Great Tellico

Its name in Cherokee is more properly written Talikwa (Syllabary: ᏖᎵᏉ), but more commonly known as Diligwa.

There were several Cherokee settlements named Tellico, the largest of which is distinguished from the others by calling it "Great".

However, in an article authored by reporter Tesina Jackson of the Cherokee Phoenix the meaning of the word is stated as "the open place where the grass grows".

"The Trading Path", later called the Unicoi Turnpike),[3] ran from Great Tellico southeast over the Unicoi Range of the Appalachian Mountains, linking the Overhill Cherokee to the Middle and Lower Cherokee towns in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

In the early 18th century, Great Tellico was the de facto capital of the Overhill Cherokee.