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Cultural Resources
The Tapoco Project is located in the Southern Appalachian Region adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests, an area rich in history and cultural resources. The earliest documented occupation of the Southern Appalachian Region occurred during the Paleo-Indian period (12,000 - 8000 BC). Throughout subsequent periods, plant foods and aquatic resources became increasingly important to the inhabitants of this region. After AD 1450, the native people who populated the Southern Appalachian Region were known as the Cherokee. Four eighteenth-century Cherokee towns are located in the Project vicinity. These are “Chilhowee”, “Tallassee” and “Halfway Town” (located at Tellico Reservoir). The North Carolina town known as “Buffalo Town” is submerged under Santeetlah Reservoir. Anglo-American settlement began in 1785 in the Tennessee portion of the Project area and in the late 1800s in the North Carolina portion.
All of the dams, powerhouses, and adjacent ancillary buildings and structures at the Tapoco Project meet the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria because of their historical, architectural, and engineering significance. The four Project developments were entered into the NRHP in 2004. Additionally, a total of 12 archaeological sites have been identified as eligible or potentially eligible for the NRHP at the Project. To protect and preserve historic properties at the Tapoco Project while fulfilling all of the terms and conditions of the current 40-year Project License issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Tapoco has developed a Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP). Tapoco plans to implement cost-effective measures for the management of historic properties while considering the needs of the Project and other public interests in resource areas such as recreation, water quality, aesthetics, and aquatic and terrestrial resources.
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