Bussell Island
Encyclopedia
Bussell Island, formerly Lenoir Island, is an island located at the mouth of the Little Tennessee River
near the U.S. city of Lenoir City, Tennessee
. The island was inhabited by various Native American
cultures for thousands of years before the arrival of early European explorers, and is currently home to Tellico Dam
and a recreational area. Part of the island was added to the National Register of Historic Places
for its archaeological potential in 1978.
Native American habitation of Bussell Island dates to the Late Archaic period (c. 3000–1000 BC). The island is believed to have been the location of the capital of Coste—a Mississippian-period
chiefdom visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto
in 1540—and was later part of the domain of the Overhill Cherokee
. In 1887 and 1919, archaeologists conducted extensive excavations at Bussell Island and identified its archaeological importance. The island was drastically modified in the 1970s when the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) built Tellico Dam.
, just over 601 miles (967.2 km) upstream from the mouth of the latter. The island originally stretched for about a mile up the Little Tennessee, but the construction of Tellico Dam across the island's west river channel in the 1970s created a reservoir that flooded the southern two-thirds of the island. To contain the reservoir, an earthen levee was built along the island's new south shore and across the island's east river channel, connecting the island to the mainland. TVA's construction of a canal connecting the Tellico and Fort Loudoun reservoirs severed this section of the mainland, thus creating a new island that stretches for about a mile east-to-west, and touches three TVA lakes—Fort Loudoun, Watts Bar
, and Tellico.
Lenoir City is located along the Tennessee River opposite Bussell Island. U.S. Route 321
(Lamar Alexander Parkway) crosses the island's new eastern half, and State Route 444 (Tellico Parkway) traverses the center of the island, with the two roads intersecting on the island's eastern tip. US-321 crosses via the J. Carmichael Bridge, which spans both Fort Loudoun Dam
and the canal.
John W. Emmert, who conducted excavations on the island in 1887, stated that the original island covered 200 acres (80.9 ha), and rose to a maximum of 15 feet (4.6 m) above the river. Emmert described the island's banks as "steep" with "heavy timber and much cane growing along them." Emmert also noted that the island was occasionally submerged when the Little Tennessee flooded, and noted that his excavation work was interrupted by one such flood which submerged the island to upwards of 12 feet (3.7 m).
(1000 BC – 1000 AD). Archaeologist Mark R. Harrington, who conducted extensive excavations in the area in 1919, called these early inhabitants "Round Grave" people, due to their practice of burying their dead in small, round graves. The Round Grave people used tools made of animal bone and stone, and used both steatite vessels and simple pottery.
The successors to the Round Grave people at Bussell Island were a people Harrington simply called the "Second Culture." This culture was part of what is now known as the Mississippian culture
, which flourished in the upper Tennessee Valley between 900 and 1600 AD. The Mississippian people of the upper Tennessee Valley are known for their large platform mounds and conical burial mounds, including several found on Bussell Island and the surrounding mainland. Bussell Island's Mississippian inhabitants used triangular flint arrowheads, celt axes, and wore ornaments made from copper and seashells (the latter suggesting trade with coastal regions).
via the Nolichucky Valley
into East Tennessee. After resting for several weeks at the prominent village of Chiaha
(near modern Douglas Dam
), De Soto continued down the French Broad River
and Tennessee River to the village of Coste, centered around Bussell Island, arriving at its outskirts on July 1, 1540.
De Soto held a friendly meeting with the chief of Coste on July 2, but relations quickly soured after the Spaniards pillaged some of the Costeans' storehouses, and several Costeans attacked the Spaniards with clubs. De Soto then devised a ruse in which he kidnapped the chief and held him hostage for several days. After the chief promised to assign guides and porters to the expedition, De Soto departed on July 9. The expedition continued up the Little Tennessee to the village of Tali (near modern Vonore
), and eventually found its way south to Coosa
, in northern Georgia.
The inhabitants of Coste, like the inhabitants of Chiaha, spoke a Muskogean language similar to that used by the later Creek and Koasati tribes (linguist Charles Hudson suggests that the term "Koasati" may have been derived from "Coste"). Coste was probably part of the Coosa chiefdom's sphere of influence, which stretched from the upper Tennessee valley south into central Alabama
. In 1567, another Spanish explorer, Juan Pardo
, visited the villages of Chalahume and Satapo further up the Little Tennessee Valley, but turned back before reaching Coste.
