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Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area

City: Elizabethton, TN
Region: East Tennessee
Subregion: Northeast

Sycamore Shoals is steeped in monumental acts of American history where European immigrants built homes in a wilderness outside of the 13 English colonies. Here, men created America's first democratic government in 1772, the Watauga Association. The Transylvania Purchase, the largest private real estate transaction in American history took place between the settlers and Cherokee in 1775 at Sycamore Shoals. The next year, Cherokee warriors attacked the settlement whose families took refuge in Fort Watauga. In late 1780, the Overmountain Men, over 1,000 strong, gathered in the historic Muster of the patriots on the grounds of Sycamore Shoals. Their quickly won battle at Kings Mountain has been considered the pivotal event which "turned the tide of the American Revolution."
Visitors here walk into a a time of danger and intrigue. Meet great characters from Tennessee's early years: vivacious Bonnie Kate Sherrill, who jumped over the wall of Fort Watauga to escape Cherokee attack, into the arms of John Sevier. Learn the skills that Cherokees and pioneers used to survive in the wilderness of colonial Tennessee. See Tennessee's Official Outdoor Drama, "Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals ."

Nature, as well as history, is in full view at Sycamore Shoals. A prime example of an East Tennessee river valley, the park sits beside the Watauga River. Bottomland forest is an excellent habitat for sycamore trees, annuals, many bird species, two butterfly gardens, and colonial gardens.

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