The following is excerpted from A Guidebook to Historic Places in Roane County, Tennessee, published by the Roane County Heritage Commission, and available on its Web site. [Note — this is from the archived site, so the book may not be available currently.]

In Rockwood, Tennessee there once stood a mighty oak tree.  Under that tree Chief Talootiske established his toll gate.  Talootiske was a famous Cherokee chief who built a road up Walden Ridge before the construction of Walton‘s Road — even before Peter Avery blazed his Trace.  In exchange for his road being a part of the white settler’s route west, Talootiske was granted the right to establish a toll gate.

It was also under the old “Rockwood Oak” that white agents met with Chief Talootiske to agree on a sizeable allotment of land for the Chief.  But by 1818, the Cherokee had lost control of the land.  In 1801, the Walton Road, running from Kingston to the Cumberland settlements, was opened.  It passed by the old oak tree where the toll gate once stood.  Hugh Dunlap bought the property at the old tree and there built a house, which also served as a stagecoach inn.  The inn hosted many travelers, including Andrew Jackson.