Cherokee Path
Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant | |
Location | 5 miles southeast of St. Matthews on South Carolina Highway 6, St. Matthews, South Carolina |
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Coordinates | 33°38′11″N 80°42′28″W / 33.63639°N 80.70778°W |
Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 76001696[1] |
Added to NRHP | May 13, 1976 |
The Cherokee Path (or
History
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cherokee Path was used by English and Scots traders based in Charles Town.[2]
The path was mapped in 1730 by George Hunter, the Surveyor-General of the Province of South Carolina.[3] He noted that it ran 145 miles (233 km) from Charlestown to the Congarees, a fort at the confluence of the Saluda and Broad rivers. (This site later was designated as the state capital and named Columbia.) The Path continued across the western frontier to the colonial settlement of Ninety Six, indicated on the map by the number "96".[3] The British constructed Fort Prince George near Cherokee Country.
It was a total of 302 miles (486 km) from Charlestown to
Later colonists developed a wagon road, called the Indian Trail (taken from the Cherokee Trail), that extended to near
From Keowee, one path branched southwest into the
During the French and Indian War, the British built Fort Loudoun, in 1756 at the confluence of the Tellico River and the lower Little Tennessee River, in present-day Monroe County, southeastern Tennessee. It was part of British support for the Cherokee, who were their allies for a period. But by 1760 there were armed confrontations between the two groups, and the Cherokee suffered some defeats. They sued for peace, and in 1762 Henry Timberlakes conducted a peace expedition to the Overhill Towns. was re-established in 1762. [citation needed]
During the American Revolution, the Cherokee Path was used as a military road by rebel militia raised by the states of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia against the Cherokee, who had raided numerous frontier settlements in June 1776. In the fall of 1776 the groups of
Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant
The Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant is a section of the historic path located near St. Matthews, Calhoun County, South Carolina. In 1704, George Sterling received a proprietary land grant for 570 acres of land along Ox Creek, later called Lyon's Creek. He was one of the area's first European-American settlers in what was organized as the Orangeburg District and later Calhoun County. His family's plantation was often a stopping place for traders and other travelers along the Cherokee Path. Calhoun County is one of the few counties in South Carolina where portions of the original path remain visible. The site of the grant is a deserted, overgrown field dotted with scattered trees.[4][5] Two acres, crossed by the Cherokee Path, is the portion of the Sterling Land Grant listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]
Present-day
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- JSTOR 27568211.via JSTOR
- ^ a b Salley, A.S. Jr (1917). "George Hunter's Map of the Cherokee Country and the Path thereto in 1730" (PDF). Bulletins of the Historical Commission of South Carolina. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant, Calhoun County (S.C. Hwy. 6, St. Matthews vicinity)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ Katherine G. Hendrix and Jeanne W. Ulmer (July 1975). "Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places nomination. NRHP. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
External links
- Information with photos and maps from the South Carolina Genealogical Society