In 1835, a prominent Cherokee leader, The Ridge (Major John) and a small, unofficial, party of Cherokee signed a document that became known as the 1835 Cherokee Removal Treaty.  The Ridge Party who negotiated this treaty did so without the approval of Principal Chief John Ross or his council who did everything possible to nullify this treaty unsuccessfully.  Since Andrew Jackson and some congressional leadership wanted the Indians removed, they used this treaty, illegally, to make it happen.  Andrew Jackson was known as an Indian fighter his entire career.  He obviously held animosity toward any Native American group….the Seminole, Creek, Catawba, Chickasaw, Lumbee, Yammassee, Euchi and hundreds of others were all removed from their ancestral homes.  This particular treaty ceded all remaining land of the Cherokee Indians east of the Mississippi River.  All of which lay in the bounds of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.

Having given the Nation three years to move west, the final removal, per the treaty, was in 1838.  This portion of the Removal is the specific “Trail of Tears”…. being the portion in which the remaining citizens were forced from their homes to immigrate to Oklahoma.

These ceded lands in Tennessee were what was to become known as the Ocoee District.  It was bounded on the East by the North Carolina state line, on the north by the Hiwassee River, which was followed precisely until it flowed into the Tennessee River where the boundary then followed it south-westward to fractional township seven located in present day Marion County, TN on the north & west by the Tennessee River (aka Cherokee River), on the south by the Alabama and Georgia state lines. The northern-most boundary of the mountainous area that contained the Gold Land and townships 5, 6 &7 east were bounded on the north by the Little Tennessee River.  The three counties that were formed in Tennessee were Bradley and Polk with several subsequent county line adjustments.  (James County was not formed until much later.)  Hamilton County was previously formed and line adjustments made to accommodate the new lines.

The state of Tennessee had formed Bradley County in 1836.  Polk was not formed until after the Ocoee grants were allotted so at least some of the Polk Grants will show as being in Bradley County.  See the maps for more information.

THE GOLD LOTS: When the Hiwassee Purchase grants were allotted beginning in 1820, much of the mountainous area of what is now eastern Monroe & Polk County was not granted and remained in the hands of the Cherokee Nation until 1835.  In a general line, this Indian Boundary ran from the Hiwassee Island (aka Jolly’s Island), up the Hiwassee River to Savannah Village.  Savannah lay at the southern end of Starr’s Mtn at what we now call Gee Creek and Taylor’s Island.  It then went up to the top of Starr’s traveled the top of the mountain to White Cliff.  At White Cliff it went down the east side of the mountain to Conasauga Creek then up this Creek and to the Unicoi Trail.  From the Unicoi Trail it ran just east of Tellico Plains to the area around Indian Boundary Lake and Flat’s Mountain.  It then proceeded down Flats Mtn to Citico Creek where it enters the Little Tennessee River just adjacent to the present day community of Tallassee, Blount Co., TN.

The area includes lands in Polk and Monroe including Copper Basin, Ducktown, Turtletown, Farner, Ironsburg & Coker Creek and included Fort Armistead.  Land from the Polk County line, northward to the Little Tennessee River was divided into Gold Lots of 40 acres each.   Each section, of 640 acres, being divided into sixteen 40 acre lots.  In the following pattern:

This allocation was decreed by the State of Tennessee on October 1, 1838.  It was, obviously, suspected that gold was in the area.  Only small amounts were ever found either in Georgia or Tennessee.  Copper was/is in east Polk in abundance but not sought after until the mid 1850’s.  The Gold Lots were auctioned off to the highest bidders during the Ocoee District Grants process.   The only map showing the structure of these Gold Lots and township held in the Ocoee District and their locations to Monroe County is the 1936 Monroe County Map…although the townships in the western portion of Monroe County had been changed by then.  On some grants you will see the description “Gold Lots”.  This general area is where the land lay.

THE POLK COUNTY LINE AT THE GOLD LAND:  Please note on this map in the north-eastern portion of Polk County, the line between Monroe and Polk is not designated.  For your use it can be stated that this portion of the Polk County line is the first east – west township line just north of the Hiwassee River.

THE IRON ACT:  Also enacted was the Iron Act which was supposed to encourage the production of iron ore in the area.  This act was a bit useless since there were several businesses of the type already established by the machinations of Cherokee Agent, Return Jonathan Meigs.

UNASSIGNED LAND:  When studying these grants one will notice that much of the land was listed as being granted to men like William Wetmore, Luke Lea and Pleasant J.R. Edwards.  For the most part this was the land in the Appalachian Mountains that was considered uninhabitable….although some families descended from Scottish Highlanders adapted easily.  One such family was that of Absalom Stratton who is interred on the Tennessee & North Carolina state line on the Cherohala Skyway in Monroe and Graham Counties.   Much of this land is now the southern end of the Cherokee National Forest.

LAND DEEDS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THESE MAPS & GRANTS:  Soon after the grants were allocated, the counties were formed then reformed so some deeds will be deceptive.  It is better to locate the land by using the original Ocoee District Map and the information on the grant.  Here’s why.  After the counties began laying off their tax districts fractional townships were eliminated and townships often re-numbered.  The description given in deeds will often depend on WHEN the deed was issued. It wasn’t a great number of years until these land descriptions weren’t used at all. Therefore it is best to use these original maps when attempting to locate granted land.

This information is for those residents who lived in the land area that was McMinn County until the formation of Polk County:

The county line of McMinn County on the southwest end was bordered by the Hiwassee River from 1817 to 1838.  When Polk was formed in 1838 the southern border of McMinn County was moved northward (to where it lies today).  So for those who are researching land that is now in Polk and north of the Hiwassee they will find land grants for that area in the Hiwassee District grants.

QUESTIONABLE DEBACLE: On August 3, 1839, 40 tracts of land of 160 acres each was entered for the Nashville University and East Tennessee College.  The land agent for this was Robert Wear.  The land received was well over 8,800 acres.  It was enacted that these tracts should be set aside for these two schools.  Why this occurred is the question.

SCHOOL LAND: In line with the standard practices that come down from the Northwest Ordinance system, section #16 of each township was to be reserved for land to create schools.  Six-hundred and forty acre tracts was set aside for the usage of the schools.

A quote from The History of Polk County by respected historian Mr. Roy G. Lillard.

“County School Lands were provided for by the Northwest Ordinance of 1789.  The history of common school land of Polk County began with the Act of the Tennessee Legislature of October 18, 1836.  It stipulated that the sixteenth section of every township in the Ocoee District was to be reserved to the citizens of the said township for school purposes, forever.  Due to lack of records it cannot definitely be determined that each thirty-six square miles in Polk County was allowed a section for school purposes, however, this was probably the case.”

A total of 6,400 acres was allotted for school land in the Ocoee District  Each 16th section was to be designated as school land & a full slate of  “640 acres per township” was the standard allotment or ten sections.

THE CHEROKEE RESERVATIONS: The land being held by Cherokee citizens as a result of the 1817 & 1819 Reservation Treaties had little effect on the land grants.  All four states (Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama) had enacted Recapitulation Laws that saw the reservations turned back to the individual states.  Each individual Reservation was handled differently but many were sold well before the 1835 Removal Treaty.