Cherokee Lake HistoryCherokee Lake History Information

1776

First permanent settlement established at Bean Station
Contrary to some opinions, Bean Station was not named for legumes, but rather for the pioneering Bean family who settled here in the late 1700s, when this still wild and largely unexplored territory was part of North Carolina.

William Bean and Daniel Boone were the first white men known to have viewed the land around what is now Bean Station. They camped in the area in 1775, following the Cherokee’s Great War Path on their way to Ken-tuck.

The first permanent settlement is believed to have been established in 1776 by Robert Bean and William Bean II. The Beans were captains in the Revolutionary War, and were granted 3,000 acres of land along German Creek for their services.

Other settlers followed. James Ore, Robert Patterson, Robert Blair, and James McFarland are a few of the people who purchased land from the Bean family. Back then, as today, real estate prices varied widely, with land selling for 44 cents to $1.50 an acre.

Sometime between 1787 and 1789, a fort was constructed at the intersection of the Kentucky Road and the Cherokee’s Great War Path to protect settlers from attacks by Indians, who were trying to push the white men from the territory. Located on what was then a major road for frontiersmen heading west, and travelers heading north and south, Bean’s Station attracted many merchants and businessmen.

City: Shields

County: Grainger County

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