BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — In 1776, as the 13 colonies declared independence and formed a new nation, settlers on the Appalachian frontier were pushing westward in search of land and opportunity. They were, in essence, blazing the next chapter in the nation’s history – westward expansion.
Following the French and Indian War, the boundary between colonial North Carolina and Cherokee territory was formally established in 1763. The westernmost line in the established boundary was near the current-day location of the town of Old Fort.
The agreement was honored until September 1776, when settlers argued that America’s Declaration of Independence nullified the boundary. That set the stage for the Rutherford Expedition: one of the bloodiest military campaigns in the region’s history…