Estatoe Path

[2]Estatoe Path was a long-established Indian trail that linked the eighteenth-century Cherokee [3]Lower Towns of northwestern South Carolina and northeastern Georgia with the French Broad River [4] Valley in western North Carolina. It may have originated at the site of Old Estatoe, located on a branch of the Upper Tugalo River near Clayton, Ga. However, it is more often described as originating with the cluster of Lower Towns, including Keowee and a different town of Estatoe on the Upper Keowee River in South Carolina. This path headed north, crossing into North Carolina's present-day Transylvania County [5] to the vicinity of Rosman, where a large Cherokee town was apparently located. The path then followed the French Broad River Valley and ultimately reached the Toe River Valley. It is possible that the Mitchell County [6] community of Estatoe derived its name from the nearby path.