Fort Southwest Point

Fort Southwest Point

The first road connecting Knoxville and Nashville, known as the Avery Trace, had been constructed in 1788. Its starting point lay near near Kingston, TN. It soon became the major westsward path in Tennesse. By 1794 a blockhouse, manned by a detachment of federal troops, had been established in the area to protect travellers on the Avery Trace. A few years later (1797) the more substantial Fort Southwest Point was constructed on a promintory formed by the convergence of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers. This location was on the boundary between the U.S. Territory, and the Cherokee Nation, as laid out in the Holston Treaty of 1791. The Fort continued in service until 1811. At one point as many as 625 soldiers were stationed here.

A treaties with the Cherokee at Fort Southwest Point led to a change in role for the troops stationed here. Initially they were seen as providing needed protection of settlers traving the Avery Trace. Their role soon changed from protecting the settlers, to preventing settlement on Indian lands. In some cases, they forcibly removed settlers who had illegally settled on Indian land. By 1807 most of the Cherokee were located further south. By 1807 most of the troops had been relocated to the Hiawassee garrison, but a small force continued to occupy the Fort untill 1811. In that year the Fort was abandoned.

Today the Fort has been substantially restored. Owned by the City of Kingston, the Fort provides a realistic depiction of conditions in the area around 1800.