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The 16th Annual Siege at Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals May 15 & 16, 2010
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Sycamore Shoals and Fort Watauga
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Recommended Reading from the Watauga Lake Magazine Bookstore:"The Overmountain Men" "The Border Men" "The Canebrake Men" |
" Sycamore Shoals and its adjoining Flats is one of the most significant areas in the history of Tennessee. It was the center of the Watauga Settlement, the first permanent settlement outside the original thirteen colonies. During the struggle for American independence, this ground witnessed the organization of the Watauga Association in 1772, the Transylvania Purchase in 1775, the siege of Fort Watauga in 1776 and the Overmountain Muster in 1780. "Established near the Shoals in 1772, the Watauga Association was for all practical purposes independent of the British Crown ~ more than 4 years before the Declaration of Independence. When the settlers, who thought they had settled in Virginia, learned they were living under the authority of the royal government of North Carolina and beyond the Indian Treaty Line, they formed their own government. In May a meeting of all adult freemen approved the "Watauga Compact", the first constitution west of the Appalachians, one of the most democratic documents ever drafted in America, and a model for similar frontier associations." ~ Sycamore Shoals State Historic Marker: Stop 1 |
As you drive down Highway 321 through Elizabethton you see the marker and sign for "Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area". A visit to this park may make you feel that the signs are a bit modest. On and near this site just before and during the Revolutionary war the following happened:
* The first settlement outside the original 13 colonies was established. |
And on top of all that the park is just a fun place to visit. The re-created Fort Watauga is great for visitors of all ages. You can peek inside the buildings and see outside the tools and objects that would likely have been there in the 1770s. The fort area includes handmade ladders, wagons and a remarkable fence surrounding the fort made of solidly-constructed log buildings. The large Visitor's Center has the beginnings of a museum, a theatre and a gift shop where you can purchase books about the Fort, the Cherokee Indians, the Overmountain Men and much more, |
Recommended Links:
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Recommended Reading from the Watauga Lake Magazine Bookstore:Click here to see "Images of America: Old Butler" 
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