—were scattered along the lower 55 miles (88.5 km) of the Little Tennessee River, among them the villages of Chota
and Tanasi
. The village of Mialoquo
, the lowermost of the Overhill towns, was located about 17 miles (27.4 km) upstream from Bussell Island. Harrington's excavations on Bussell Island uncovered numerous Cherokee graves—identified by the graves' "rectangular" shape and the presence of European trade goods such as glass beads—although no known major Cherokee villages were located on the island. Henry Timberlake
, who travelled up the Little Tennessee in 1761, met a Cherokee chief named "Slave Catcher" near the mouth of the Little Tennessee, but makes no mention of the island.
Throughout most of the 19th century, Bussell Island was known as "Lenoir Island," named after William Ballard Lenoir
, who established a large plantation and cotton mill
at what is now Lenoir City. In 1887, John W. Emmert conducted the first major excavations at Bussell Island for the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology. By the time Harrington excavated the island in 1919, the island had come into the possession of the Bussell family, who operated a ferry along the opposite river shore in Lenoir City.
TVA revived interest in the Fort Loudoun Extension—renamed the Tellico Dam project—in 1964, although they met immediate opposition from a hodgepodge group of environmentalists, historical conservationists, and Native Americans. Construction of the dam began in 1969, but litigation stalled its completion until 1979, allowing the University of Tennessee to conduct extensive excavations at sites throughout the Tellico Basin. As a result of these excavations, several sites were added to the National Register of Historic Places for their archaeological potential, among them Bussell Island, designated 40LD17.
deposit that had accumulated over several centuries.
Harrington described the graves of the Round Grave culture as measuring 2 to 3 feet in diameter, with the bodies folded and compacted to fit in the graves. Typical burial goods included bone awls, steatite bowls, and animal teeth. The Cherokee graves were rectangular, with the bodies laid in a flexed position. Typical Cherokee burial items included earthenware vessels, glass beads, and pipes.
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Geography:...
near the U.S. city of Lenoir City, Tennessee
Lenoir City, Tennessee
Lenoir City is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 8,642 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area....
. The island was inhabited by various Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
cultures for thousands of years before the arrival of early European explorers, and is currently home to Tellico Dam
Tellico Dam
Tellico Dam is a dam built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Loudon County, Tennessee on the Little Tennessee River just above the main stem of the Tennessee River. It impounds the Tellico Reservoir....
and a recreational area. Part of the island was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
for its archaeological potential in 1978.
Native American habitation of Bussell Island dates to the Late Archaic period (c. 3000–1000 BC). The island is believed to have been the location of the capital of Coste—a Mississippian-period
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
chiefdom visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
in 1540—and was later part of the domain of the Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
. In 1887 and 1919, archaeologists conducted extensive excavations at Bussell Island and identified its archaeological importance. The island was drastically modified in the 1970s when the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
(TVA) built Tellico Dam.
Location
Bussell Island is situated where the Little Tennessee River joins the Tennessee RiverTennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
, just over 601 miles (967.2 km) upstream from the mouth of the latter. The island originally stretched for about a mile up the Little Tennessee, but the construction of Tellico Dam across the island's west river channel in the 1970s created a reservoir that flooded the southern two-thirds of the island. To contain the reservoir, an earthen levee was built along the island's new south shore and across the island's east river channel, connecting the island to the mainland. TVA's construction of a canal connecting the Tellico and Fort Loudoun reservoirs severed this section of the mainland, thus creating a new island that stretches for about a mile east-to-west, and touches three TVA lakes—Fort Loudoun, Watts Bar
Watts Bar Lake
Watts Bar Lake is a reservoir on the Tennessee River created by Watts Bar Dam as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority system.-Geography:Located about midway between Chattanooga and Knoxville, the lake begins as the Tennessee River below Fort Loudon Dam in Lenoir City, Tennessee and stretches...
, and Tellico.
Lenoir City is located along the Tennessee River opposite Bussell Island. U.S. Route 321
U.S. Route 321
U.S. Route 321 is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It runs for 526 miles from South Carolina to Tennessee. The northern terminus of U.S. 321 is between Lenoir City and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at Interstate 40 exit 364, which is about 4 miles west of Interstate 40's junction with Interstate 75...
(Lamar Alexander Parkway) crosses the island's new eastern half, and State Route 444 (Tellico Parkway) traverses the center of the island, with the two roads intersecting on the island's eastern tip. US-321 crosses via the J. Carmichael Bridge, which spans both Fort Loudoun Dam
Fort Loudoun Dam
Fort Loudoun Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River in Loudon County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority , which built the dam in the early 1940s as part of a unified plan to provide electricity and flood control in the...
and the canal.
