Editing Franklin, North Carolina (section)

===Cherokee influence===
Prior to the arrival of [[European ethnic groups|European]] settlers, the area was home to tribes within the [[Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)|Cherokee Nation]]. The Cherokee called this area [[Nikwasi]], or "center of activity". Nikwasi was an ancient and important Cherokee town, centered around an ancient platform mound believed to be at least 1000-years-old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maconnchistorical.org/nikwasi/ |title=The Nikwasi Indian Mound |access-date=January 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724081358/http://www.maconnchistorical.org/nikwasi/ |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }}</ref> The Cherokee built their Council House on top of the mound.<ref name="steere">{{cite journal|url=https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/2015/ja_2015_steere_001.pdf|last=Steere|first=Benjamin A.|title=Revisiting Platform Mounds and Townhouses in the Cherokee Heartland: A Collaborative Approach|date=2015|journal=Southeastern Archeology|volume=34|number=3|pages= 196–219|doi=10.1179/2168472315Y.0000000001|s2cid=155444628}}</ref> In the 21st century, the remains of Nikwasi Mound are still visible in downtown Franklin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cherokeeheritagetrails.org/franklin_places.html|title=Cherokee Heritage|access-date=April 1, 2009|archive-date=January 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108062542/http://www.cherokeeheritagetrails.org/franklin_places.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> It was privately owned until Franklin purchased the site in 1946 and it was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1980. In 1819, the Cherokee were forcibly relocated to the [[Qualla Boundary]], which today is the home the federally recognized tribe of the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee]].