Photo courtesy of High Windy Band.
Sights & Sounds
Activities & Interests
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
Thomas Jefferson called the victory of American patriots over British Major Patrick Ferguson's army at King's Mountain in October, 1780, the battle that "turned the tide of success" in the Revolutionary War.
Many of the militia men who achieved this stunning victory were known as the "Overmountain Men," citizen soldiers who marched from Abingdon, Virginia, through Eastern Tennessee, over the high mountains of North Carolina, to engage and defeat the British at King's Mountain in South Carolina.
The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, established in 1980, commemorates their victory, and every year reenactors follow the trail in honor of these soldiers. Visitors can retrace the footsteps of these heroes over a public motor route that leads through scenic rural countryside.
Interpretive signs are installed at the sites listed below. A trail map outlining both pedestrian and motor routes can be obtained from the Museum of North Carolina Minerals and the W. Scott Kerr Reservoir.
For more information, contact:
National Park Service
Blacksburg, SC
(864) 936-3477
Overmountain Victory Trail Association
C/O Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
Elizabethton, TN 37643
(423) 543-5808
There are many sites along the Trail where visitors can learn more about this historic event:
Museum of North Carolina Minerals
Milepost 331 on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Spruce Pine, NC 28777
(828) 765-9483
Fort Defiance
4555 Fort Defiance Drive
Lenoir, NC 28645
(828) 754-7095
Historic Burke/Old Burke County Courthouse
Morganton, NC
(828) 437-4104
Kings Mountain National Military Park
Kings Mountain, SC
(864) 936-7921
Lake James State Park
Nebo, NC
(828) 652-5047
W. Kerr Scott Reservoir
499 Reservoir Road
Wilkesboro, NC 28967-4762
(336) 921-3390
Wilkes Heritage Museum
203 North Bridge Street
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
(336) 921-3390
