Overhill Fur & Hide Trade
From the beginning of the eighteenth century until the American Revolution, Cherokee hunters and trappers traded tens of thousands of animal pelts for manufactured goods imported by licensed British traders. The first resident trader in the Overhill Towns settled at Tanasee (Tennessee) in 1711.
Unchecked harvesting of animals for commercial purposes severely depleted the Cherokees? main sources of meat, especially white-tailed deer. In-coming trade good transformed or replaced many traditional Cherokee crafts. This "deerskin trade" soon made the Cherokees economically dependent on foreigners. It also made fortunes for middlemen and entrepreneurs in the port city of Charleston (now South Carolina), and in England, where this new wealth helped spark the Industrial Revolution.
( Inscription under the photo in the upper right)
On one day, July 14, 1716, Commissioners of the Indian Trade recorded that 21 Cherokee burden bearers brought in 418 beaverskins which were exchanged for "400 weight of gun powder, 200 and a half of shot, and 7 pieces of strouds, 1000 flints, 7 brass kettles, 20 years of half thicks."
Ango-American trade objects from Overhill Cherokee sites: 1. Iron knife; 2. Iron ax; 3. And 4. Glass beads; 5. Bass bell; 6. Iron scissors; 7. Iron Jew harp; 8. Iron hoe.-Photograph from Chapman, Tellico Archeology, 1985
(Captions)
(Lower right)
This site is part of the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Trail and is an official Tennessee 200 Bicentennial Project. Interpretive signs, museums, historic sites and a guidebook tell the story of the industrial Revolution as it happened in McMinn, Monroe, and Polk Counties. For more information concerning other sites, contact the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association at 423-263-7232
The Tennessee Overhill Experience: From Furs to Factories was funded by the Tennessee Department of Transportation; Tennessee 200, Inc; East Tennessee Foundation; and the counties of McMinn, Monroe, and Polk.
| HM Number | HM1FE6 |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 at 2:25pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16S E 752236 N 3940899 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 35.57970000, -84.21640000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 35° 34.782', W 84° 12.984' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 35° 34' 46.92" N, 84° 12' 59.04" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 717 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling North |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 31 S Baltimore Ave, Vonore TN 17065, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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