Hickory Knoll Road
Franklin, North Carolina

a conservation project of
The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee

The Conservation Project
The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee acquired 60 acres of bottomland and river bluff land at the junction of Tessentee Creek and the Little Tennessee River in November of 1999. The acquisition was made possible by grants from the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the Lyndhurst Foundation. The land lies at the center of the north-south oriented Little Tennessee valley, which runs from Rabun Gap, Georgia to the town of Franklin, NC. (Downstream of Franklin the river turns to the northwest as it cuts through the mountains to Tennessee.)

This reach of the upper valley has been called the “true head of the Tennessee.” Indeed, the Tessentee Farm encompasses certain habitat types (wetlands, red cedar savannah, river cane brakes and yellow pine/blackjack oak forest) which one would more likely find in the Mississippi Valley than in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The tract lies at the crossroads of two very different landscape corridors, where a finger of the Tennessee Valley cuts between the Blueridge Escarpment and the Southern Nantahala. Over a ten mile distance to the north and south the river (2035’ above sea level at the confluence with Tessentee Creek) drops in elevation by less than 50’ while meandering through rich bottomlands on a wide floodplain. In contrast, over ten miles to the east and west, the property lies at the foot of a 6000’ elevation gradient change which runs from Albert Mountain (at 5200’ in the Nantahala Range to the west) across the river and back up to Fishhawk Mountain (at 4750’ in the Fishhawk Range to the east).

The Land
The Farm itself includes a large diversity of habitats due to the variety of soil types present (with nine different soil types on the 60 acres). No other similar sized area along the upper Little Tennessee has such a diversity of soils. In addition, the property has abundant water resources, with 4400’ of principal stream frontage, 750’ of secondary stream within its boundaries, multiple springs, and over seven acres of wetland soils. Because of the diversity of habitats present, the Farm is an extraordinary place for viewing wildlife.

The Tessentee Farm straddles a unique land form in this reach of the valley, which is comprised of a low ridge that rises some 60’ in elevation above the adjacent floodplain, separating the two different bottomland areas along the Little Tennessee River and Tessentee Creek. This windswept, quarter-mile long bluff affords spectacular views to the north and south over the historic upper Tennessee Valley.

The History
The Farm is located at an historic crossroads in the river valley, which long has served as a trading route connecting the Mississippi Valley through the southern mountains to the piedmont and coastal plain. Multiple archeological sites lie either on the property or within a mile of it, including the Coweeta Creek site, a 16th century Cherokee town that included an ancient earthen mound and smaller settlement sites dating back thousands of years.

The first battle of the “Cherokee Wars” may have occurred in the Tessentee Bottoms on June 27, 1760 when British and Colonial forces under Col. Archibald Montgomery marched on the Middle Cherokee towns of this valley. Sixteen “Redcoats” and thirteen “Provincials” were slain in an ambush by the Cherokee, and 76 British forces were wounded. In the spring of 1775 William Bartram may have spent the night in the hut of a trapper near the foot of Tessentee. The next year, on September 17, 1776, the South Carolina Provincial Army, including 1860 men under the command of Col. Andrew Williamson, camped at Tessentee on their march to attack the Cherokee town of Cowee. Records of White settlement on the farm date from the 1820’s, with the existing farmhouse dating from the 1890’s.

Enjoy a hike around the river bluffs and bottomlands of the Tessentee Farm to get a sense of the rich natural and cultural history that still can be found in the “Head of the Tennessee.”

Please be careful during your visit. The Land Trust cannot be responsible for accidents or injuries.

Click here for a detailed map of the Tessentee Farm.

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