For several years I have worked with the table of books published by the Pellissippi Genealogical & Historical Society during the Fall Festival at the Museum of Appalachia near Norris. Each year people stop by and ask the meaning of the word, "Pellissippi" or why do we call our Quarterly Journals, "The Pellissippian". In case you have wondered, here is the answer. Clinch River and it's branch, the Powell River, rise in southwest Virginia and flow into Tennessee and finally into the upper Tennessee River. It was this river, the Clinch, that served as a boundary line in Indian treaties. The Indians called it the Pellisipi, but not for long, because the name was changed to Clinch River. No one is sure of the reason for the name change. But the most interesting story is as follows: An Indian was chasing a white man across the river. Suddenly the white man turned and "clenched" the Indian , drowning him in the water. Hence the name change - Clinch River. Our society thought the original name was interesting, because Indians did occupy this area during the early years of the eighteenth century.