Nikwasi

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Nikwasi (also spelled Nequassee, Nucassee, Noucassih, etc.) was an important and ancient Cherokee town located on the Little Tennessee River at the site of present-day Franklin, North Carolina. A large mound is still visible, marking the location of the townhouse. The Nikwasi Mound is one of the few Indian mounds that remains intact today. It has not been excavated, so its age is uncertain, but it is similar to other nearby mounds whose age has been determined to be at least 1,000 years (Duncan 2003:152-153).

[edit] History

In 1730, Alexander Cuming called for a council at the town of Nikwasi, for which thousands of Cherokee attended. Afterwards, seven Cherokee, including Moytoy II, went with Cuming to visit England. In 1761, British forces destroyed the houses and fields of Nikwasi and used the townhouse on top of Nikwasi Mound as a field hospital. After the troops left, the Cherokee returned and rebuilt the town. Nikwasi was again destroyed in 1776 by American troops led by Griffith Rutherford, and again the town was reoccupied afterwards. Treaties in 1817 and 1819 ceded the land around Nikwasi to North Carolina and white settlers were granted 4,000 acres (16 km²) at the site of Nikwasi, where they created the town of Franklin (Duncan 2003:153).

[edit] References

• Duncan, Barbara R. and Riggs, Brett H. Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook. University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill (2003). ISBN 0-8078-5457-3
• Mooney, James. "Myths of the Cherokee" (1900, reprint 1995). See James Mooney.