Here is a great article by Buzz Williams talking about the Cashiers Quadrangle. The Chattooga watershed area has some of the most amazing natural wonders you could ever hope to see. Wether your just coming to visit or your looking to make the Cashiers area you home you will surley want to read this.
It has often been said by the folks who really know Chattooga country that one could spend a lifetime exploring the places in the watershed that have cultural, geological, aesthetic, or environmental significance. We thought it might be more practical for our quarterly publication to take it a little bit at a time. This installation marks the first in an ongoing series that will examine an area in the watershed as defined by the standard U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) “quad” maps. The 200,000 acre Chattooga River watershed is covered by 10 USGS quads. We hope you enjoy this first installment in the Chattooga River Quad Discovery Series, featuring the Cashiers Quadrangle.
The U. S. Geological Survey is a federal agency founded in 1879 with the mission to classify the public domain by surveying the geological structure, min
eral resources, and products of America’s vast public lands. Today the U. S. Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, and almost all other federal and state agencies as well as most conservation groups use U. S. Geological Survey maps. These quads are also the base maps of choice in most Geographic Information Systems (GIS) used by everyone from land management professionals to amateur explorers. Standard USGS maps cover one eighth of one degree of latitude and longitude, or a rectangular area encompassing six miles by eight miles. The scale of a quad map is 1:24,000.
The Cashiers Quad, General Description
The northeast corner of the Chattooga River watershed is covered by about one-third of the Cashiers quad, roughly bounded by Chattooga Ridge on the east as it zig-zags its way north, connecting the dots of eight mountains all around 4,000 feet in elevation, and finally connecting with the Blue Ridge Divide at the extreme northwest corner of the map near the resort village of Cashiers. The eastern two-thirds of the Cashiers quad covers the headwaters of the Whitewater, Thompson, and Horsepasture Rivers, which along with the Toxaway and Eastatoe Rivers further to the east in the Reid Quad, make up the spactacular Jocassee Gorges. Highway 107 roughly follows the Chattooga Ridge on the road’s winding way from Walhalla, South Carolina, in the south to Cashiers, crossing at low points at Heady Gap and then back across Chattooga Ridge near Cashiers. Here, the Chattooga Ridge brackets Cashiers to its east along the tops of Chimneytop Mountain (4,618 ft.) and Rock Mountain (4,300 ft.), both of which exhibit sheer granite faces to the southwest. Highway 107 t-bones into Highway 64 in Cashiers with the left fork leading 10 miles to Highlands, and right to Sapphire Valley, Rosman, and eventually to Brevard, North Carolina. Two secondary roads lead west off of Highway 107, the Whiteside Cove Road to the north just out of Cashiers and the Bull Pen Road at Mulkey Gap. These two roads leave the Cashiers quad, heading west but soon merge near Horse Cove leading to Highlands. The Chattooga River winds its way down the west side of the Cashiers quad from its headwaters above Cashiers Lake to the old iron bridge on Bull Pen Road just on the southwest
corner of the quad. The state line between North and South Carolina runs from the east just below Upper Whitewater Falls diagonally to the west to the Chattooga River at Ellicott Rock. Here, the river south of the 35th parallel becomes the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina. A large part of the 9,012 acre Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area is shown in the south west corner of the Cashiers Quad at the boundary along the Bull Pen Road and down Highway 107.
