The Tuckasegee River (variant spellings include Tuckaseegee and Tuckaseigee) flows entirely within

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. It begins its course in Jackson County below

Cullowhee Cullowhee (
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the University of North Carolina at Chap ...

at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of Panthertown and Greenland creeks. It flows in a northwesterly direction into Swain County, where the Oconaluftee flows into it before the Tuckaseegee heads northwest. The county seat,

Bryson City Bryson City is a town in Swain County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The population was 1,558 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in what was historically the land of the Cherokee, Bryson City was found ...

developed along both sides of the Tuckaseegee, and

Bryson City Island Park The Bryson City Island Park is a small island located in Bryson City, North Carolina, United States. Located within the Tuckasegee River, at the mouth of historic Deep Creek, which flows from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Location T ...

was developed. The river next enters

Fontana Lake Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River, and is located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the nort ...

, formed by the

Fontana Dam Fontana Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River in Swain County, North Carolina, Swain and Graham County, North Carolina, Graham counties, North Carolina, United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, whi ...

upriver on the Little Tennessee River. The Tuckaseegee ultimately flows as a tributary into the

Little Tennessee River The Little Tennessee River (known locally as the Little T) is a tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia, into North Carolina, and then into Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It dra ...

below the lake. The name Tuckasegee may be an anglicization or transliteration of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

word ''daksiyi''— akhšiyiin the local Cherokee variety, meaning 'Turtle Place.' Several Cherokee towns developed along the river, including

Kituwa Kituwa (also spelled Kituwah, Keetoowah, Kittowa, Kitara and other similar variations) or ''giduhwa'' (Cherokee: ᎩᏚᏩ) is a Woodland period Native American settlement near the upper Tuckasegee River, and is claimed by the Cherokee people ...

, believed to be the "mother town" of the Cherokee. It developed around an earthen

platform mound A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity. It typically refers to a flat-topped mound, whose sides may be pyramidal. In Eastern North America The indigenous peoples of North America built substru ...

, likely built about 1000 CE. The mound, although reduced in height, is visible on the of land reacquired in 1996 by the federally recognized

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee language, Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, federally recognized Indian Tribe, ...

. This land also includes the former site of an early 18th-century Cherokee town. The EBCI conducted an archeological survey in 1997 that found evidence of thousands of years of habitation at this site and are keeping it undeveloped as sacred ground. Many of the mounds in this area were built by about 1000 CE, during the

South Appalachian Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...

era. In each of their major towns, the Cherokee built a

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

as their expression of public architecture on top of such a mound, if it existed. The townhouse was the Cherokee expression of public architecture, emphasizing their decentralized society based on community consensus. In some places, they built a townhouse on the main town plaza. The river also has several stone fishing

weirs A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

built by prehistoric indigenous peoples. It is believed that the weirs were built by peoples who lived here prior to the

in the Southeast. The weirs are most easily viewed when water levels are low. One near

Webster, North Carolina Webster is a town in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 363, down from 486 in 2000. Webster was the first county seat of Jackson County, until Sylva assumed the role in 1913. Geography Web ...

, is the most intact and has a characteristic "V" shape.Anne Frazier Rogers,
Fish weirs as part of the cultural landscape

National Park Service. Fishing, hiking, and paddling are among the recreational opportunities along the river.

References

Little Tennessee River Rivers of North Carolina Rivers of Jackson County, North Carolina Rivers of Swain County, North Carolina Sacred rivers North Carolina placenames of Native American origin {{NorthCarolina-river-stub