Murphy

Murphy was first known as the "Leech Place," reflecting a Cherokee legend about two giant leeches that lurked in the Hiwassee River in order to snatch small children that wandered by. Later the area was called Huntington, after A.R.S. Hunter's Store, an early trading post and ferry on the Unicoi Turnpike. The trade center grew into a town and was eventually named Murphy. In preparation for the Cherokee Removal, the US government built Fort Butler on a hill overlooking the present downtown. All the Cherokee prisoners from North Carolina eventually came to Fort Butler before departing on the Unicoi Turnpike to Tennessee. After the Civil War, modern highways and railroads replaced the old turnpike but Murphy is still an important center for trade and government.