New Old Trail

Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: August 2023

When explorer/naturalist William Bartram traversed Cherokee footpaths and muddy wagon trails in order to collect horticulture specimens and document 1700s Appalachian life, no towns or counties existed.

In the 18th century, Macon and Jackson counties were remote wilderness areas where plenteous Native Indians thrived and where a few adventurous settlers and traders encroached. More than 200 years later, one can read all about the area through Bartram’s observations in his now classic Bartram’s Travels.

But the 110-mile trail that currently bears his name and meanders from Northern Georgia, near the South Carolina line, to above Nantahala Lake, has for many years been interrupted by highways and byways – as well as the town of Franklin.

But that break is coming to an end, per the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy. The group, led by executive director Brent Martin, has been working to establish trails that skirt around the traffic and buildings and reconnect to the natural trail sections.

Thus, on the backside of the Macon County Fairgrounds, near a decades-old Jobs Corp metal bridge over Cartoogechaye Creek, is a new BRBTC-constructed Bartram Trail sign that marks a section that connects to the Little Tennessee Greenway into Franklin.

Martin explained that the Conservancy has worked for the last two years with the Town of Franklin, Mainspring Conservation Trust, Friends of the Greenway, and the Macon County Recreation Park to eliminate more than five miles of a 12-mile road walk that required hikers to cross US 441 and US 64.

“Essential to the project’s success was the acquisition of the 13.9-acre ‘Dills tract,’ made possible through Mainspring and the N.C. Land and Water Fund,” said Martin. “This acquisition connects the Greenway to the Macon County Recreation Park and the fairgrounds, providing additional greenspace for local citizens and visitors, and a safer and more scenic experience for those hiking the Bartram Trail. So much has gone into acquiring and establishing this new section, including right of ways. The Dills tract was sold to the Town of Franklin, but we (BRBTC) have to maintain and monitor it.”

In the future, another new/old section of the trail will amble through quieter Franklin neighborhoods to eventually connect with lands bordering the Wallace Branch segment of the Bartram Trail. And then, from Wallace Branch, the trail continues toward its end goal: the top of Cheoah Bald. BRBTC’s goal is for Bartram Trail hikers to enjoy as close to an organic experience as did the trail’s namesake centuries ago.