Keowee, or Kuwohiyi, was a leading Cherokee town in what is now northwestern South Carolina, serving as the principal community of the Lower Towns and an important stop on the Lower Cherokee Traders’ Path. In 1752, fears of Muscogee attack led most residents to establish nearby New Keowee in a more defensible location, leaving the original settlement as Old Keowee. Both towns became caught up in British and Cherokee diplomacy and war, and during the Anglo-Cherokee War the British destroyed Old Keowee and razed New Keowee. Archaeological work in the 20th century recovered extensive remains before both sites were flooded by the creation of Lake Keowee.