Clingmans Dome is now Kuwohi

(The Center Square) — The highest point in Tennessee has a new name.

The U.S. Board of Geographic Names agreed Wednesday to rename Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi, the Cherokee name for the mountain that means "mulberry place," according to a news release from the National Park Service.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians requested the name change in January. Lavita Hill and Mary Crowe, members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, began advocating for the name change in 2022, the news release said. The women started a website called "Restore Kuwohi."

“The Great Smoky National Park team was proud to support this effort to officially restore the mountain and to recognize its importance to the Cherokee People,” said Cassius Cash, superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “The Cherokee People have had strong connections to Kuwohi and the surrounding area, long before the land became a national park. The National Park Service looks forward to continuing to work with the Cherokee People to share their story and preserve this landscape together.”

Kuwohi is 6,643 feet and is the third-highest mountain east of the Mississippi River. It was named Clingmans Dome in 1859 by geographer Arnold Guyot after North Carolina and Confederate Brigadier General Thomas Lanier Clingman, according to the National Park Service.

More than 650,000 people visit the mountain annually, the park service said.