Fort Watauga
Fort Watauga is a historic site in Tennessee, at a modelled elevation of 454 m. White Rocks Mountain stands 1,295 m to the southeast, 12 miles off. The nearest named place is Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area, a park less than a tenth of a mile away. Mission Crossing passes 21 miles off.
The story
Fort Watauga, also known as Fort Caswell, was a fortification located in the Watauga River's Sycamore Shoals near modern-day Elizabethton, Tennessee. It was constructed from 1775 to 1776 by the Watauga Association, a semi-autonomous government founded by American settlers living near the river, to defend the settlers against attacks from British-allied Indians. The fort was originally named Fort Caswell after the governor of North Carolina, Richard Caswell. In the 1970s, as part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations, the government of Tennessee authorized a reconstruction of Fort Watauga. A group of archaeologists conducted excavations in the Sycamore Shoals area and uncovered several trenches believed to have been part of the fort's walls. The fort was then rebuilt based on information gained about the fort's design from the excavation, descriptions of the fort in historical sources, and the general design of typical Appalachian frontier forts. The reconstructed fort is now part of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5472268, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What to expect
- Access
- Permitted
How to reach it
- 20.5 mi off the Mission Crossing
- 24.7 mi off the Trail of the Lonesome Pine / Daniel Boone Heritage Trail
- 28.4 mi off the Little Parkway
- 29.6 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
Overlooks nearby
- Patio View of MacRae Peak · 29 mi
- Watauga View · 29 mi
- Calloway Peak · 29 mi
- Grandfather Mountain Overlook · 30 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area: 0.0 mi
- Sycamore Shoals Island: 0.2 mi
- Dixon Street Park: 0.2 mi
- Kiwani's Park: 0.6 mi
- Sycamore Shoals Monument: 0.8 mi
- Sabine Hill: 0.5 mi
- Bogart Knob: 2.5 mi
- Vest Knob: 2.8 mi
- Lynn Mountain: 3.5 mi
- Jenkins Knob: 3.9 mi
- Moody Cliff: 1.1 mi
- Betty Range Cliff: 2.0 mi
- Hyder Bluff: 6.3 mi
- Bee Cliff: 6.6 mi
- Cardens Bluff: 7.3 mi
- Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail: 0.1 mi
- Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga: 0.1 mi
- The Tipton Family: 0.1 mi
- Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga: 0.1 mi
- Watauga Fort: 0.2 mi
- Laurel Falls: 8.3 mi
- Coon Den Falls: 9.8 mi
- Dennis Cove Waterfall: 10.7 mi
- Blue Hole Falls: 11.8 mi
- Red Fork Falls: 13.4 mi
- Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area Interpretive Exhibit: 0.1 mi
- Rocky Mount State Historic Site: 6.3 mi
- Jonesborough History Museum: 12.5 mi
- Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum: 12.7 mi
- Chuckey Railroad Depot Museum: 12.9 mi
- Downtown Square Breezeway: 5.7 mi
- Johnson City Sign: 5.8 mi
- Wautauga Dam: 7.5 mi
- Appalachian Caverns: 11.5 mi
- Bristol Thunder Valley Dragway: 11.9 mi
- Shook Branch Picnic Ground: 7.7 mi
- Twin Springs Picnic Area: 18.0 mi
- Potters Truck Stop: 20.9 mi
- Trials Playground: 24.0 mi
- Tennessee Welcome Center: 17.3 mi
- Virginia Welcome Center: 17.5 mi
- Rest Area and Tennessee Welcome Center: 19.0 mi
- Jacob's Nature Park at Sinking Creek: 4.4 mi
- Elk Valley Preserve: 22.4 mi
- Hampton Spring: 6.1 mi
- ETSU Community Garden: 6.7 mi
- Junaluska: 7.4 mi
- Shook Branch Swimming Area: 7.6 mi
- Lost Cove: 20.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 14.1 miles of Fort Watauga. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Rocks Mountain | SE 134° | 1,295 m | 11.9 mi |
| Piney Bald | SSE 165° | 1,277 m | 13.8 mi |
| Holston Mountain | NE 51° | 1,264 m | 12.6 mi |
| Holston High Knob | NE 51° | 1,261 m | 12.6 mi |
| Clarke Mountain | SSE 166° | 1,250 m | 12.4 mi |
| Walnut Mountain | ESE 117° | 1,218 m | 11.0 mi |
| Firescald Knob | ESE 117° | 1,218 m | 11.0 mi |
| Stone Mountain | S 185° | 1,129 m | 9.3 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:34 | 19:07 | 19:41 |
| June solstice | 06:12 | 20:12 | 20:51 |
| September equinox | 07:18 | 18:54 | 19:28 |
| December solstice | 07:38 | 16:38 | 17:18 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 36 | 39 | 47 | 56 | 64 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 68 | 57 | 46 | 39 |
| Precip in | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Elizabethton, under a mile away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element way/778640478
Day trips start here
- Elizabethton · 1 mi
- Johnson City · 6 mi
- Bristol · 18 mi
- Kingsport · 21 mi
Take the scenic way to Fort Watauga.
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