Pre 1830 in Western North Carolina
CHEROKEE INDIANS / CREEK INDIANS
The early days of Sapphire Valley parallel the early history of Appalachia and North Carolina itself. The mountainous location remained part of the Cherokee and Creek Indian Nations until the early 1800’s.
The Indian Removal policy of President Andrew Jackson was prompted by the desire of white settlers in the South to expand into lands belonging to five Indian tribes.
After Jackson succeeded in pushing the Indian Removal Act through Congress in 1830, the U.S. government spent nearly 30 years forcing Indians to move westward, beyond the Mississippi River. The Removal Act include Cherokee, Creek/Muscogee, and other smaller tribes.
Unto These Hill Drama
CREEK INDIANS IN SAPPHIRE VALLEY
Additional Information
The Creek Nation is a relatively young political entity. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, no such nation existed. At that time most Southeastern natives lived in centralized mound-building societies.
Modern-day steps lead to the summit of one of the Indian mounds at the Etowah site.Etowah Indian Mounds whose architectural achievements are still visible today in such places as the Etowah Mounds at Cartersville and the Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, Ga.About A.D. 1400, for reasons still debated, some of these large chiefdoms collapsed and reorganized themselves into smaller chiefdoms spread about in Georgia's river valleys, including the Ocmulgee and the Chattahoochee.
Ref: Saunt, Claudio. "Creek Indians." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 09 September 2014. Web. 24 December 2014.
Prior to the Creek Indians developing a political structure, native Americans were in the Sapphire Valley area. The 'Stone Basin' located near Fairfield Lake is a perfect example of early American activity. Parts of this structure are over 100 years and the oldest parts possible 800-1000 years old.
Map:
Map and some content courtesy:
Creek Indian Map