The Creek War began as an internal conflict between the Upper and Lower Creeks. The Lower Creeks had accepted white colonists’ influence and had taken up agriculture, becoming dependent on US markets instead of trade. The Upper Creeks felt otherwise, and through the persuasion of those like Tecumseh, and his brother, The Prophet, a rebellious spirit against white encroachment began to emerge. These Upper Creeks, known as the Red Sticks, led a brutal attack on Fort Mims in 1813. This furthered the conflict between the Creeks and now included the United States government. In 1814, the Red Stick Creeks were defeated at Horseshoe Bend and the entire Creek nation was forced to cede half of their lands to Georgia and the Mississippi Territory.
All roads lead to Rome--or do they? The Old Federal Road, or also known as Old Byler Road could swing the vote. Governor Bibb approved construction of the road in 1816, and, when completed, it was named after its promoter, John Byler, in 1822. The Old Federal Road connected Southwest Alabama to places as far as the Tennessee Valley and became an important route for commerce and military transportation. Having first been proposed in 1806, the original route was designed to help the postal service transport letters and goods from the US Capitol to the rest of the country. Its active years are long gone, and it is now considered a historical monument; however, the Old Federal Road still has many tales to tell.
Moundville Archaeological Park is unquestionably one of the most fascinating historical sites in our state. Wherever you walk within the 325 acres that make up the park you are traversing history. Moundville opened for visitors in May of 1939 and draws on average 40,000 visitors every year, all of whom undoubtedly leave with an enriched understanding of Native American culture.
I’ve recently had the privilege of fact-checking a fascinating article about the history of Florence, Alabama. The article makes one thing very clear: While the Tennessee River was an invaluable resource for industry, most people would have preferred that the Muscle Shoals just did not exist. The Shoals made transportation next to impossible, and people were clamoring for Congress to do something about it more than a decade before Florence was founded. I discovered, however, that the earlier inhabitants of North Alabama—the Native Americans—had a much different perspective of the Shoals. |
Alabama Heritage BLOG
At Alabama Heritage, we owe many of our successes and smooth operations to our fabulous student interns. We hope that with this blog--written mostly by our interns as well as history students from UAB and a few from our own editors--our readers will have an opportunity to get to know the students who bring so much to the table with their enthusiasm, hard work, and expertise! If you're interested in our internship program, check out the details here. Archives
May 2024
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