass kettles, 20 yards of half thicks.”
Anglo-American trade objects from Overhill Cherokee sites: 1. Iron knife; 2. Iron ax; 3. and 4. Glass beads; 5. Brass bell; 6. Iron scissors; 7. Iron Jew’s harp; 8. Iron hoe.-Photograph from Chapman, Tellico Archeology, 1985
(Captions) , (Lower right) , This site is part of the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Trail and is an official Tennessee 200 Bicentennial Project. Interpretive signs, museums, historic sites and a guidebook tell the story of the Industrial Revolution as it happened in McMinn, Monroe, and Polk Counties. For more information concerning other sites, contact the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association at 423-263-7232
The Tennessee Overhill Experience: From Furs to Factories was funded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation; Tennessee 200, Inc; East Tennessee Foundation; and the counties of McMinn, Monroe, and Polk.
From the beginning of the eighteenth century until the American Revolution, Cherokee hunters and trappers traded tens of thousands of animal pelts for manufactured goods imported by licensed British traders. The first resident trader in the Overhill Towns settled at Tanasee (Tennessee) in 1711.
Unchecked harvesting of animals for commercial purposes severely depleted the Cherokees’ main sources of meat, especially white-tailed deer. In-coming trade goods transformed or replaced many traditional Cherokee crafts. This “deerskin trade” soon made the Cherokees economically dependent on foreigners. It also made fortunes for middlemen and entrepreneurs in the port city of Charleston (now South Carolina), and in England, where this new wealth helped spark the Industrial Revolution.
(Inscription under the photo in the upper right) On one day, July 14, 1716, Commissioners of the Indian Trade recorded that 21 Cherokee burden bearers brought in 418 beaverskins which were exchanged for “400 weight of gun powder, 200 and a half of shot, and 7 pieces of strouds, 1000 flints, 7 brass kettles, 20 yards of half thicks.”
Anglo-American trade objects from Overhill Cherokee sites: 1. Iron knife; 2. Iron ax; 3. and 4. Glass beads; 5. Brass bell; 6. Iron scissors; 7. Iron Jew’s harp; 8. Iron hoe.-Photograph from Chapman, Tellico Archeology,
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1985
(Captions)
(Lower right) This site is part of the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Trail and is an official Tennessee 200 Bicentennial Project. Interpretive signs, museums, historic sites and a guidebook tell the story of the Industrial Revolution as it happened in McMinn, Monroe, and Polk Counties. For more information concerning other sites, contact the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association at 423-263-7232
The Tennessee Overhill Experience: From Furs to Factories was funded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation; Tennessee 200, Inc; East Tennessee Foundation; and the counties of McMinn, Monroe, and Polk.
Location. 35° 34.782′ N, 84° 12.984′ W. Marker is in Vonore, Tennessee, in Monroe County. Marker is on Tennessee Route 360. The marker is on the grounds of the Sequoyan Birthplace Museum-Memorial-Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Vonore TN 37885, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Cherokee Heritage Trails (within shouting distance of this marker); Unicoi Turnpike Trail (within
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. The Tennessee Overhill Experience
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 26, 2014
3. Overhill Fur & Hide Trade Marker
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 26, 2014
4. Sign at entrance to the Memorial
Photographed By Don Morfe, April 26, 2014
5. Dedicated to William F. "Bill" Martin 1937-2002
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 17, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 503 times since then and 17 times this year. Last updated on April 26, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 17, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
