Absolam Pratt House - 175 Years of Alabama History

As visitors turn off Alabama Highway 25 onto Furnace Parkway in Brierfield to visit Alabama's beautiful Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park, many notice the beautiful old antebellum home standing on the corner. It is the historic Absolam Pratt House.

Built in 1835 around a section of an even older home, the Pratt House has played a unique role in the history of the state. Absolam Pratt, the original owner of the house, operated an important ferry over the Cahaba River during the early years of settlement in the region west of Montevallo, and was active in the historic Shultz Creek Baptist Church.

His widow Mary was still living in the house and running the ferry when Wilson's Raiders stormed into the area during the closing days of the War Between the States. Legend holds that Mary Pratt was determined to do everything she could to help buy time for Confederates under General Nathan Bedford Forrest to organize a defense against the oncoming Federals, so she cut loose her own ferry. It was swept loose and destroyed by the river, preventing the Union soldiers from being able to use it to cross the Cahaba.

The house was moved about eight miles from its original location and restored in 1994. Although it is not open to the public daily, the grounds can be visited and visitors can enjoy historical markers and a closer look at the unique old home. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/absolampratt.

Fort Cusseta - Chambers County

As white settlers moved into Alabama, it did not take long for them to come into conflict with the Creek Nation. The result was a series of wars and conflicts that culminated with the Creek War of 1836 and the Trail of Tears. In Chambers County, Fort Cusseta stands as a unique reminder of this turbulent era.

Built around the time of the Creek War of 1836, the 16 by 30 foot fort is one of the last surviving frontier log forts in the South. Located about 3.5 miles off I-85 between Opelika and Lanett in the small community of Cusseta, the log walls are slowly collapsing but are generally protected by a metal building erected to shelter them.

When the Lower Creeks rose against white settlers in and pressing against their territory in the spring of 1836, an array of similar forts arose across much of southern Alabama. Residents "forted in" and rough stockades and blockhouses were built as strong points for defense. Fort Cusseta may have been a little more substantial than many of these as it was built from heavy hand-hewn timbers that have stood the test of time.

So far as is known, the fort never came under attack, but its loopholed walls clearly show it would have been difficult to capture. It is thought to be one of the last surviving wooden forts in the South.

Please click here to learn more about Fort Cusseta: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortcusseta.

Lowndesboro - Alabama's Historic Antebellum Town

Located just north of U.S. 80 between Montgomery and Selma, Lowndesboro is one of the best preserved antebellum communities in Alabama.

Founded not long after the 1814 signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson that forced the Creek Nation to give up the surrounding lands, the settlement was long known as McGill's Hill. In 1832, however, the residents voted to rename their town Lowndesboro.

Almost miraculously, Lowndesboro was spared devastation at the hands of General James H. Wilson's Union raiders during the closing days of the Civil War. Local legend credits a town doctor with saving the town by falsely telling Wilson's men that a smallpox outbreak was taking place in Lowndesboro. Rather than risk catching the feared disease, the Union troops passed on quickly. The community was spared and today boasts one of the finest collections of antebellum homes and structures in the country.

In addition to a unique variety of types of antebellum structures, Lowndesboro is also home to the dome from Alabama's first state capitol building. The dome was moved to the steeple of the old C.M.E. Church in Lowndesboro after Old Cahawba lost its status as state capital in favor of Tuscaloosa and eventually Montgomery. The copper-plated dome is all that remains of the state's original capitol, with the possible exception of some underground ruins at Old Cahawba.  Along with many other historic landmarks, it is located along Broad Street in Lowndesboro.

To learn more about the historic town, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/lowndesboro.

Battle of Selma - Selma, Alabama

The key battle that ended the Confederacy's hopes of holding Alabama took place on April 2, 1865, at Selma. A Union victory, it resulted in the destruction of the city's vast industrial infrastructure and opened the heart of the state to raiding and destruction.

