Non Pines History Question

[jburd641]

I spent the a long weekend in SW Virginia along the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Peaks of Otter being support for a couple friends hiking the AT. While watching the weather, the weatherman refered to a region as the "mountain empire". I'm curious, wasn't there once an attempt to make this region a seperate state or country? I remembered reading about this once but cannot find any info on it online. If anyone can answer this, I'll sleep better tonight.....okay, I'm not losing any sleep but I'm curious. Any help from youse would be appreciated.

Jay

 

[whitingrider]

Jay,
Last year I travelled to that area for a motorcycle ride on the Blue Ridge Highway. Our host was from Waynesboro, VA. and had lived in that area all his life. I remember him telling us about a time in history when Virginia was the largest state and supposedly extended all the way to the Mississippi river.
Anywho, I am currently planning to go back to this area this summer and I'll try to find out more info when I can. I just wanted to reply to this before it goes away.
Tom

 

[Ben Ruset]

I did a quick Google for it and it seems like "Mountain Empire" is just a term to denote a geographic area, just like Inland Empire in Southern California.

Virginia once extended all the way to the Mississippi. What is now Kentucky was carved from Virginia in 1790. Virginia also had a quasi-claim to the Northwest Territories, and the Virginia Military District in Ohio.

 

[jburd641]

Thanks Ben and Tom. I had been googling "mountain empire" before posting my question and came up empty also.
The area I seem to be remembering may be a little farther south. Also, the attempt to make a state or country, whatever it may have been could have just been a scheme not unlike some of the city attempts of the pines.
As I'm writing this, I realized it could have been an attempt to form a nation for the Cherokees. Off to google.

Jay

 

[jburd641]

This could be what I'm thinking of.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~itcherok/images/cn-east.gif
http://www.smokymtnmall.com/mall/cindians.html

I think the pre Trail of Tears Cherokee Nation may be what I'm thinking of.

Jay

 

[Ben Ruset]

Like I said, I think it's just a geographic term like "Inland Empire" in California. Most of the nations that tried to spring up after the Revolution are well documented.