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The gap was passed through by general ] in September 1776 while on his "']' warfare" campaign against the Cherokee for being allies of the ] in the ].<ref name=dncr>{{cite web|url=https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/18/swannanoa-gap-n-32|title=Swannanoa Gap (N-32)|website=]|date=January 18, 2024}}</ref> The gap was passed through by general ] in September 1776 while on his "']' warfare" campaign against the Cherokee for being allies of the ] in the ].<ref name=dncr>{{cite web|url=https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/18/swannanoa-gap-n-32|title=Swannanoa Gap (N-32)|website=]|date=January 18, 2024}}</ref>


In 1865, during the ], 500 ] men and four pieces of heavy artillery were ordered to blockade the Swannanoa Gap from the encroaching ] cavalry led by brigadier general ].<ref name=dncr/> In 1865, during the ], 500 ] men and four pieces of heavy artillery were ordered to blockade the Swannanoa Gap from the encroaching ] cavalry led by brigadier general ].<ref name=dncr/>


In 1880 the ]'s railway was completed after passing through the Swannanoa Gap and over Old Fort Mountain.<ref name=dncr/> The majority of the labor used by the railroad was from ] prisoners and many tragic accidents occurred during its construction on the steep terrain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ymicc.org/unmarked_trail/board11.html|title=1880 - 1900|website=The YMI Cultural Center in ]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226191004/http://www.ymicc.org/unmarked_trail/board11.html|archive-date=December 26, 2010}}</ref> In 1880 the ]'s railway was completed after passing through the Swannanoa Gap and over Old Fort Mountain.<ref name=dncr/> The majority of the labor used by the railroad was from ] prisoners and many tragic accidents occurred during its construction on the steep terrain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ymicc.org/unmarked_trail/board11.html|title=1880 - 1900|website=The YMI Cultural Center in ]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226191004/http://www.ymicc.org/unmarked_trail/board11.html|archive-date=December 26, 2010}}</ref>

Revision as of 22:56, 13 December 2024

Pass through the Blue Ridge Mountains
Swannanoa Gap
Suwali Nûⁿnâhi
Swannanoa Gap is located in the United StatesSwannanoa GapLocation in the United StatesShow map of the United StatesSwannanoa Gap is located in North CarolinaSwannanoa GapLocation in North CarolinaShow map of North Carolina
Elevation2,657 ft (810 m)
Traversed by I-40 / US 70
Location North Carolina
RangeBlue Ridge Mountains
Coordinates35°37′17″N 82°16′13″W / 35.6215074°N 82.2703954°W / 35.6215074; -82.2703954

The Swannanoa Gap is a pass in the eastern United States through the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Asheville plateau. It sits on the Buncombe-McDowell County line in North Carolina near the head of the Catawba River. It is a historically significant pass in American colonial history and was traversed by the Native Americans.

According to James Mooney, a prominent ethnographer of the Bureau of Ethnology, the pass was used by the Cherokee to reach the land of the Sara. The Cherokee name for the pass is Suwali Nûⁿnâhi. Mooney wrote it was "the pass through which ran the trail from the Cherokee to the Suwali or Ani-Suwali". Its name in modern Cherokee syllabary by the neographer Sequoyah is not known.

The names of the census-designated place of Swannanoa, North Carolina, the Swannanoa River, Lake Swannanoa, New Jersey, and Swannanoa, New Zealand are derived from its name.

History

The gap was passed through by general Griffith Rutherford in September 1776 while on his "'scorched-earth' warfare" campaign against the Cherokee for being allies of the British in the American Revolutionary War.

In 1865, during the American Civil War, 500 confederate men and four pieces of heavy artillery were ordered to blockade the Swannanoa Gap from the encroaching Union cavalry led by brigadier general Alvan Gillem.

In 1880 the Western North Carolina Railroad's railway was completed after passing through the Swannanoa Gap and over Old Fort Mountain. The majority of the labor used by the railroad was from African American prisoners and many tragic accidents occurred during its construction on the steep terrain.

References

  1. ^ Mooney, James (1894). The Siouan Tribes of the East (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 57.
  2. "Swannanoa Gap". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  3. "Native American Place Names". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Archaeology. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010.
  4. ^ "Swannanoa Gap (N-32)". North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. January 18, 2024.
  5. "1880 - 1900". The YMI Cultural Center in Asheville. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010.
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