The real last hope of holding Selma had ended the previous day when General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his troops into action at the Battle of Ebenezer Church (for more on this engagement, see post of June 24, 2010). That battle ended in victory for the Federal army of General James H. Wilson when a portion of Forrest's command was unable to cross the Cahaba River as expected and carry out a rear attack on the Union troops.

Forced to fall back into the earthwork forts and defenses that ringed Selma itself, Forrest knew that the fight to defend the city would likely end in defeat for his forces. He simply did not have enough men to defend the miles of works and knew it. Even so, the Southern general opted to fight for Selma with courage and the battle that followed was severe and chaotic.

Advancing in two columns and in overwhelming force against Forrest's spread out troops, Wilson's soldiers pierced the Confederate line where it was intersected by the Summerfield Road despite a hail of cannon and musket fire. Not long after a second breakthrough took place and the Confederates withdrew into the city itself, fighting as they went. By the time the smoke cleared, the Union army was in possession of Selma and over 3,000 men had been killed, wounded or captured. Among them was Rev. Arthur Small, the pastor of the city's Presbyterian Church, who had taken up arms to fight in defense of his community.

Most of the Selma batlefield has been developed into residential and commercial districts and very little remains of the fortifications that once surrounded the city. An annual reenactment festival brings the event back to life, however, and the community is rich in the history of the battle. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/selmabattle.

Battle of Ebenezer Church - Stanton, Alabama

It is an often forgotten fact that the famed Confederate "Wizard of the Saddle" fought for the last time on ground of his own choosing at the Battle of Ebenezer Church in western Alabama.

The vast mounted army of Union General James H. Wilson was plunging south from the Tennessee River in April of 1865. With his troops scattered to deal with incursions from various directions, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest struggled to pull together enough men to oppose the oncoming Federals.

Always thinking of how to take the offensive, even against overwhelming odds, Forrest hoped not only to halt Wilson's Raid, but to destroy the much larger Union army. With this goal in mind, he drew up a plan to trap Wilson before he could get close enough to drive the outnumbered Confederates into the extensive fortifications of Selma.  The Alabama city was a major manufacturing center for the Southern war effort and Forrest knew he did not have enough men to properly man its defenses. The only hope of defeating Wilson was to stop him before he reached Selma.

After viewing the ground and scouting the disposition of the Union army in person, Forrest decided to form his men along high ground at Ebenezer Church, a country congregation located in a sharp bend of Bogler Creek. He hoped that the strong position would give his outnumbered force the chance to hold off Union attacks until 3,000 approaching reinforcements under Brigadier General William H. Jackson could cross the Cahaba River and hit the rear of Wilson's army. At the same time, Forrest expected his main line to be reinforced by additional troops under General James R. Chalmers. Had the plan worked, an officer in Forrest's command noted, the "cavalry battle of the ages" would have been fought at Ebenezer Church.

It was not to be. Both Chalmers and Jackson were delayed and Forrest wound up facing Wilson alone. After a fierce fight, the Confederate lines were broken and General Forrest and his men fell back to Selma. He would never again lay a trap for a Union army on ground of his own choosing.

To learn more about the Battle of Ebenezer Church, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ebenezerchurch.

William Weatherford's Grave - Baldwin County, Alabama

A stone cairn in Baldwin County marks the burial place of one of the most noted Indian leaders in American history - William Weatherford.

The son of a white trader and a Creek woman who was a sister of the famed Creek leader Alexander McGillivray, Weatherford was born in Alabama during the 1700s. William's father was not as a breeder of outstanding horses and the family's wealth increased dramatically under the younger Weatherford's guidance during the early 1800s. White settlers flooded to the Tensaw country (north of Mobile), creating markets for horses and other products from Weatherford's plantations.

A friend of the whites for much of his life, William Weatherford assisted in the capture of famed renegade William Augustus Bowles in 1803. In 1813, however, something dramatic happened in his life.

The Creek Prophet Josiah Francis, a disciple of Shawnee Prophet Tenskwatawa, had ignited a religious fervor among many in the Nation. Teaching that the Indians should end all association with the whites and return to their native ways, Francis developed a huge following. His followers were called Red Sticks because the displayed red war clubs in their villages.

