The Unicoi County Heritage Museum, Clinchfield Railroad Museum, and the Erwin National Fish Hatchery are all located on a common site near Erwin (population 6,083), Tennessee.
In 1903 the federal government built the house as a residence for the hatchery's superintendent, and at the time it was the grandest house in the county. However, by 1982 the house had become outdated and was to be torn down. Neighborhood residents and Unicoi County Chamber of Commerce wanted the house saved, so the federal government agreed to a Cooperative Agreement that allow Unicoi County to convert the house into a museum and a center for community activities at their expense. During the winter months the house is open by appointment only.
Also located on the site is the Clinchfield Railroad Museum and the Greasy Cove School building. The railroad museum is filled with memorabilia that explains Erwin's railroad history. During summer months, the building's front porch is used as a stage for live performances.
The one-room Greasy Cove School is also located on the site.
In 1894 the Erwin National Fish Hatchery was established, making it one of the oldest hatcheries still in operation. There are currently 72 National Fish Hatcheries in the United States.
An information sign stated that fish egg production is the primary mission of the hatchery, which annually produces 14-17 million rainbow trout eggs.
The Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site includes 45-acres of land, eleven historic buildings, a cemetery, natural spring, limestone cave, and nature trail.
In 1784, the residents of what was part of Washington County, North Carolina, formed their own State of Franklin that was separate from the State of North Carolina. John Sevier was made governor of the new state. The State of North Carolina did not recognize the State of Franklin, but the two states existed peacefully together for four years.
Since Governor Sevier considered the State of Franklin to be separate from the State of North Carolina, he refused to pay taxes to North Carolina. Colonel Tipton was in charge of the Washington County courts at that time, and he ordered the county sheriff to seize some of Sevier's property for back taxes.
Sevier was not home when the sheriff arrived. The sheriff had orders to collect some of Sevier's property, so he just gathered some of Sevier's property and delivered it to Colonel Tipton's cabin.
When Governor Sevier returned home, he was furious and raised a force of over 100 Franklinites to march on Tipton's cabin and retrieve his property. A spy told Tipton that Sevier and a band of men were on their way to his cabin, so Tipton send a message to Washington County for help.
The Washington County forces arrived during a blizzard and found that Sevier's men had all left their posts because of the bad weather.
The next day there was a short battle between the two sides and three men were killed, one of them being the sheriff that had collected Sevier's property. Sevier surrendered and the Franklinites became part of North Carolina.
We were not able to tour the site, but there were a number of markers near the road that gave an interesting history of the property.
Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area consists of 70 acres of land along the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River. Located on the site is a visitor center, reconstructed Fort Watauga, and other buildings.
In 1770, the first permanent European settlers arrive in the area and in 1775 Daniel Boone helped negotiate the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals, which led to the sale of millions of acres of Cherokee lands in Kentucky and Tennessee. Fort Watauga was constructed shortly after the arrival of the European settlers and it was attacked by Cherokee Indians in 1776. For two weeks the fort protected the settlers while they held off an Indian attack.
A reconstructed Fort Watauga has been constructed on the grounds, based on archaeological finds and historic descriptions. Unfortunately, the fort is only open for guided tours at select times, so we just stopped at the visitor center. In the visitor center all of the docents were dressed in period clothing and there was a partial replica of the fort.
The Gray Fossil Site was discovered in May 2000 when TDOT was building a new road and the construction workers unearthed some fossils. A Hands On! Discovery Center was opened on the site in 2007.
About 4.5 million years ago this area was a warm, wet forest with a small pond formed by a sinkhole. Animals and plants fell into the sinkhole and over time were fossilized. The sinkhole was about 200 meters by 180 meters and ranged in depth from 7 meters to 30 meters. New species of red panda, rhinoceros, pond turtle, and hickory tree have been discovered at the site.
East Tennessee State University is excavating the site, but they were not working when we visited and we could not view the excavation area. The only thing open was the "Hands On" exhibits, which were geared toward school-age children. We did not see the exhibits, but were told that they were similar to other museums we have visited.
In 1775, Daniel Boone and a group of axmen met along the South Fork of the Holston River near what is now Kingsport, Tennessee, and started blazing The Wilderness Trail to reach Cumberland Gap 200 miles to the west. By the end of the American Revolution, over 12,000 people had used The Wilderness Trail to cross the Gap into western United States.
The log cabin that Daniel and Rebecca Boone lived in between 1773 and 1775 has been relocated to this site from its original location in Virginia because this was the starting point of The Wilderness Trail. Several other log cabins have also been relocated to this site, including a one-room school that was built in 1790 and the Pence two-story log house that was built in the early 1800s. (I looked at the family tree, and Daniel Boone's wife, Rebecca Bryan, was my 8th cousin, 5 times removed.)
The Netherland Inn and Boatyard are located between Daniel Boone's cabin and the South Fork of the Holston River. In 1802, William King built the Netherland Inn as a boarding house for workmen, boatmen, and wagoneers. In addition to the Inn, there were wharfs, warehouses, stables, counting house, smokehouse, scales, and other buildings. Only the Inn remains today.
The Inn still has the original floors, plastered walls, doors, and hardware. It is the only site on the National Register of Historic Places that was both a stagecoach stop and boatyard. Over the years, many famous people stayed at the Inn, including President Andrew Jackson, President Andrew Johnson, and President James Polk. When we visited the site, the historic Netherlands Inn was closed for renovations, but we were able to walk around the building and the Boatyard.
The Boatyard is adjacent to the river and was the area that settlers used to build flat-bottomed river boats during the 1970s and 1800s. Boats built at this location were used to transport vast quantitates of salt, iron ingots, animals, crops, and other items of commerce to Knoxville, Huntsville, St. Louis, and New Orleans. This site was the highest navigation point on the Tennessee River System and was the preferred shipping point because it was located along the Old Stage Road and adjacent to the South Fork of the Holston River.
About a mile downstream from the Netherland Inn is the confluence of the North and South branches of the Holston River. Hawkins County is on the south side of the North Fork and was named for Benjamin Hawkins, my sixth cousin six times removed.
Benjamin Hawkins was a delegate to the Continental Congress and was elected to the first U.S. Senate. In 1796 he was appointed by President George Washington as a Creek Indian Agent and in 1801 President Thomas Jefferson named him "principal agent for Indian affairs south of the Ohio [River]" and principal agent for the Creek Indians. During the war Colonel Hawkins served on George Washington's staff as the main French interpreter.
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| North Fork |
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| South Fork |
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| Confluence of North and South Forks |
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