Treaty of Lochaber

The Treaty of Lochaber was signed in South Carolina on 18 October 1770 by British representative John Stuart and the Cherokees, fixing the boundary for the western limit of the frontier settlements of Virginia and North Carolina.

Lord Shelburne in London was determined to settle disputes along the western frontier in order to avoid more conflict with the Native Americans. Although he lost his office as Southern Secretary in October 1768, negotiations with tribal chiefs regarding the North American colonial frontier progressed. The Treaty of Fort Stanwix in November 1768 fixed the boundary lines to the north of Virginia. The border variances from the Treaty of Hard Labour led to negotiations where 1000 Cherokees were hosted by Alexander Cameron (d. 1781) at Lochabar Plantation in Ninety-Six District, South Carolina.

Based on the terms of the accord, the Cherokee relinquished all claims to property from the previous North Carolina and Virginia border to a point six miles east of Long Island of the Holston River in present-day Kingsport, Tennessee, to the mouth of the Kanawha River at present-day Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in Mason County. The North Carolina-Virginia border at this time was along the 36° 30' parallel in present-day Tennessee. The south fork of the Holston River was agreed to become the southern bounds due to settler's confusion of where the parallel ran. Therefore, "North of the Holston" settlers were considered outside of the Cherokee lands. In this treaty, the Cherokee surrendered their rights to the remaining land in present-day southern West Virginia not included in the Treaty of Hard Labour in October 1768.