There are various stories about how William Weatherford became a Red Stick. Some claim that he joined when his life was threatened. Others tell the story that he became a member of the movement in order to save his family. Benjamin Hawkins, the U.S. Agent to the Creeks, reported in 1813, however, that Weatherford had been captured by the Red Sticks at the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek.

However he joined, Weatherford went on to help lead Red Stick forces at the bloody Fort Mims Massacre in August of 1813 and later fought in other battles against the whites. He surrendered to Andrew Jackson in 1814, but his life was spared and he subsequently fought on the side of the United States against the remaining Red Sticks. When the wars ended, he returned to his plantation on the Alabama River.

To learn more about his grave site in Baldwin County, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/weatherford.

Swann Covered Bridge - Blount County, Alabama

The sight of the historic Swann Covered Bridge stretching across the gorge carved by the Locust Fork of the Warrior River in Blount County is one of the most impressive in Alabama.

Built in 1933 to link the communities of Cleveland and Joy, the bridge is the longest surviving covered bridge in Alabama and is one of three still standing in Blount County. It is located near the modern city of Cleveland about 30 miles northeast of Birmingham.

Charming and picturesque today, covered bridges were developed by our ancestors as a way of extending the lives of wooden bridges. In the days before concrete and steel were commonly used in bridge construction, most spans were made of wood. As such, they were susceptible to rot from rain, snow and the elements in general. To better protect the flooring so the bridges would last longer, early bridge builders began fitting the structures with covers.

The Swann Covered Bridge, also sometimes called the Joy Covered Bridge because it was on the road to Joy, was built by Forrest and Zelmer C. Tidwell. Over 300 feet long, it features a main spain that is an impressive 75 feet long. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

Easily accessible from U.S. Highway 231 at Cleveland, the bridge no longer carries traffic but is popular for sightseeing and photography. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/swann.

Fort Mims State Historic Site - Tensaw, Alabama

Not far from Mobile and the booming East Shore of Mobile Bay, an often overlooked historic site is actually one of the most important in Alabama.

Fort Mims State Historic Site is a small park preserving the scene of the bloody Fort Mims Massacre of 1813. The event sparked a dramatic confrontation between the United States and portions of the Creek Nation that is remembered today as the Creek War of 1813-1814. The conflict ended with Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson, a document that opened much of Alabama and Georgia to white settlement.

Located near Boatyard Lake in the community of Tensaw, Fort Mims was a haphazard log stockade thrown up around the home of Samuel Mims in 1813. Violence was then spreading in the Creek Nation as an increasing number of towns and warriors threw their support behind the Creek Prophet Josiah Francis. A follower of the Shawnee Prophet Tenskwatawa (brother of Tecumseh), Francis was the leader of a religious movement among the Creeks that focused on a withdrawal from white society and a return to native ways. He had established his headquarters at Holy Ground, a village overlooking the Alabama River between today's cities of Montgomery and Selma. His followers were called Red Sticks, because they displayed red war clubs in their towns as a sign of war.

An attack by Mississippi Territorial Militia on a Red Stick supply party at Burnt Corn Creek, Alabama, infuriated the families of the slain warriors. As a result, a large force of Red Sticks set out for Fort Mims to seek revenge.

The attack came on August 30, 1813, when William Weatherford and other Creek leaders launched an attack on the poorly designed stockade. The inhabitants of the fort had just sounded the bell for their midday meal when war cries sounded from a nearby ravine. Columns of warriors stormed forward. The commander of the fort, Major Daniel Beasley tried to close the open gates, but sand had drifted against them and he was struck down before he could dig it away.

By the time the battle was over, hundreds of men, women and children were dead, along with an unknown number of Red Stick warriors. News of the attack electrified the frontier, bringing the United States fully into the Creek War. To learn more about this significant historic site in Alabama, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortmims1.

Waterfalls of Alabama - History and Scenic Views

Waterfalls probably do not usually come to mind when many people think of Alabama, but the state is actually home to a surprisingly large number of beautiful falls and cascades.

