Cherokee Path

The Cherokee Path (or Keowee path) was the primary route from Charleston to Columbia, South Carolina in Colonial America, connecting all of the Cherokee towns and territories along the Savannah River. These were known as the Lower Towns, in contrast to the Middle Towns in Western North Carolina and the Overhill Towns in present-day southeastern Tennessee.

For other uses, see Cherokee Trail (disambiguation).
Cherokee Path, Sterling Land Grant
Location5 miles southeast of St. Matthews on South Carolina Highway 6, St. Matthews, South Carolina
Coordinates33°38′11″N 80°42′28″W
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
NRHP reference No.76001696[1]
Added to NRHPMay 13, 1976

History

In the 17th century the Cherokee Path was also used by English and French fur traders.

The path was mapped in 1730 by George Hunter, the Surveyor-General of the Province of South Carolina. At that time it ran 130 miles (210 km) from Charlestown to the village of Granby (present day Cayce/West Columbia), then across to the colonial settlement of Ninety Six, to Fort Prince George and the Cherokee village of Keowee, the principal town of the Cherokee Lower Towns (in present-day Oconee, Greenville, Pickens and Anderson counties).

Later a wagon road, called the Indian Trail (taken from the Cherokee Trail), was developed to branch off near Orangeburg. It is still used today, as SC 3 follows the path to Monetta before passing on to Ninety Six. Remnants of both these original pathways are visible in many places to the side of the nearby modern roads that parallel them.[2]

From Keowee, the path branched out into the Unaka Mountains, usually following streams and valleys, to Clayton, Georgia. It reached Franklin and Murphy in North Carolina (near related Cherokee Middle Towns) and across the Appalachian Mountains to the Cherokee towns in Tennessee, known as the Overhill Towns.

Fort Loudoun, constructed by South Carolina troops in 1756, was located near the confluence of the Tellico River and the lower Little Tennessee River, in present-day Monroe County, southeastern Tennessee. Cherokee Path was used as a military road during the American Revolution.

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 to become Orangeburg District and later Calhoun County. His family's plantation was often a stopping place for Native Americans 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.[3][4] Two acres, crossed by the Cherokee Path, is the portion of the Sterling land nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

Present-day

South Carolina Highway 11 (the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway) traces some of the original path.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. from personal experience with Roy Vandegrift and William S. Taylor Sr., and their many presentations. - Shuler Burton
  3. "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.
  4. 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.


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