Appalachian

American Agriculture History Minute: Early Settlers Settle Appalachian Mountains

DanAmerican Agriculture History Minute, This Land of Ours

Appalachian
The Earnest Fort House (sometimes called the Mauris-Earnest Fort House after a later owner) in Greene County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. This house, located just south of Chuckey on the banks of the Nolichucky River, was built around 1782 when Cherokee attacks were a serious threat. One of the oldest standing houses in Tennessee, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and in 2002 became part of the Earnest Farms National Historic District. Coordinates: N 36.20546, W 82.68414
By Brian Stansberry – Own work, CC BY 3.0/Wikipedia image

I’m Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute.

American Agriculture History Minute: Early Settlers Settle Appalachian Mountains

Once early settlers navigated the rough Appalachian Mountains, they found vast stretches of undeveloped land in what is now central and western Tennessee. The early settlers often received land grants for military service. Standard grants came in the form of 640-acre blocks. Even today, a gift of 640 acres seems generous, but must remember, then there was no house, no barns. All had to be built and land to clear. It was not an easy road.

Early settlers actually used a lot of that land for hunting and gathering food for their family and livestock before thinking about growing crops.

That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.