Charting Our Course: Tennessee Overhill Communities in the 21st Century

In 2009, with financial support from Appalachian Regional Commission, TOHA sponsored a series of training workshops aimed at developing knowledge and skills in the Cherokee National Forest gateway communities to capitalize on the opportunities that are presented by the Forest while meeting the challenges of sustaining our local assets. The training also included Community Exchange Trips in which community members…

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Niche Marketing

Several years ago the Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association embarked on niche marketing approach to attract tourists. A community meeting was held to identify unique assets in the Overhill, determine which of those assets fit current tourism niches, and then design a marketing strategy to link our assets to appropriate tourism markets such as cultural tourists, outdoor enthusiasts, ecotourists and agritourists.…

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The Tennessee Overhill Cultural Legacy Project

The Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association (TOHA) believes that preservation of traditions and folkways is as important as preserving buildings and landscapes. The purpose of the Cultural Legacy Project is to identify local artists, research artistic traditions that are rooted in the Overhill, and develop ways to present our arts and artists to local audiences and tourists. The Cultural Legacy Project…

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Furs to Factories Heritage Trail

Furs to Factories Heritage Trail

One of the most compelling stories in the Tennessee Overhill is how the Industrial Revolution played out in this part of the Southern Appalachians. In the 1700s the Cherokee fur & hide trade opened this part of the southern mountains to the world market. European traders arrived, and were soon followed by settlers. By the mid-1800s the abundant water, timber,…

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Unicoi Turnpike Trail

Unicoi Turnpike Trail

The route over the Southern Appalachians known as the Unicoi Turnpike was used as an artery of trade and warfare before written history. The old path extended from the Overhill Cherokee settlements in eastern Tennessee to the coastal ports at Savannah and Charleston. In 1999, as an outgrowth of the Blue Ridge Initiative and the Cherokee Heritage Trails Project, the…

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Trail of Tears

TOHA recently entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service National Trail Office to research and document the Trail of Tears route from Fort Armistead through Monroe and McMinn counties to Fort Cass. 2001 Study of Trail of Tears through E. Tennessee Partners: National Park Service, University of North Carolina Laboratory of Archaeology, Coker Creek Heritage Group, Monroe…

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Local Libraries

McMinn County E.G. Fisher Public Library 1289 Ingleside Avenue Athens, TN 37303 423- 745-7782 www.fisherlibrary.org   Etowah Carnegie Public Library 723 Ohio Avenue Etowah, TN 37331 423-263-9475 www.etowahlibrary.com   Calhoun City Library 746 Highway 163 Calhoun, TN 37309 423- 336-2348   Englewood Public Library 103 Carroll Street Englewood, TN 37329 423- 887-7152   Niota Public Library 11 East Main Street…

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Cherokee Genealogy Resources

Eastern Band of Cherokee – Many people want to know about becoming a Tribal Member based on a relative being Cherokee or of Cherokee descent. Enrollment in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is governed by Cherokee Code, Chapter 49, Enrollment, and restricts enrollment to the following: 1. A direct lineal ancestor must appear on the 1924 Baker Roll of the…

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Historical Societies & Archives

McMinn County Historical Society McMinn County Courthouse, Room #7 6 West Madison Ave Athens, TN 37303 423- 744-3911 McMinn County Historical Society   Monroe County Archives 105 College Street, Suite 10 (located in the Historic Monroe County Courthouse) Madisonville, TN 37354 423-420-0910 http://www.monroetnarchives.org/   Polk County Historical and Genealogical Society 140 Commerce St Benton, TN 37307 423-338-4506 www.pchgs.com   Polk…

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