The Nantahala Gorge is one of the most impressive natural areas in western North Carolina, and even with the gorge’s modern-day taming of flows and its modest development, it is easy to imagine how Bartram would have been intimidated by the rugged terrain and remoteness. The area is still one of the most remote in western North Carolina, with its narrow valleys hemmed in by National Forest lands and slopes to steep to develop. Cherokees lived in small villages in the upper reaches of the Nantahala watershed when Bartram was here, most of which are now under Lake Nantahala, but Bartram did not encounter or describe these as he descended the ancient path that he took down the gorge. The area was sparsely settled, as it is to this day, and perhaps he did not notice or consider them significant as he made his way downward “at length, after much toil and exercise”.
Bartram digresses a bit from his plant obsession on this portion of his journey through the mountains and remarks on the geology that he encounters. He describes a “most pure and clear white earth, having a faint bluish or pearly colour gleam,” which was a clay that served as a primary source of pottery material for the Cherokee. In 1767, less than a decade before Bartram’s arrival, a South Carolina planter by the name of Thomas Griffiths removed several tons of this type of clay in Cowee for the famous porcelain ceramicist Josiah Wedgwood. The exact location is uncertain, but it likely came from a cliff near what is now the Great Smoky Mountain Fish Camp, where seams of the clay are still visible. A state historical marker on highway 28 in the Cowee National Historic District documents Griffith’s visit to Cowee to mine the clay.
Griffiths’ journey was a harrowing one – the Cherokees were mistrustful after the Philadelphia Quaker and potter Andre Duche’ had descended upon them in 1741 with Georgia agents to look for the rumored clay. Duche’ had dug numerous pits looking for the clay and promised them gifts he never delivered on. Griffiths was captured by the Cherokees for several days and describes miserable wet and cold conditions in the mountains. Ironically, the same trader who Bartram befriended, Patrick Galahan, assisted Griffiths in obtaining the white clay he mined for Wedgwood. Bartram never mentions this in Travels, though he surely knew about Griffiths’ time here.
Bartram also describes Mica in the Nantahala Gorge, which the Cherokees used for ceremonial and trade purposes. Bartram describes it as isinglass and notes that it could maybe be used for windows or lantern glass, an observation which would become a reality a hundred years later when it would be commercially mined throughout the Little Tennessee Valley for many uses. Heading farther down the river he describes a new species of Hydrastis – or Goldenseal as it is now known. This plant’s medicinal qualities are renowned, and it is rare today to find it in Appalachia, having been overharvested by collectors and the older deciduous forests that it needs having been cutover decades ago.
The area grew as settlers moved in following Cherokee removal in the 19th century, and though it was still remote and sparsely populated it was perhaps more populated than it is today. There were small communities throughout the upper gorge area in the 19th and early 20th centuries such as Little Choga, Aquone, Beechertown, Otter Creek, and Briar Town, and others. There were many churches, schools, stores, and logging operations that dotted the landscape, and these held on until the timber ran out and the Forest Service began purchasing land during the twenties and depression era thirties. The removal of communities during the creation of Lake Nantahala in 1942 also had an impact. The website www.nantahalanc.com is an excellent source of photos and early history of the area.
The area received notoriety due to it being home to the fugitive Eric Rudolph. Rudolph was found guilty of Atlanta’s Olympic Park bombing in 1996, along with the bombings of two abortion clinics and a lesbian bar. The search for Rudolph was one of the most expensive in FBI history, and despite their intensive search to find Rudolph in the area, he was caught dumpster diving in 2003 in nearby Murphy, NC by a rookie police offer who had no clue as to who he was arresting. Rudolph confessed and was sentenced in 2005 to four life sentences without parole. Attempts to prove that he was connected to militia groups in the area were found to be without merit and today it is a peaceful and bucolic rural community where paddlers, boaters, hikers, and leaf peepers enjoy the spectacular setting.