Formed where streams and rivers flow over bluffs or steep hillsides as they make their way down through the state and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico, these stunning natural features have long played an important role in the history of Alabama.

Early Native Americans, for example, frequented the waterfalls. At DeSoto Falls near Fort Payne and Mentone, for example, there are even the remains of unusual manmade caves in the walls of the steep bluff surrounding the huge waterfall. It is generally thought that these were carved out by prehistoric Indians, although some believe they were left behind by Prince Madoc, a Welsh explorer who true believers think reached the New World hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus.

As time passed and the American frontier pushed west, early settlers made use of the strong currents of the falls. At Little River Falls, for example, a water-powered mill once stood. Residents used it to both grind grain and saw the old growth trees of the state into lumber for building homes and businesses.

Today, the waterfalls provide enjoyment for visitors from around the world. Some, like Noccalula Falls in Gadsden and Little River Falls near Mentone are easy to reach and offer paved paths and fenced overlooks. Others, like those around Cheaha State Park in the mountains of the Talladega National Forest, require a hike into the forest but are beautifully preserved in their natural state.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alabamawaterfalls.

Noccalula Falls - Gadsden, Alabama

One of the most stunning sights in Alabama is formed by the water of Black Creek as it thunders over Noccalula Falls atop Lookout Mountain in Gadsden.

The stunning natural feature takes its name from the Legend of Noccalula, a folk tale about a Cherokee princess who is said to still appear in ghostly form in the mists that rise from the bottom of the falls. As the story goes, Noccalula was the daughter of a powerful Cherokee chief, but had fallen in love with a handsome but poor warrior in her own village. Her father, however, held hopes that his daughter would marry the chief of a rival tribe, thereby assuring the expansion of his own influence and power.

To achieve this goal, he expelled Noccalula's true love from the village and ordered his daughter to marry the rival chieftan. Instead, as the wedding ceremony was about to begin, she leaped from the high bluff at the waterfall, meeting her death on the rocks below. Her grief-stricken father realized his error and decreed that the waterfall would forever bear the name of his daughter. It was said that Native Americans still living in the area when the first settlers arrived told of having seen the ghost of the young princess in the mists of the falls.

There is no way of knowing how true the legend may be, but it is a colorful part of Alabama folklore and history and Noccalula Falls is one of the most beautiful and easy to access large waterfalls in the state.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/noccalula.

Fort Conde - Mobile, Alabama

The early French settlers of Mobile were quick to learn what other early settlers of the Gulf Coast had already discovered, that wooden forts and defenses quickly deteriorated in the humid conditions and heavy rains.

It is a little known fact that the Mobile Bay area of Alabama usually receives more rain each year than famously rainy places such as Seattle, Washington. It is not uncommon for a summer hurricane or tropical storm to bring 8 to 10 inches of rain in a single event, sometimes more. These heavy tropical rains washed away earthworks and rotted the log stockades erected by the French to defend their toehold on Mobile Bay.

As a result, in 1723, the French started construction of a solid masonry fort on Mobile's waterfront. Built of brick on a foundation of stone, the square bastioned fort was the strongest erected on the Gulf Coast to that point. Armed with numerous cannon, the work was named Fort Conde after the Prince of Conde and was surrounded with a dry moat and additional defensive earthworks.

Fort Conde served as the primary protector of French Mobile until the city was surrendered to England in 1763 at the end of the French and Indian War. The British took over the fort and renamed it Fort Charlotte. It became an important post during the American Revolution and one of Alabama's two little known Revolutionary War battles took place there on May 10-13, 1780, when Allied forces led by the Spanish General Bernardo de Galvez laid siege to the fort.

Fort Charlotte was surrendered to Galvez's overwhelming force and remained in Spanish hands until it was seized by the United States in 1813. The fort was in bad condition then and was not held for much longer. It was dismantled during the 1820s.

Fort Conde's history, however, was far from over. Now partially reconstructed, it serves as a welcome center that greets visitors to Mobile. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortconde.

