The Black Boys Rebellion began in 1765 on the site of the Widow Barr's house west of here, when British troops from Fort Loudon skirmished with a group of white settlers and wounded colonist James Brown. Led by James Smith, the Black Boys opposed renewed trade relations with the Indians because of recent attacks and often disrupted British supply shipments to western forts. The incident is considered by many to be the first armed resistance to British rule.