We visited Fort Loudoun State Historic Park on a sunny, but brisk, day in mid-January 2014. Our first stop was at the visitor center. A small museum, information desk, gift shop, auditorium, restrooms and offices are housed in the modern structure. Due to a scheduled talk by a visiting British historian, the fifteen minute video "The Fort Loudoun Story" was not being shown.
The Seven Years War between Britain and France was called the French and Indian War in the American colonies. In a desire to cement the relationship between the Cherokee and the South Carolina colony in opposition to the French, a fortress was built in 1756 and 1757 near several of the major Cherokee towns near the confluence of the Tellico and the Little Tennessee rivers. The fort was named after the commander of Britain's North American forces, John Campbell, the Fourth Earl of Loudoun. It was initially manned by 90 British troops and 120 South Carolina militiamen. As relations between the colonists and the Cherokee deteriorated and skirmishes escalated, the fort was surrounded by Cherokee warriors. A British relief column was turned back by the Cherokee in North Carolina and the fort was surrendered in 1760. The fort was never used again and may have been quickly destroyed by the Cherokee.
By the 1850s, the spelling of Loudoun had been corrupted to Loudon as used by the city and county of Loudon.
After extensive archaeological investigation in the 1970s, plans were developed to build a reconstruction of the fort. Due to the creation of Tellico Reservoir, the reconstructed fort was built 17 feet above the original fort.
The Fort Loudoun Association was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1933 to manage the site. In 1977, the site became park of the state park system. The FLA continues to provide resources and support for the park. Several hiking trails, a picnic area and a fishing pier are also on the 1200 acre site.
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| Visitor Center |
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| Tellico Lake and the Appalachian Mountains |
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| A paved trail leads to the fort |
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| A palisade surrounds the fort |
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| This device was used to block the door to the fort |
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| The fort had a cannon platform at each corner |
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| The armory was placed well away from the sleeping quarters |
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| Interior of the armory |
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| Rear of the enlisted men's quarters |
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| Enlisted men's quarters |
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| Officer's quarters and offices |
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| Guard house on the river entrance |
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| Passive defenses included a dry moat and thorn bushes |
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| The well and shop buildings |
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| Interior of the shop |
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| View of the fort from one of the gun platforms |
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| Additional facilities in the shop complex |
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| Barracks |
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| View from the officer's quarters across the Tellico River |
The Fort Loudoun Association website is http://fortloudoun.com/.
The park website is http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/fort-loudoun.
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