“This orchard is established near the Noquisiyi (Nikwasi) Mound and is likely on land that had once been farmed by Cherokee women,” said Nikwasi Initaitive Executive Director Elaine Eisenbraun. “Bringing back the apple trees is like restoring a small fragment of the Cherokee agronomic lifestyle that residents enjoyed. Future visitors will be able to have a holistic experience of scented blossoms, tasty apples, and a lovely little path to build their understanding of the prior residents of these mountains.”

The apple orchard is a living exhibit of the apple varieties perfected by the Cherokee people who lived in these mountains before Europeans arrived in North America. The idea was born in 2020, when McRae, a former Franklin Press editor and Franklin Town Council member who died of cancer in 2021, thought it up to honor the story of the Cherokee apple varieties and the people who grew them.

The mini orchard, located on the Macon County Greenway a half-mile downstream from the Big Bear Pavilion, today highlights apple varieties with close ties to Cherokee farmers of the 18th and 19th centuries. It was developed through a partnership between the Town of Franklin, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Nikwasi Initiative, opening the door for local groups and individuals to understand the value of investing in the new Cultural District.