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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Poplar Boundary Tree Marker, Cherokee. Courtesy of HMdb.org, photo by S. and T. Howard

  • Monument Name

    Poplar Boundary Tree Marker, Cherokee

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Geography

    American Indian Monuments

    Colonial History

    Local History

  • City

    Cherokee

  • County

    Swain

  • Description

    The Poplar Boundary Tree marker consists of a rectangular bronze tablet inset into a stone and masonry column approximately five-feet high. The stones were hand-hewn into bricks and blocks of random sizes.

  • Inscription

    PLACE OF THE / POPLAR BOUNDARY TREE / NORTH LAT. 35 DEG. 30 MIN. / ON SOUTHERN BOUNDARY LINE OF LANDS / ALLOTTED TO THE EARL OF GRANVILLE, ONE OF THE / LORDS PROPRIETORS, IN 1743 BY THE BRITISH CROWN. / THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN BURKE AND RUTHER- / FORD COUNTIES RAN HERE UNTIL 1792. / BEGINNING CORNER OF GRANTS 501 AND 502, / ISSUED TO FELIX WALKER IN 1798. / THE POPLAR WAS THE LINE DIVIDING THE / CHEROKEE AND WHITE SETTLERS AFTER 1840 / UNTIL 1946, WHEN THE PARK SERVICE CONVEYED / THE BOUNDARY TREE TRACE TO THE EASTERN / BAND OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. / ERECTED BY CHEROKEE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION 1952

  • Dedication Date

    October 17, 1952

  • Decade

    1950s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.499650 , -83.311960 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      “Boundary Tree Ceremony to Be Held at Cherokee,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC), October 12, 1952

      “Boundary Tree Marker Unveiled in Cherokee,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC), October 18, 1952

      “Marker Event Planned Today in Cherokee,” Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC), October 17, 1952

      “Place of the Poplar Boundary Tree Historical Marker,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed January 16, 2022) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Bronze, hand-hewn stone bricks, masonry

  • Sponsors

    Cherokee Historical Association

  • Monument Dedication and Unveiling

    The main address was by Ernest Bird, president of the Western NC Historical Association. The State Department of Archives and History sponsored the event and Mrs. Sadie Patton of Hendersonville presented the tablet on their behalf.

  • Subject Notes

    The marker stands near the spot where a tulip poplar tree marked the boundary line between the Cherokee Indians and white settlers. At the time of the dedication the tree was still present although in poor condition. The location of the tree no longer marks the current boundary of the Cherokee Indian Reservation.

  • Location

    The marker is across the street from the intersection of Boundary Tree Road with Tsali Blvd. (US Highway 441), Cherokee, NC 28719

  • Landscape

    The memorial marker stands on grass near wooded park area.

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