Nacoochie Indian Mound

The official marker by the side of the road where we took this picture says, “according to legend,” Hernando de Soto visited here in 1540 after he had landed in Florida. As you allmay recall from 6th grade history, de Soto was on his quest for gold for the King and Queen of Spain. The curious thing about this is the Florida landing sight is near our home and there are exhibits and a visitor center run by the US Park Service.

If Hernando was here, he was visiting the ancient Cherokee town of Gauxule. The only thing left of this town is the Indian Mound. It is located on private land with only a roadside marker to point it out -- possibly the most photographed site in Northeast Georgia.

It was raining when we took this picture, but notice the mound itself was recently mowed. The flat area around the mound is now cow pasture and the fence around the mound discourages tourists like us from going out there and marching on that mound.

We don’t know what proper mound etiquette is, but the best judgment we have always excercised was to stay off them out of reverence for the Native Americans who preceded us. We’ve done that in Wisconsin and Illinois where Indian Mounds are also found and where foot paths over the mounds are also found.

What makes this mound so unique is the gazebo on top of it with Yonah Mountain in the background. That gazebo, according to what we have read, has been there before the year, 1900, and was placed there by Colonel John H. Nichols CSA who owned this land at the time. This is the same Colonel Nichols who named Anna Ruby Falls after his one and only daughter. Note that the Gazebo seems to be in good repair and must have been painted from time to time over the last 110 years or so.

There seems to be more questions than answers about the Nacoochie Indian Mound. If you google it, you won’t come up with much. If you do, please let us know.

However, we have a question for somebody, “How come there have been no legal disputes about that Gazebo on top of the mound?” One answer is that the Cherokees were run out of Georgia in the 1830’s to Oklahoma during the infamous “Trail of Tears” exodus. Another answer might be that this is not a cause worth fighting for.