Fort Toulouse - Wetumpka, Alabama

In 1717, a party of French soldiers arrived at the head of the Alabama River near the modern cities of Wetumpka and Montgomery.

Their mission was to establish a permanent presence for the King of France in the deep wilderness of Alabama, then under the control of the Creek Nation. The French had cultivated strong ties with the Alabamas (also spelled Alibamos), who lived around the point where the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers joined to form the Alabama. A branch of the Upper Creeks, but possessing their own languages and customs, the Alabamas were actually a conglomeration of several smaller tribes.

The French needed a presence among them to half English expansion into the Creek country, which was then claimed not only by the Creeks and the French, but by the English and Spanish as well. A log fort called Fort Toulouse, named for the Count de Toulouse who was a son of King Louis XIV, was built on the Coosa River side of the point of land formed by the confluence of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa Rivers.

Despite its remote position deep in the wilderness that then covered virtually all of Alabama, the little settlement at Fort Toulouse survived for more than 45 years. The French built homes, cultivated gardens, intermarried with Indian women and engaged in trading and exploring. Although Fort Toulouse was surrounded by stockade walls and armed with small pieces of cannon, it owed its general survival to the goodwill of the Alabama who remained strongly loyal to the French despite the increasing influence of the English among the Creeks.

Over time, the fort was rebuilt at least once as the Coosa River slowly eroded away the bluff on which it stood. Archaeologists have found the remains of one of the corner bastions (angled projections that extended from the corners of the fort to allow infantry and cannon to sweep the walls in the event of an attack) of the original fort as well as buried traces of the second. Their work at the site has allowed modern interpreters to reconstruct Fort Toulouse so that visitors today can see the important early structure as it originally appeared.

Fort Toulouse was evacuated by the French in 1763 due to the treaty that ended the French and Indian War. Their homes and gardens were reclaimed by the forest and the fort itself soon rotted away. By the end of the century, the only remains still to be seen were a few old cannon abandoned at the site.

To learn more about Fort Toulouse and the other historic features of the site, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/forttoulouse.

Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center - Fort Mitchell, Alabama

Perhaps the most beautiful and emotion-invoking monument in Alabama stands on a high ridge overlooking the Chattahoochee River valley at Fort Mitchell. It memorializes the last ceremonial fire of the Creek Nation before its removal west on the Trail of tears.

A centerpiece of the Chattahoochee Indian Heritage Center, the Ceremonial Flame memorial reminds visitors of the significance of the land on which they are walking. This site, adjacent to the old U.S. Army post of Fort Mitchell, was where thousands of Creek men, women and children were assembled in camps before being moved west under military escort. Untold numbers of them died due to starvation, disease, exposure and other hardships before they reached the Indian Nations of today's Oklahoma.

Panels surrounding the memorial list the names from the final census of the Creeks before their "removal." They provide an startling reminder of how many Creek families once lived in Alabama and how many lost their homes in 1836-1838 when they were driven from their land.

The Heritage Center adjoins Fort Mitchell Historic Site, which features a beautiful visitor center/museum, restored frontier fort and other historic sites and exhibits. The two combine to create one of the most interesting and educational heritage attractions in Alabama.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ALChatt1.

Welcome!

Beginning on Monday, April 26th, I will start posting here about the fascinating history, historic sites and points of interest in Alabama.

Alabama is one of our nation's most beautiful states, with terrain that begins in the mountains of the northeast corner of the state and ends on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. In between is a region that is one of the most historic in the United States. From early French and Spanish settlements to powerful prehistoric Native American chiefdoms and from battlefields of the American Revolution to battlefields and forts of the War Between the States, Alabama boasts a vast array of historic sites and points of interest. National parks commemorate the Creek War of 1813-1814 and the Selma to Montgomery March during the Civil Rights Era, as well as the contributions of Dr. George Washington Carver and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Be sure to watch for our posts starting tomorrow. Until then you can always learn more about Alabama at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/Alabama1.