The Unicoi Road

The Unicoi Road. Hardman Farm Historic Site. The Cherokee once walked through this valley along an ancient trail when traveling from their town of Overhill (Tennessee)to their settlements in the Carolinas and Georgia. Earlier, this north-south trading route existed as one of an extensive series of Native American footpaths that criss-crossed the North American continent long before the arrival of the first European explorers., In the mid-to-late 1700s, Indians and white traders alike used the trail to transport thousands of deerskins and furs to Charleston and Savannah for shipment to Europe. During the French and Indian War (1755-1761), British soldiers and militiamen traveled its path to enter Cherokee lands where they built a fort named Loudoun. The American Revolution saw the trail used as a warpath for raids between the white settlements and Cherokee Nation., In 1812, a company formed by Cherokee and white men and headed by Russell Wiley was granted a charter by Tennessee and Georgia, to develop a vehicular road along this trail, to be called the Unicoi Turnpike. Early turnpikes derived their name from the type of gate that marked the entrance to such roads. It was usually a long pole or "pike" which would be turned aside after the road's toll was paid. Unicoi is a derivation of the Cherokee word for the color white. , The Unicoi Turnpike Company worked diligently to complete the 12-foot wide road, opening sections as they were readied. History indicates the road was completed about 1817. One early account said a four-horse wagon could carry 1,500 lbs without difficulty along the road and travel from eastern Tennessee to the Savannah River trading town of Augusta in 10 less days than before completion., Tennessee farmers drove herds of pigs, cattle, turkeys, and other livestock to the coastal markets. Settlers moved from the coastal areas northward to the newly opened areas of Tennessee and south central Kentucky along the turnpike. Along the route, opportunistic businesses sprang up as entrepreneurs opened inns, taverns, trading posts, and stock pens that could be rented for overnight stays., Sadly, this important turnpike served as one of the beginning routes of the Trail of Tears during the removal of the Cherokee people from Georgia in the fall and winter of 1838 as U.S. military forces moved more than 10,000 Cherokee out of Georgia to lands west of the Mississippi river. Many of these men, women, and children died from illness, the elements, and starvation and were buried in unmarked graves along the trail., The Unicoi turnpike once ran the length of the Nacoochee and Helen Valleys and directly beside James H. Nichol's new home West End. By the time Nichols constructed his home, newer transportation routes had gained favor. Today, remnants of the trail can be seen in many areas. In Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest, a section of the trail has recently been opened for hiking., (caption) This circa 1919 photograph shows the old Unicoi turnpike at Hardman Farm., Travels along the Unicoi Road, In January of 1716, Colonel George Chicken, who had recently won an important victory in the Yamasee War, traveled from the South Carolina colony on the trial between the town of Chota in the Nacoochee Valley to the Cherokee settlement of Quo-neashee, located near present-day Hiawassee. Colonel Chicken wrote in his journal the specifics of the trip noting:, Sunday Ye 22 this day at 8 a clocke we seatt out from Chottee (Chota) to go to Quo-neashee we marchet about 20 miles ye way very mountannas and stone being force to light and walked more then ride then we come to ye tope of ye mounton (Unicoi Gap) and there we see the hade (head) of a River that Rones (runs) in to Chattachouchey River about a mile one ye other side of Ye mounton ther begin ye hade of a another River (Hiwassee River) that trones into masashipey over march this day was 40 miles wee comes to Quoneashee ½ hower after five a clocke where River that we see ye had of was very brode (broad)., From the Charter for the Unicoi Turnpike: , ...the company shall be entitled to receive the following tolls and rates at the said turnpike, for the passage of any person or thing, this is to say: For every man and horse, twelve and one-half cents; for every led horse, not ina drove, six and one-fourth cents; for every loose horse in a drove, four cents; for every footman, six and one-fourth cents, for every wagon and team, one dollar, for every coach or chariot or other four-wheel carriages, chaise, chair, or other carriages of pleasure, seventy-five cents, for every cart and team fifty cent; for each head of cattle, two cents; for each head of sheep, goats, or lambs, one cent; for each head of hogs, one cent., The charter specified the road had to be at least 20 feet wide except where bridges or diggings were required. Then, a minimum width of 12 feet was allowed, with the center of the road to be cleared of rocks and stumps, 'if the same will permit.' Since the road was built with only hand tools and animal power, the stumps and particularly the rocks dictated the routing of the road.