On June 21st we opened the Tourist and Information Center and had more than 250 visitors in less than 30 days, this is really exciting. Everyone comes into the building looking directly at the Buffalo head pondering its placement. The story is about us, about our beginning, our history and shown in the names of our community.
The American buffalo-bison, as it is also known, left a historical imprint on the lands that now comprise the town of Unicoi and surrounding area. One of the ancient eastern buffalo traces (trails used by the animals for thousands of years) skirted the northern end of what came to be called Buffalo Mountain, which is seen just to the west of the Tourist and Information Center and is marked by the historic Pinnacle Fire Tower on its summit. At the time of white settlement in the mid-eighteenth century, buffalo herds still roamed the river valley and woodlands of their region where, for centuries they had sustained the powerful Cherokees and earlier native peoples who followed the traces. In 1789 John Sevier, frontier leader and later Tennessee’s first governor, defeated a large band of Cherokee and Creek warriors at Rocky Fork in what is now southern Unicoi County. In his own words Sevier state that, “It was the bloodiest fight in all the Cherokee Wars.” Soon after this historic battle, both the buffalo and the Indian began to disappear from the land, eventually leaving behind only the places for which they were prominently known. Among these are nearby Buffalo Mountain, Buffalo Creek, Buffalo Valley, North Indian Creek and South Indian Creek, which continue to symbolize these historical icons of America’s First Western Frontier.
On October 21, 2013 the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of the Town of Unicoi passed resolution 2013-207 to establish a Town Brand. The Buffalo has been selected as the brand because of its history in the area. Buffalo or Bison roamed this region many years ago and we have Buffalo Mountain, Buffalo Valley and Buffalo Creek are all named after the Buffalo. Therefore, we feel that using the Buffalo as the Town Brand adds historical significance.
"Buffalo Wildwings" Buffalo with
Vice Mayor Doug Hopson (left) and
Mayor Johnny Lynch (right)