Troubled Chota: Ex-Capital of Cherokee Power

Situated among the Overhill Cherokee towns, Chota took the seat from Tanasi mid-1700s. Politically influential Cherokee leaders like Attakullakulla, Oconostota, Old Hop, Old Tassel, Hanging Maw, and Nancy Ward saw their days either born or spent here. However, in the 1740s, post Moytoy's, the Cherokee's 'Emperor', a power feud erupted, making Chota the epicenter. Among the tribal leaders, Conocotocko, Old Hop, and Old Tassel collected power, ousting Great Tellico as the Overhill Cherokee's mother town. The British, curious allies against the French, experienced friction, leading to open warfare by 1760. Colonel Henry Timberlake dropped by in December 1761 and found fifty-two dwellings and a townhouse in Chota. But peace was an endangered species, as by 1760, the Fort Loudoun garrison succumbed to the Cherokee, causing the demise of many British soldiers.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons