Graham County, North Carolina's last frontier. Cut off from the
rest of the world by rugged mountains, the county is like a
bumpy bowl with Santeetlah Lake (and impoundment of the Cheoah
River) in the center. Only a rocky canyon in the northwest
corner, allowing the Little Tennessee River to exit the county,
and a depression in the northeast corner, where the Little
Tennessee River enters the county, are breaks in the mountainous
barrier which sealed off the area now known as Graham County from
the rest of the world. This was - and is - Indian country.
This wild country on the west side of the Little Tennessee River
was included in the vast - and wild - Macon County. As more and
more of the European settlers moved in, the area roughly west of
the Little Tennessee was split off of Macon County and named
Cherokee County. Then in 1872 Graham County was split off of
Cherokee County and named for William Graham, one time governor
of North Carolina. So now this rocky bowl was officially a
county but almost as wild as ever.
Fort Montgomery, built to expedite the forced removal of the
Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma, became the county seat but, two
years after the county was officially formed, Fort Montgomery
became Robbinsville. The first 'road' in the county was built by
the Army to ease the removal of the Cherokees to what is now
Andrews in Cherokee County. It followed Long Creek upstream,
topped the ridge at Tatham Gap, then followed the Britton Creek
to Andrews.
This was unspoiled country under the stewardship of the Cherokees
but it didn't take long for the Europeans to take advantage of
the seemingly endless stands of hardwood trees. Logging
enveloped the area and is credited for the economic development
of Graham County. Amid all this tree-cutting, it was recognized
that at least a portion of this virgin timberland should be
preserved for posterity. In 1926, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
was created, preserving 3,800 acres of virgin forest lands.
Joyce Kilmer was was a poet killed in France during World War I.
His most famous poem
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is Trees which was later also set to
music by his mother. (We'd like to reproduce Trees, here,
but it is copyrighted, of course, and we don't know who to ask
for permission to reproduce it.)
In 1936, on the 18th anniversary of Joyce Kilmer's death, this
unspoiled wilderness was dedicated to him as a living memorial.
The tract is easily reached from Robbinsville via NC-1134 (see
map). In the memorial area are two trails. To preserve the
primitive atmosphere, the trails are improved only to the point
to allow easy access - no paving or other unnatural material.
The trails form sort of a figure eight with a lower, more easily
traversed trail, and an upper trail. The complete loop is about
two miles and is an experience in true tranquility.
An added economic boost came with the building of the Santeetlah
Dam. This impoundment of the Cheoah River created Santeetlah
Lake. It also virtually wiped out the Cheoah River. Now, Graham
County had a super tourist attraction. This was amplified
further with the building of the Fontana Dam (and the series of
TVA dams downstream on the Little Tennessee River). The original
construction village for the Fontana Dam crews was renamed
Fontana Village and has become the larges, and perhaps most
popular, resort in North Carolina. Other tourist attractions
range from the new Stecoah Valley Center (primarily a site for
performance venues) to the Slickrock Creek Wilderness Area with
its Slickrock Trail (said to be the 'wettest trail in the
country' with its many fords) and the Appalachian Trail which
meanders through the county from mountain crest to mountain
crest. But, before we end our little book, we've got to mention
'Tail of the Dragon'. Probably the most popular road to
Motorcyclists, this super-windy portion of US-129 is curve after
curve, no two alike, and no side roads or driveways. It is a
virtual racetrack and immensely popular with the thrill seekers.
It begins in Graham County near the Cheoah Dam and winds 14
miles to the Tabcat Creek Bridge in Blount County, Tennessee. |
