Cherokee Path

The Cherokee Path was part of an important trade network linking the Upper, Middle, and Lower Cherokee towns in the west with English settlements at Charles Town and later inland outposts such as Fort Congaree in the east. In 1715, at least 60 Cherokee villages with roughly 11,000 people were connected to the coast through this travel and trade corridor, and the deer hide trade was especially important to the early Carolina economy. The path passed through Six Mile, roughly along the present route of Main St., and the town took its name from its location on the path six miles east of the Cherokee town of Keowee and later the trading post at Fort Prince George, both now submerged beneath Lake Keowee. During the Anglo-Cherokee Wars of 1759-61 and 1776-77, British and colonial forces used the path as a supply line.

Six Mile, South Carolina · United States