Calfkiller River

The Calfkiller River is a 42.4-mile-long (68.2 km) tributary of the Caney Fork of the Cumberland River in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Via the Caney Fork and the Cumberland and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed.

It rises on the Cumberland Plateau just south of Interstate 40 near the town of Monterey in Putnam County. Several of the tributaries which coalesce to form the stream are impounded, including one which forms Monterey Lake, which is readily visible from Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 70 North.

State Route 84 runs down the Calfkiller Valley, generally south. A small community called Calfkiller is located partway down the valley. The Cave Hill Saltpeter Pits, mined for saltpeter by Confederates during the Civil War, are nearby.[1] The river and the highway then cross into White County, the valley widening somewhat and becoming less steep. The Calfkiller essentially bisects the town of Sparta, the only town of any size along its course and the seat of White County and the southern terminus of Tennessee-84, and continues generally southward, meandering a few times before reaching its confluence with the Caney Fork. The Caney Fork is, at this point, the line between White County and Van Buren County, and the Calfkiller enters it just east of the bridge on old State Route 111.

The following quotes come from "Goodspeed's History of White County, Tennessee" (1887):

"White County was settled, though sparsely, as early as 1800, seven years prior to it's organization as a county. At that time, however, the country was nothing more than a wilderness of canebrake and forest. The hardy pioneers coming across Cumberland Mountains were struck with the beauty and promise of the land, as viewed from the Mountain tops, and at once began the work of civilization. A single tribe of Cherokee Indians was found here, the English name of whose chief was Calf Killer, and it was for, or by him, Calf Killer River was probably named, though there are many unreasonable traditions to the contrary. So far as can now be learned, these Indians were of a peaceful and friendly disposition, and the relations between them and the few white settlers were of a cordial nature."

"The Calf Killer Valley was the scene of the first settlements in (White) county, the neighborhood of what is now Sparta being in all probability the first, though Thomas Simpson settled on Calf Killer River four miles below Sparta, and Joseph Terry at Rock Island, on Caney Fork, now in Warren County, at about the same time."

The full Goodspeed's History website can be found here: Goodspeed's History

References

Template:Coord: Lat 35.912138, Long -85.476326 Map Coordinates