Where We Live Speaker Series: More Than Memories

Why Historic Districts Matter with Stacy Guffey.

Stacy Guffey will take an in-depth look at the Cowee-West’s Mill Historic District in northern Macon County, we’ll discover why historic structures and historic districts improve our area’s social and economic health.

The district, designated by the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, includes the archaeological site and mound of the Cherokee town of Cowee, a major settlement until the time of the Revolutionary War. In the first half of the 19th century, the area became a thriving agricultural community, during which time many of the historic structures were built, including Rickman’s General Store, the predominately African American Pleasant Hill Methodist Church, and Cowee School.  During the late 1800s and early 1900s, it became the largest African American community west of the Balsam mountains.