John W. Emmert, who conducted excavations on the island in 1887, stated that the original island covered 200 acres (80.9 ha), and rose to a maximum of 15 feet (4.6 m) above the river. Emmert described the island's banks as "steep" with "heavy timber and much cane growing along them." Emmert also noted that the island was occasionally submerged when the Little Tennessee flooded, and noted that his excavation work was interrupted by one such flood which submerged the island to upwards of 12 feet (3.7 m).
Prehistory
The earliest known inhabitants of Bussell Island lived during the Late Archaic period (c. 3000–1000 BC), and occupied the island sporadically throughout the Woodland periodWoodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
(1000 BC – 1000 AD). Archaeologist Mark R. Harrington, who conducted extensive excavations in the area in 1919, called these early inhabitants "Round Grave" people, due to their practice of burying their dead in small, round graves. The Round Grave people used tools made of animal bone and stone, and used both steatite vessels and simple pottery.
The successors to the Round Grave people at Bussell Island were a people Harrington simply called the "Second Culture." This culture was part of what is now known as the Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
, which flourished in the upper Tennessee Valley between 900 and 1600 AD. The Mississippian people of the upper Tennessee Valley are known for their large platform mounds and conical burial mounds, including several found on Bussell Island and the surrounding mainland. Bussell Island's Mississippian inhabitants used triangular flint arrowheads, celt axes, and wore ornaments made from copper and seashells (the latter suggesting trade with coastal regions).
Coste
In 1540, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto embarked on an expedition across what is now the Southeastern United States, then called "La Florida," in hopes of finding a route to Mexico. Marching north from Florida, De Soto passed through modern South Carolina and North Carolina before turning west and crossing the Blue Ridge MountainsBlue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
via the Nolichucky Valley
Nolichucky River
The Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and east Tennessee. The river is long.-Hydrography:...
into East Tennessee. After resting for several weeks at the prominent village of Chiaha
Chiaha
Chiaha was a horticultural Native American chiefdom located in the lower French Broad River valley in modern East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. They lived in raised structures within boundaries of several stable villages. These overlooked the fields of maize, beans, squash, and...
(near modern Douglas Dam
Douglas Dam
Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority , which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to meet emergency energy demands at the height of World War II...
), De Soto continued down the French Broad River
French Broad River
The French Broad River flows from near the village of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into the state of Tennessee. Its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville is the beginning of the Tennessee River....
and Tennessee River to the village of Coste, centered around Bussell Island, arriving at its outskirts on July 1, 1540.
De Soto held a friendly meeting with the chief of Coste on July 2, but relations quickly soured after the Spaniards pillaged some of the Costeans' storehouses, and several Costeans attacked the Spaniards with clubs. De Soto then devised a ruse in which he kidnapped the chief and held him hostage for several days. After the chief promised to assign guides and porters to the expedition, De Soto departed on July 9. The expedition continued up the Little Tennessee to the village of Tali (near modern Vonore
Vonore, Tennessee
Vonore is a town in Blount and Monroe counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 1,162 as of the 2000 census.-Geography:Vonore is located at ....
), and eventually found its way south to Coosa
Coosa chiefdom
The Coosa chiefdom was a powerful Native American paramount chiefdom near what are now Gordon and Murray counties in Georgia, in the United States. It was inhabited from about 1400 until about 1600, and dominated several smaller chiefdoms...
, in northern Georgia.
The inhabitants of Coste, like the inhabitants of Chiaha, spoke a Muskogean language similar to that used by the later Creek and Koasati tribes (linguist Charles Hudson suggests that the term "Koasati" may have been derived from "Coste"). Coste was probably part of the Coosa chiefdom's sphere of influence, which stretched from the upper Tennessee valley south into central Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. In 1567, another Spanish explorer, Juan Pardo
Juan Pardo (explorer)
Juan Pardo was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was active in the later half of the sixteenth century. He led a Spanish expedition through what is now North and South Carolina and into eastern Tennessee. He established Fort San Felipe, South Carolina , and the village of Santa Elena on...
, visited the villages of Chalahume and Satapo further up the Little Tennessee Valley, but turned back before reaching Coste.
Cherokee and Euro-American history
In the mid-18th century, more than a dozen Cherokee villages—known as the Overhill townsOverhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
—were scattered along the lower 55 miles (88.5 km) of the Little Tennessee River, among them the villages of Chota
Chota (Cherokee town)
Chota is a historic Overhill Cherokee site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. For much of its history, Chota was the most important of the Overhill towns, serving as the de facto capital of the Cherokee people from the late 1740s until 1788...
and Tanasi
Tanasi
Tanasi is a historic Overhill Cherokee village site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The village is best known as the namesake for the state of Tennessee...
. The village of Mialoquo
Mialoquo
Mialoquo is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The site saw significant periods of occupation during the Mississippian period and later as a Cherokee refugee village...
