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It’s officially called the Qualla Boundary, a name most of us aren’t familiar with. We know it by its more common name – the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Haywood County. How it came to be is an interesting story.
In the early 1800s, the Cherokee Indians knew white settlers were taking over their traditional lands. Then came the federal government moving Indians to Oklahoma – the Trail of Tears.
About 11,000 Cherokee hid and then began buying land in the name of their white chief, William Holland Thomas. Finally, in the 1860s, the government recognized the area as the Cherokee reservation.
– Ron Smith, S&A Communications