History
Early Euro-American explorers in Southern Appalachia noted that the Cherokee were concentrated around three general regions. The "Lower towns" were centered around the town of Keowee in the hills of northern South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. The "Middle towns" were centered around Nequassee and Tassetchee amidst the Great Balsam Mountains and eastern Unicoi Mountains in North Carolina. The Overhill Cherokee lived in settlements located between the Appalachian Mountains and the Tennessee Valley in what is now Tennessee. The Overhill capital, or "mother town," shifted between Great Tellico, Tanasi, and Chota.
The Overhill settlements were established sometime between the late 16th century and the late 17th century, although scholars disagree as to a more exact timeframe. The major towns were in place by the time the first Euro-American explorers arrived in the late 17th century, and the Overhill Cherokee spoke in a dialect distinctive from that found in the Middle settlements and Lower towns.
Read more about this topic: Overhill Cherokee
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