, the lowermost of the Overhill towns, was located about 17 miles (27.4 km) upstream from Bussell Island. Harrington's excavations on Bussell Island uncovered numerous Cherokee graves—identified by the graves' "rectangular" shape and the presence of European trade goods such as glass beads—although no known major Cherokee villages were located on the island. Henry Timberlake
Henry Timberlake
Henry Timberlake was a colonial Anglo-American officer, journalist, and cartographer. He was born in Virginia in 1730 and died in England...
, who travelled up the Little Tennessee in 1761, met a Cherokee chief named "Slave Catcher" near the mouth of the Little Tennessee, but makes no mention of the island.
Throughout most of the 19th century, Bussell Island was known as "Lenoir Island," named after William Ballard Lenoir
William Ballard Lenoir
Major William Ballard Lenoir was the eldest son of General William Lenoir and his wife, Ann Ballard. Born in North Carolina, the younger Lenoir moved in 1810 with his wife, Elizabeth Avery Lenoir , to a tract of land in Tennessee, near modern-day Lenoir City, Tennessee, which originally had been...
, who established a large plantation and cotton mill
Lenoir Cotton Mill
The Lenoir Cotton Mill was a 19th-century cotton mill located in the U.S. city of Lenoir City, Tennessee. One of the earliest examples of industrial architecture in Tennessee, the mill operated variously from its construction around 1830 until the 1950s. The mill was documented by the Historic...
at what is now Lenoir City. In 1887, John W. Emmert conducted the first major excavations at Bussell Island for the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology. By the time Harrington excavated the island in 1919, the island had come into the possession of the Bussell family, who operated a ferry along the opposite river shore in Lenoir City.
Tellico Dam project
The Tennessee Valley Authority, charged with building a series of dams to generate hydroelectricity and control flooding in the 1930s, initially wanted to build Fort Loudoun Dam downstream from the mouth of the Little Tennessee, thus creating a reservoir that would expand across both the upper Tennessee River and lower Little Tennessee River, but engineers were unable to locate a suitable downstream site for a dam. They instead built the dam about a mile upstream, and made plans to build a dam at the mouth of the Little Tennessee—known as the Fort Loudoun Extension—which would divert water to the Fort Loudoun reservoir and increase that dam's generating capacity. Due to lack of funding, however, the Fort Loudoun Extension project was shelved until the 1960s.TVA revived interest in the Fort Loudoun Extension—renamed the Tellico Dam project—in 1964, although they met immediate opposition from a hodgepodge group of environmentalists, historical conservationists, and Native Americans. Construction of the dam began in 1969, but litigation stalled its completion until 1979, allowing the University of Tennessee to conduct extensive excavations at sites throughout the Tellico Basin. As a result of these excavations, several sites were added to the National Register of Historic Places for their archaeological potential, among them Bussell Island, designated 40LD17.
Excavations
J.W. Emmert (1887)
Emmert's excavations for the American Bureau of Ethnology took place in 1887, and were discussed in the bureau's 12th Annual Report, published in 1894. Emmert focused on two mounds on the north end of the island, known simply as Mound 1 and Mound 2. Mound 1 was 100 feet (30.5 m) in diameter and 6.5 feet (2 m) high, and described as "thoroughly worked over." Emmert uncovered 14 skeletons in Mound 1, along with pottery fragments, flint chips, glass beads, and an iron bracelet. Mound 2 was slightly larger than Mound 1, but was flanked by a diamond-shaped terrace 570 feet (173.7 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) high which Emmert believed to be man-made. Excavators uncovered 67 skeletons in Mound 2, as well as a burnt-clay tumulus surrounded by irregular cedar-post formations.M.R. Harrington (1919)
In 1919, Tennessee state archaeologist Mark Harrington boated down the Tennessee River to investigate a series of mound structures scattered along the river between Lenoir City and Hiwassee Island (about 100 miles downstream from Bussell). Like Emmert, Harrington focused on the north end of the island, although he noted that the mounds Emmert excavated had been leveled. Of the 41 burials uncovered by Harrington, 9 were of the older "Round Grave" culture, whereas the remainder were attributed to the later Cherokee inhabitants. Harrington suggested that the large diamond-shaped terrace mentioned by Emmert was actually a massive middenMidden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
deposit that had accumulated over several centuries.
Harrington described the graves of the Round Grave culture as measuring 2 to 3 feet in diameter, with the bodies folded and compacted to fit in the graves. Typical burial goods included bone awls, steatite bowls, and animal teeth. The Cherokee graves were rectangular, with the bodies laid in a flexed position. Typical Cherokee burial items included earthenware vessels, glass beads, and pipes.