Due to its size and visibility from great distances, Stone Mountain has long been a landmark and gathering place. Pieces of soapstone bowls, dishes and other artifacts have been linked to people living around the mountain as early as 8,000-10,000 years ago. During the Spanish exploration of the New World, the Creek Indians occupied what is now Alabama and North Georgia - including the Stone Mountain area. Later in the 16th century, the Cherokee tribes forced the Creek nation farther south in Georgia. Stone Mountain was located in a buffer zone between the Creek and Cherokee tribes and was used as a neutral meeting place. Through colonial times, Native Americans farmed around the mountain and traded actively in the area with the Spanish, British and French. Stone Mountain first played a part in modem history in 1790 when President George Washington sent Colonel Marinus Willett to meet with micos of the Creek Confederacy regarding cession of Creek lands. The micos were invited to the nation's capital at the time, New York, to negotiate. Willett and the micos agreed to meet at Stone Mountain to begin their trip. Willett wrote or his first visit to Stone Mountain that "Here we found the Cowetas and Curates to the number of eleven waiting for us. While I was at Stony Mountain, I ascended the summit. It is one solid rock of circular form about one mile across. Many strange tales are told by the Indians of the mountain..."