of the Watauga River is probably lost to antiquity. Most documents agree that the name is of Native American origin, though which nation, tribe or language it descends from, and its meaning, are in question. Early Tennessee historian John Haywood stated within his "The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee" published in 1823 that the "Watauga signifies the River of Islands, or the Island River. The Holston River was known to the Cherokees by the name of Watauga.". Pre-Civil War maps of Tennessee show that the river designated as the Holston River extended west of Knoxville, meeting with the Clinch River near Kingston and well past the present-day beginning of the Tennessee River (east of Knoxville) at the confluence of both the Holston River and the French Broad River. A North Carolina State University web page (the Watauga Medal) says the word "Watauga" is a Native-American word meaning "the land beyond". Local references say the name means "beautiful river" or "beautiful water". There were at least two Native American villages so named, including one at present-day Elizabethton, which became known as "Watauga Old Fields", referring to former Native American residents. It was first explored by Daniel Boone and James Robertson in 1759. A historic Cherokee town known as Watauga was located along the Little Tennessee River near present-day Franklin, North Carolina, in their homelands. The original settlers of Nashville, Tennessee, set out west from the Watauga River area, called the Watauga Association, during the American Revolution. They realized that the British Proclamation of 1763, forbidding colonial settlement west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in order to protect Native American territories, was essentially unenforceable. Wilbur Dam is the site of first hydroelectric dam constructed in Tennessee (beginning in 1909), going online with power production and distribution in 1912. Wilbur Dam was constructed on the Watauga River by the former Tennessee Electric Power Company, a privately owned utility purchased by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the late 1930s. Elizabethton acquired the moniker "City of Power" because of its early access to hydro-generated electricity from Wilbur Dam. The Watauga river is home to the endangered green floater mussel (Lasmigona subviridis). Recreation Whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, fly fishing, and angling with fishing reels are all popular recreation activities pursued on the Watauga River. Rainbow trout, brown trout, and striped bass are all caught in the Watauga River. Whitewater The Watauga