The Chattooga River and Its Tributaries
The most prominent of the six small mountain streams that make up the headwaters of the Chattooga River emerges as a small spring at the crest of the Blue Ridge Divide about a mile northwest of Cashiers, North Carolina, where it tumbles onto a plain at about 3,000 feet in elevation above sea level. A small resort lake in Cashiers briefly restrains the fledgling headwaters stream for about one-half mile before releasing it to plunge away for another .8 miles and then down the 150 foot Silver Slipper Falls into the deep woods of Nantahala National Forest. The strengthening headwaters flow boldly for about one-quarter of a mile, merging with other streams flowing from beneath the foreboding Devil’s Courthouse looming above on the north side of Whiteside Mountain. For three quarters of a mile or so, the young stream—now a large creek—passes through young forests growing in old abandoned fields before tucking under a ledge against a steep cliff on the right and cascading for a sheer 75 feet to a pool below. Ribbon Falls, as it is called, offers a dramatic view of the eastern side of Whiteside Mountain. The large potholes lying in a row down the left side of the smooth, worn precipice at Ribbon Falls, some three feet across and eight feet deep, testify to the age and power of the Chattooga landscape, among the oldest geologic forms in the world. The Chattooga River gains its true identity here and for the next three-quarters of a mile, the river flows swiftly through old forests gaining volume, crossing into private property and then emerging in a wide, green valley of pastures and old fields about one-half mile above Grimshawes Bridge on the Whiteside Cove Road. The sheer 2,000 foot face of Whiteside Mountain to the northwest comes into full view in the open terrain here at
the mouth of Whiteside Cove, offering some of the most stunning scenery in the Southern Appalachians.
The cultural history of both native American and European settlers runs deep in these ancient fields and fording places near Grimshawes Bridge. The old Norton Cemetery is located on the south side of the Whiteside Cove Road, about a mile to the northeast of Grimshawes Bridge. Buried here are some of the Norton family who first settled Whiteside Cove in the early 1800’s. The Forest Service has acquired a small parcel of land on the river just north of Grimshawes Bridge called Sliding Rock that has been a favorite swimming hole for generations. Grimshawes community is located only about one half mile to the west on Whiteside Cove Road, where once stood an old inn dating back to the turn of the century, and where still stands a tiny building that has the distinction of once being the smallest post office in America. Another old cemetery, Whiteside Cove Cemetery, is located a few miles west the on the Whiteside Cove Road. A short distance further west is the site of Whiteside Church, once an old school house at the juncture of an old road that crossed the river below Grimshawes community.
Below Grimshawes Bridge by about three-quarters of a mile, the river merges with Fowler Creek coming in from the river left. Fowler Creek heads up in Cashiers near Wade Hampton Country Club. Heavy logging along Fowler Creek at the turn of the century is evident all along its length where a “dummy line” was used to pull logs to a saw mill near Grimshawes community. A steam-driven tramcar was used to pull the lumber up Fowler Creek to Cashiers, where it was taken via ox cart to the railhead in Toxaway, North Carolina. About a mile below Fowler Creek, just above the confluence with Green Creek coming in from the river right, is Corkscrew Falls dropping vertically for 25 feet, the largest single drop on the Chattooga River. Just below Green Creek, the river crosses back onto federal land where it continues for another 1.5 miles along a moderate descent, to Norton Mill Creek coming in from the right.
A short distance above its confluence with Norton Mill Creek, an old ford crosses the Chattooga River that once connected the old Bull Pen community with Whiteside Cove (mentioned above). On the east side are the ruins of an old cabin that was built by one of the first settlers in the upper Chattooga headwaters known as the Monroe cabin. Downstream, the river flows beneath Chattooga Cliffs
, which tower 400 to 600 feet above. Many rare plants occur in these unique outcrops above the upper Chattooga narrows, including rock clubmoss (Huperzia porophila), fir clubmoss (Huperzia selago), Biltmore sedge (Carex biltmoreana), divided leaf groundsel (Senecio millefolium), dwarf filmy fern (Trichomanes petersii), and sword moss (Bryoxiphium norvegicum). This 2 mile section of the river to the old iron bridge on the Bull Pen Road includes spectacular scenery, treacherous rapids, large tree-topped boulders, and swirling potholes.
The Chattooga River turns east below Bull Pen Bridge, flowing for another 2 miles over rapids and cascades interspersed with deep green pools between steep ridges to Ellicott Rock. Notable in this section is scenic Scotsman Creek, that tumbles into the Chattooga about 1 mile below Bull Pen Bridge on the left side. Similarly, the second Fowler Creek enters the river about three-quarter of a mile further down. Here ends the coverage of the Cashiers quad.
