Nikwasi

Nikwasi
Nikwasi Location in North Carolina today
Location
Coordinates
Country	USA
Region	Macon County, North Carolina
Municipality	Franklin, North Carolina
History
Culture	South Appalachian Mississippian culture, historic period Cherokee
First occupied	1000
Excavation and maintenance
Responsible body	Private
Architecture
Architectural styles	platform mound
Number of temples
Nequasee
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	18 acres (7.3 ha)
NRHP Reference #	80004598
Added to NRHP	November 26, 1980

Nikwasi (also spelled Nequasee, Nequassee, Nucassee, Noucassih, etc.) is a prehistoric archaeological site with a platform mound, constructed by the Mississippi culture c. 1000. When the Cherokee migrated into the area about the 16th century, they settled here and built a townhouse on top of the mound. The site is along the Little Tennessee River and within the boundaries of the later European-American city of Franklin, North Carolina, developed in the 19th century and later.

A large platform mound is still visible. In the Cherokee period, a townhouse stood here. The mound has remained intact, but its age is uncertain as it has never been excavated. It is similar to other nearby mounds built by the peoples of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture (a regional variation of the Mississippian culture) at about 1000. The Cherokee are an Iroquoian-speaking people who migrated into the area at a later time.

History

Scholars believe the platform mound at Nikwasi was constructed about 1000 by Mississippian culture peoples. During the Late South Appalachian Mississippian period, a succeeding people known as Lamar culture became widespread in western North Carolina and associated areas, from about 1350 until the historic Cherokee peoples migrated into the area. It was considered one of their Middle Towns.

In 1730, the English colonist Alexander Cuming called for a council at the town of Nikwasi, which thousands of Cherokee attended. He arranged for seven Cherokee, including Moytoy of Tellico, to accompany him to England. Moytoy, however, chose to stay to attend to his wife, and sent Attakullakulla in his stead. In 1761 during the Seven Years' War with France and its Native allies, English colonial forces destroyed the houses and fields of Nikwasi, worried that the Cherokee were allied with the French. They used the townhouse on top of Nikwasi Mound as a field hospital.

After the troops left, the Cherokee returned and rebuilt the town. In 1776 colonial American troops led by Griffith Rutherford destroyed Nikwasi during the American Revolutionary War, when the Cherokee were allied with the British. Afterward the Cherokee rebuilt and reoccupied the town. By treaties in 1817 and 1819 with the United States government, they were forced to cede the land around Nikwasi to North Carolina. European-American settlers were granted 4,000 acres (16 km²) at the site of Nikwasi, where they developed the town of Franklin, North Carolina, which was based on cotton as a commodity crop and the extensive use of African-American slaves as workers.

On November 26, 1980 the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological site. The mound stands at near its original height, but it is only half its original size in area. The area around the mound has been filled level for construction, so the mound has to be seen closely to be appreciated; it no longer stands out against the landscape.

See also

• List of Mississippian sites
• Chauga Mound
• Nacoochee Mound
• Kenimer Site
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Macon County, North Carolina

Further reading

• Mooney, James. Myths of the Cherokee (1900, reprint 1995).

External links

• "Nikwasi", Macon County Historical Society
• Cherokee Heritage Itinerary -- Stop 10 Nikwasi Mound, North Carolina Folklife Institute
• Archaeological Survey, US 441-B, Franklin, Macon County, Tip No. U-621, The Digital Archeological Resource
• Nequasee - Franklin, NC - U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Waymarking website