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96, Fort Prince George, etc.

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Red Owl

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Are these places in South Carolina worth visiting or is there just a roadside marker? Thanks. I thought "96" was 96 miles up the Savannah River but the fort is on a lake, why was it called 96?
 
The original Ft. Prince George is now at the bottom of a lake that filled up after the completion of a dam. The old fort had been excavated and artifacts preserved, but I have no idea what is left there to see now.

As for 96, it is about 96 miles up country from Charleston, SC. It is not on the Savannah River, but rather some 30 miles north of it. The village was first settled by some Jewish people about 1730. Later it became a resting spot and resupply for people continuing to travel from Charleston to the mountains and over the mountains.
There was a minor battle fought near 96 during the Revolution. I have not been there, but I think the National Park Service maintains a park there.

Both places were lay-over spots along the Cherokee Trail.

Beyond the last settlements the trail in the mountain section is called the Unicoi Trail. The main mountain chain directly south of the Great Smokies is called the Unicoi Mountains. The trail lead over the mountains to what is now Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and on to the Little Tennessee River where the British built Ft. Loudoun in 1756. The Cherokee destroyed that fort in 1760. The restored fort is open for visitors. It is near Vanore, TN.
It was approximately a 3 month march by foot from Charleston on the coast to Fr. Loudoun over the mountains.
 
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