Wild and Scenic River Classification
The Chattooga River as required by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is classified by section according to its level of wildness. Sections with no impoundment, unpolluted, and which are inaccessible except by trail are classified as wild. Scenic sections are primitive in nature but may be accessible in places by roads. Recreational sections are readily accessible by roads with some shoreline development and may have had some impoundments or diversions in the past. The section of the Chattooga River from .8 miles below Cashiers Lake to .2 miles above Norton Mill Creek is classified as recreational. The next two miles along Chattooga Cliffs is classified as wild. From one-quarter mile above to one-quarter of a mile below Bull Pen Bridge, the river is classified as scenic. The Ellicott Rock section of the river, from one-quarter mile below Bull Pen to one-quarter of a mile above Burrells Ford Bridge, is classified as wild. The part of the Ellicott Rock section below the Cashiers quad description in this article will be covered when we get to the Tamassee quad.
Trails
There are four major developed trails in the Cashiers quad: the Upper Chattooga River Trail, the Bull Pen Bridge Trail, the Bad Creek Trail, and the Sloan Bridge Trail. Only part of the Bull Pen Bridge Trail and most of the Upper Chattooga River Trail lie within the Cashiers quad but will be described in full here.
The Chattooga River Trail runs south from a parking lot in the Nantahala National Forest near the Whiteside Cemetery on the Whiteside Cove Road, descending to the river below Green Creek down to connect with the Bull Pen Bridge Trail. This 6 mile trail offers spectacular views of Bull Pen Mountain and Chattooga Cliffs.
The Bull Pen Bridge Trail is a 1 mile loop trail from and then returning to Bull Pen Bridge on the west side of the river. The first part of the trail near the bridge is a rough, up-and-down hike, and then descends along the river for some spectacular scenery along the narrows. After about one-half mile, the trail turns back west and up to an old logging road, and then south back to the parking lot at the bridge. The trail has an elevation change of about 200 feet.
The Bad Creek Trail is a 3.5 mile trail that follows a ridge to the Ellicott Rock wilderness boundary, where it intersects the Sloan Bridge Trail and then descends to the river, intersecting the Chattooga River Trail. From this intersection it is only a short distance to the famous Ellicott Rock. The elevation change on the Bad Creek Trail is 800 feet.
The Sloan Bridge Trail is a 6.3 mile trail from Sloan Bridge at a parking lot on Highway 107, about one mile below the North/South Carolina state line, to the intersection with the Bad Creek Trail, and then onwards 1.2 miles to Ellicott Rock. The trail is moderate, and passes north of Fork Mountain (3,294) in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area. Sloan Bridge is also the origin of the Foothills Trail that runs northeast, 4.4 miles to Whitewater Falls, and southwest for 3.3 miles to the road leading from Highway 107 to the Walhalla Fish Hatchery. The elevation change on the Sloan Bridge Trail is also 800 feet.
History
The rich human history of Cashiers Valley, Grimshawes, Bull Pen, or the Pleasant Grove communities can not be covered adequately in this Cashers quad overview. Look for future articles in the Chattooga Quarterly about early settlers including the Norton, Alley, McCall, and Zachery families. Also planned are articles about famous early visitors to the area such as Andre Michaux, who was sent to America in 1788 by King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antionettee to gather seeds and plants from the New World for the famous Parisian gardens of the Park of Rambouillet, explorer naturalists Ben Grosscup and Wilber Ziegler, who visited the Grimshawes homestead in 1883, the travels of geologist George Featherstonhaugh in 1837, and the raid on Whiteside Cove by Colonel George Kirk, who led a band of renegade Union soldiers and Confederate deserters known as “Kirk’s Raiders.” Other topics exploring the natural history and geology of the area will be addressed in a regional context in future articles. For more information about the natural and cultural history of the Cashiers area, see past articles in the Chattooga Quarterly including
“General Wade Hampton III” (spring 1999), who established a summer retreat in the Cashiers Valley prior to the Civil War,
“Green Salamander” (spring/summer 2001), that describes a rare disjunct population of salamanders that inhabit the Chattooga River watershed, and
“The Walton War” (winter 2005), about the “Orphan Strip” where in the early 1800’s lawlessness prevailed in a disputed strip of territory of about 12 miles along the border of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, until the famous survey by Andrew Ellicott.
For more information contact The Blue Ridge Summit Group at 828-743-7077 or 404-394-7144
