By the time English explorers began arriving in what is now East Tennessee in the late 17th century , the Cherokee had become the region 's dominant tribe . The Cherokee established a series of towns concentrated in the Little Tennessee and Hiwassee valleys that became known as the " Overhill towns " , as traders from North Carolina , South Carolina , and Virginia had to cross " over " the mountains to reach them . The Cherokee alliance with Britain during the French and Indian War led to the construction of Fort Loudoun in 1756 . A peace expedition led by Henry Timberlake in 1761 provided later travelers with invaluable knowledge regarding the location of the Overhill towns and the customs of the Overhill Cherokee . In 1775 , a faction of Cherokees led by Dragging Canoe &mdash; angry over the tribe 's appeasement of European settlers &mdash; split off to form what became known as the Chickamauga faction , which was concentrated around what is now Chattanooga . In spite of Dragging Canoe 's protests , the Cherokee were continuously induced to sign away most of the tribe 's lands to the U.S. government in a series of treaties between 1775 and 1836 . The last such treaty resulted in the tribe 's tragic removal to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears in 1838
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
East Tennessee