History
The name "Cataloochee" is derived from the Cherokee term Gadalutsi, which means "fringe standing erect." The name probably referred to the tall rows of trees along the ridges surrounding the valley. The Cherokee used the valley primarily as a hunting ground. Early settlers recalled at least one Cherokee hunting camp in the vicinity of Little Cataloochee Creek.
The Cataloochee Trail, which stretched from the Cove Creek area to what is now Cosby, Tennessee, connected the Cherokee Middlesettlements with the Overhill towns. The modern Cove Creek Road closely parallels this trail. By the time the first European explorers and traders arrived, the trail had been worn a foot deep in some places. Bishop Francis Asbury used it to cross the mountains into Tennessee in 1810.
The Cherokee gave up their claims to Cataloochee when they signed the Treaty of Holston in 1791. Nevertheless, they continued to hunt and fish in the valley throughout the 19th century. Hattie Caldwell Davis, a descendant of Cataloochee's first Euro-American settlers, recalled that her ancestors spoke "fluent Cherokee," and were always on friendly terms with the natives. Davis' great-grandfather, Levi, is believed to have provided aide to Cherokees hiding in the forest during the Trail of Tears period.
Read more about this topic: Cataloochee (Great Smoky Mountains)
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