Fixed the western colonial frontier boundary between Virginia and North Carolina, requiring the Cherokee to cede land in present-day West Virginia and Tennessee.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 18 October 1770
- Location
- Lochabar Plantation, South Carolina
- British representative
- John Stuart
- Cherokee attendees
- Approximately 1,000 leaders
- Eastern boundary point
- Six miles east of Long Island of the Holston River
- Western boundary point
- Mouth of the Kanawha River, present-day Point Pleasant, WV
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ongoing disputes along the western colonial frontier prompted Lord Shelburne to pursue diplomatic solutions with Native American nations. The Treaty of Hard Labour (1768) had left boundary variances unresolved, necessitating further negotiation with the Cherokee to clarify colonial limits in Virginia and North Carolina.
On 18 October 1770, British representative John Stuart and approximately 1,000 Cherokee leaders, hosted by Alexander Cameron at Lochabar Plantation in South Carolina, signed the Treaty of Lochaber. The agreement fixed the western boundary of Virginia and North Carolina colonial settlements, extending from a point six miles east of Long Island of the Holston River to the mouth of the Kanawha River.
The Cherokee relinquished claims to most land in present-day southern West Virginia not previously ceded in the Treaty of Hard Labour, effectively pushing the recognized colonial frontier further into Cherokee territory and establishing clearer demarcation lines intended to reduce conflict between colonists and Native American nations.
Political Outcome
The Cherokee ceded land in present-day West Virginia and Tennessee, fixing the western frontier boundary for Virginia and North Carolina colonial settlements.
Boundary disputes unresolved following the Treaty of Hard Labour (1768)
Defined western frontier line from Holston River to the mouth of the Kanawha River