The Eastatoe Path was an ancient trail once used by the Cherokee. It began in the South Carolina lowlands, where Cherokee towns such as Keowee, Toxaway, and Eastatoe were, and traveled north into their hunting and gathering grounds, crossing Indian Camp Mountain and the French Broad River near Rosman. It passed through Cherryfield and Brevard and wound into Davidson River. European trappers and long hunters found the trail and discovered the bounty of Transylvania, and pioneers began to settle. As trade grew between the Cherokee and the settlers, the path widened and became a road used for access to South Carolina markets. Part of Eastatoe Path is still in use today as the Pickens Highway. Eastatoe is the Cherokee name for the now extinct green Carolina Parakeet, once plentiful in this area, which lived in old forests along the river and was prized for its colorful feathers.